lappelbaum's Favorites

Wet edge of golf course, mixed with Ludwigia octovalvis. Like octovalvis it has 4-petal yellow flowers with 8 stamens, lanceolate leaves, and elongated seed capsules, but the capsules are shorter than L octovalvis, and leaf petioles have decurrent wings down the stem.

Fungus on Vaccinium sp. on a forested trail.

From Page 44 of “Diseases of Trees and Shrubs - 2nd Edition” by Wayne A. Sinclair and Howard H. Lyon:
This inconsequential disease, which affects species of Gaylusaccia and Vaccinium, is caused by Ophiodothella vaccinii and characterized by distinctive colorful lesions...The pathogen occurs widely in southeastern USA and also in Illinois and California.

Lovely Limpkin sighting today out in Montgomery County. Quite tame and I was able to take these photos with my macro lens. It was all I had with me … did the best I could with what I had. Observed this delightful bird hunting mussels - finds one, beats it on the shoreline and then carries it back to the water and gives it a swoosh around … then it ends up in a neat little pile. There were numerous neat, little piles … photos showing mussel type added shortly.

RLC726 Photo 2 by Bitty Roy, the rest by Bryn Dentinger; used with permission. This fungus-killed wasp is biting the edge of a leaf and was basically at eye level on a leaf on the trail to the Los Cedros river, right after going out the gate from HQ.