Dry Weather …

June and July of this year have been dry months at Veasey Memorial Park. According to the National Weather Service reporting site in Lawrence, Massachusetts, there has only been about 1.5 inches of combined rainfall for June and July. Considering that the average-combined rainfall for these two months in this area is slightly more than 7 inches, this season’s rainfall has certainly been sparse. The impact of this two-month draught is evident by the many patches of brown that are seen throughout the Veasey lawn and field.

Even though the vegetation in the field has struggled from the lack of precipitation, several wildflowers still have managed to produce a surprising floral display in spite of the dry weather. This summer the most prolific wildflower is goldenrod, which can be found densely scattered throughout the field forming patches of bright yellow. Another abundant and pretty wildflower in the field is black-eyed Susan that has a dark-brown central disk from which bright yellow petals radiate making it one of the more outstanding flowers in the Park. It is a member of the composite or daisy family.

Though less prolific than goldenrod and black-eyed Susan, common milkweed is well represented in the field. By the end of July, its droopy-round clusters of pink flowers have now gone to seed. The seeds are enclosed within large-pointy pods that will soon split open and release the silky-strands of seeds that will be captured and carried away by the wind. This plant is the sole food source for the caterpillar of the monarch butterfly. When feeding on the leaves of this milkweed, this caterpillar is also ingesting some of the plant’s toxic-milky sap, thus, making the caterpillar and its future butterfly toxic; if not at least, very unpalatable to potential predators.

Another showy wildflower that appears in the field is purple loosestrife. Unfortunately, purple loosestrife is an aggressive and invasive plant preferring wet habitats but has managed to grow in some areas of the field. Though the field would appear to be too dry and thus unsuitable for this wildflower, underground seeps of water produce microhabitats that accommodate the thirsty roots of this invasive species. The magenta-spiked flowers of purple loosestrife are quite showy but this plant has an infamous reputation for crowding out native plants that would provide more beneficial habitat for wildlife. When this plant invades wetlands, it produces a spectacular display of purple color characteristic of many of our wetlands this time of year. Being an introduced species and due to its aggressive tendency toward other vegetation, it is not surprising that purple loosestrife is listed by the Massachusetts Division Fisheries and Wildlife as an invasive plant species.

Not all introduced species are invasive; in fact, Queen Anne’s lace with its creamy-white flat-top cluster of flowers was introduced from Europe and seems to have melded somewhat peaceably with its neighboring habitat, and is indeed a very attractive wildflower that can be observed during mid-summer in the Park. When the flowers have gone to seed, the flower head curl will up and form what looks like a bird’s nest. The other name for this plant is wild carrot noting its ancestor origin of the domesticated carrot.

Another wildflower, life forever, has found a suitable spot under the canopy of the large oak tree in the field. This wildflower has a succulent stock and leaves that allow the plant to manage dry conditions. With its rounded cluster of small-pink flowers on top of a single stock that is about 18 inches high, the flowers are quite striking when stumbled upon. It too was introduced from Europe but does not appear to be a nuisance yet.

Richard Lombard … August 2010