The 2015 FMEL – PIAS volunteer stewardship class had spectacular weather for a walk at the south Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area on February 7, complete with 3 eagles soaring above (likely the same eagles that graced the very first class) photo-documented by Bob Montanaro.
The sky blue lupine (Lupinus diffusus) was lovely along the trail …
Karen Schuster and Donna Halloran were among the last to leave the trail …
Karen shared some of her fabulous photos, including two plants in the Ericaecae (heath) family. Members of this large plant family generally are plants of acid, sandy soils, including economically important plants like cranberries and blueberries. The flowers of this plant family are called urceolate, urn-shaped, which one member of the class has translated into the far more optimistic lantern-shaped.
Fetterbush (Lyonia lucida), also commonly called shiny lyonia or pink lyonia, with full of pretty, lantern-shaped flowers …
Note the clear leaf midrib referenced by the species name, lucida, meaning clear (or lucid, may I be, please).
Coastalplain staggerbush (Lyonia fruticosa) also was in flower with its creamy white lantern-shaped flowers, and Karen captured its rusty colored foliage for which gives rise to the common name rusty lyonia …
Its species name, fruticosa, means shrubby.
Enjoy the Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area 