Lyre-leaved sage (Salvia lyrata) is a perennial which blooms in the spring. Its flowers are tubular, with upper and lower lips, and slightly protruding stamens.
As a member of the Lamiaceae (Mint) family, Lyre-leaved sage develops nutlets within its protective sepals.
The basal leaves are lyrate, with pinnate venation.
Watch this video to see more hairy parts of Lyre-leaved sage (Salvia lyrata) as well as some great close-up photos of developing nutlets.
One way to identify a tree during winter is to look up. Sometimes there will be dried seed capsules still hanging from the otherwise bare branches. Here’s another tree in winter:
And here’s a third tree:
It’s still difficult to tell these trees apart so let’s look at some lower branches which are closer to us. The first tree:
And the second tree:
Now let’s look at the first tree’s seed capsule.
Ah yes, this is a Sycamore (Platanus occidentalis). Its upper branches are white.
Shreds of bark peel away lower down a Sycamore’s trunk.
Returning to the second tree, here are the remains of two seed capsules.
These seed capsules belong to a Yellow poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera).
Yellow poplar’s light gray bark remains relatively smooth and even.
Let’s look at the third tree again. Sometimes the best way to get close to a seed capsule is to look on the ground for fallen ones.
These seed capsules grow on a Sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua).
Sweetgum’s bark is evenly ridged.
This tree grows in northern and central regions of North America. Its range extends down through the Appalachian mountains into a few southern states. When you can identify it, please leave a comment below with the common and scientific names — along with any personal story you may have about this tree.
Leaves in spring
Leaves in summer
Sap smells like wintergreen.
Fruits
Leaves in fall
Trunk of sapling
Trunk of young tree
Trunk of middle-aged tree
ANSWER (subsequently added to this post to facilitate the “search” function for these images): Yellow birch (Betula alleghanienis)
