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Darn! My GPS wasn't set correctly, so I don't have accurate coordinates for my observations for Sept. 10, 2022, the last day of Gall Week 2022. Thankfully, I only covered a small area within Ulistac Natural Area, so it won't be too difficult to set approximate locations. But still... I hate when that happens.

The foliage of Malva species can vary considerably within and across species depending on environmental conditions such as water, temperature, light, soil type, and season. Leaf structure can even vary on the same plant (e.g., the uppermost leaves might be different from the basal leaves.) In addition, Malva foliage is often misidentified as Hibiscus, Sidalcea, Alcea, or Geranium. It’s difficult, if not impossible, to identify Malva species from leaves alone, so it's best to leave foliage-only observations at the genus level.

Note: The pictures in this journal posting were taken from iNaturalist or Calflora photos of flowers and/or fruits of Malva species that have been verified as Research Grade. I cropped the photos to remove the flowers and fruits, leaving only the leaves and stems.

There were dozens upon dozens of Black-crowned Night-Herons today at the Baylands - too many to count. I'm happy to say there were lots of juveniles, too.

There were also lots of Brown-headed Cowbirds, Ruddy Ducks, Northern Shovelers, and surprisingly, several patches of Datura.