Wildflowers: ID Requests From Tall Grass Prairie Walk

Discussion in 'Plants: Identification' started by Botanical Blue, Jul 2, 2015.

  1. Botanical Blue

    Botanical Blue Member

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    Specimen 1

    Shrub to small tree with opposite, pinnately compound leaves. Three leaflets per leaf. Fruit looks like a paper lantern. I only broke a few open, but there were 1 - 9 round seeds per fruit. Bark with white striations. Found on a roadside next to a river bank. Disturbed area. See attached pictures 1-3.

    I can't figure out the family. As a Michigander, I was taught the rule, "Euony MAD Cap Horse?", meaning any tree with opposite leaves has to fall under Euonymous, Maples, Ashes, Dogwoods, Caprifoliaceae, or Horse chestnuts, but I don't think my specimen belongs to any of those groups.

    Specimen 2

    Herb found in a hardwood forest. Opposite leaves, with each pair at a 90 degree angle to the pair above and below. Flowers in a raceme. I didn't take notes, but I seem to remember two deeply cleft white petals, two stamens, and a style per fluoret. See pics 4-6.

    Specimen 3
    Herb with pinnately compound leaves. 3 leaflets per leaf, or 5 (it's hard to tell because the bottom two might be large stipules). Inflorescence is an umbel. Six fluorets per umbel. Peduncle substantially longer than petiole. See pics 7-9.

    I think this must be Lotus sp., but I'm not sure because we only have one Lotus reported in Michigan, L. corniculatus. In the Michigan Flora illustration, it looks like L. corniculatus has three fluorets, but my specimen has six. Then again, I'm looking at pics online, and some of them appear to have more than three fluorets. What do y'all think?
     

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  2. togata57

    togata57 Generous Contributor 10 Years

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    1 Staphylea trifolia?

    Welcome to the Forum!
     
  3. Botanical Blue

    Botanical Blue Member

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    By jove, I think you've got it! It looks right, and since it's the only Staphylleaceae in my state, I'll go with S. trifolia.
     
  4. Silver surfer

    Silver surfer Generous Contributor 10 Years

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  5. Michael F

    Michael F Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    3 agree with Common Bird's-foot-trefoil Lotus corniculatus, it often has more than 3 flowers per head.
     

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