I have see that plant before many times but have never sat down and identified it
Cape May County Explorations
- Thread starter bobpbx
- Start date
The one you took me to I can imagine catching some shade under those trees as a kid or after working in the fields on a hot dry day
I googled spicebush and the berries on the pics I seen were much smaller and red.I thought the leaves looked right but the berry on your pic looked nothing like the google pics.
Work has had me leading many hikes between here and the northern counties over the years so I've seen it quite a bit, but I also think I first learned to ID it when I was still living in Passaic County over 45 years ago. The arrangement of the fruit is what caught my eye.
The problem with internet pics is they always show the ripe berries!
It has a pleasant smell when the leaves are crushed, and the berries too.
As soon as I saw this tree on a slope to a swamp, I knew identifying it would either be impossible or readily determined. The leaves are all crowded towards tthe branch ends. Now, 4 days later, I give up. I think it's a hybrid oak; possibly Q. falcata and Q. phellos, both common down there.
The search indicates "Differential Grasshopper". Munching on Phragmites.
I love busting out of the dark swamp into scenes like this. In Woodcock Preserve.
Great Picture Bob. I am not an insect or a plant person. However it seemed so weird to see a grasshopper on a plant normally found near a salt marsh. I understand phagmites can grow in other places too. I was just trying to assimilate them being from two different ecosystems. I would have never dreamed of making the connection.
