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<\/a>Liparis liliifolia<\/em>, Twayblade<\/p><\/div>\n This is a new species for the canal and is listed as threatened in Maryland.\u00a0 This type of orchid is called a Twayblade and its flower structure is quite intricate.<\/p>\n Earlier this month a park visitor reported a possible Heracleum mantegazzianum<\/em> (Giant Hogweed) sighting.\u00a0 This invasive can be dangerous to humans if they come into contact with foliage or the sap of the plant.\u00a0 When I went to investigate the sighting I discovered that it was the relatively smaller native Cow Parsnip of the same genus.\u00a0 I put my hat in the picture for scale.\u00a0 Cow Parsnip is a plant of impressive proportions.\u00a0 It is actually a \u201cwatchlisted\u201d species in Maryland so I documented the location and number of plants in this particular population.\u00a0 The population stretched for about a quarter mile along the towpath of the canal.\u00a0 Interestingly all the plants, which totaled around 500, were within 10 meters of the towpath.\u00a0 Because of its stature I thought it was odd that it had not been recorded within the canal before this year.<\/p>\n Heracleum maximum<\/em>, Cow Parsnip<\/p><\/div>\n Not far from the Cow Parsnip I located another state listed plant, Gymnocladus dioicus<\/em> or Kentucky coffeetree.\u00a0 The population consisted of two saplings along a road.\u00a0 Because a town was nearby and this species is planted occasionally as an ornamental, I do not believe these two saplings are part of natural population.\u00a0 This is one of the challenges of working in a park with a lot of urban areas along its boundary.\u00a0 Of course I would rather see native plants being planted as ornamentals rather than non-native ones.\u00a0 On a side note, the largest Kentucky coffeetree in the nation is located in Hagerstown, Maryland, where the park headquarters is.<\/p>\n Gymnocladus dioicus<\/em>, Kentucky coffeetree<\/p><\/div>\n And finally, I found a new population of Polygala polygama<\/em> on the margin of a shale barren in western Maryland.\u00a0 There were over 50 clumps of this state-listed Milkwort growing directly under a power line in full sun.\u00a0 It\u2019s interesting how man made disturbance can sometimes be beneficial to conservative plants like this one.\u00a0 It is obviously benefiting from the open habitat created from the power company\u2019s efforts to keep the area under the power lines free of shrubs.\u00a0 It is also interesting to note that along the same power line a little farther down, invasive plants dominate that ground cover.<\/p>\n Polygala polygama<\/em>, Racemed Milkwort<\/p><\/div>\n This week I visited the Paw Paw Tunnel.\u00a0 This tunnel is locally famous because of the engineering effort it took to construct it.\u00a0 The tunnel is almost a mile long, straight through a mountain.\u00a0 It was a strange experience to walk through it and imagine working as a laborer during its construction.<\/p>\n Paw Paw Tunnel, northern entrance<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n Coleman Minney, Field Botany Intern<\/p>\n Chesapeake and Ohio National Historical Park<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It\u2019s the mid-point of my internship here in Maryland.\u00a0 So far the experience has been fulfilling.\u00a0 The extent of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal means that there is always some place new to explore.\u00a0 I wanted to highlight some of … Continue reading <\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>