Download Dominant species in the Greene Park Woods

Dominant species in the
Greene Park Woods
By: Goran Milosavljevic
Three main Dominant species
• Alliaria Officinalis – (Garlic-mustard)
• Lonicera x bella – (Hybrid honeysuckle)
• Viburnum opulus – (European highbush –
cranberry)
Garlic-Mustard
• Garlic Mustard is
considered an
invasive species,
literally carpeting
huge areas of
deciduous forest
floors, especially
near parks, farms &
other areas of human
activity.
The leaves survive under the
snow as they contain a sort of
natural antifreeze, so you can
start looking for them as soon as
the snow melts. The leaves
smell strongly of garlic when
crushed and there are no
poisonous look-a-likes.
•
Garlic mustard is quite easy to harvest as it’s
often the only green herb growing, and it likes to
grow in thick carpets, so I can easily fill a basket
in a few minutes.
Hybrid Honeysuckle
• A new and distinct
Lonicera hybrid
(Honeysuckle) plant is
provided that forms
attractive, extremely
large tubular-shaped
flowers.
• Exotic brushy
honeysuckle may
have come to North
America as early as
1750, but probably
became established
in 1880 when the U.S.
Department of
Agriculture introduced
it as an ornamental
and wildlife plant.
• Exotic bush honeysuckles are dense,
upright deciduous shrubs (3 to 10 feet in
height) with shallow roots; opposite,
simple, and oval or oblong leaves; and
yellow, orange, or red berries.
European highbush-cranberry
• The highbush
cranberry is actually
not a cranberry at all,
though its fruit, or
“drupes” as they are
known taxonomically,
strongly resemble
cranberries in both
appearance and
taste.
• It grows rapidly, transplants easily and has a
mature height and spread of 12 feet or more.
The white flowers are produced in late spring
and the red fruit is ornamental from late summer
to early fall.
• One endearing quality of highbush cranberry is that it is
generally easy to pick in large quantities. The fruit is
conveniently arranged in clusters at the ends of the
limbs, and these thornless branches are limber - as if
they are asking you to remove the cumbersome burden
of so much scarlet fruit. I have often gathered more than
a gallon from a single bush, and rarely does it take more
than twenty minutes to do so. Highbush cranberry is also
the most consistently productive fruit in my area, and has
one of the longest seasons of availability - so I've never
had to endure an autumn without any.