March 5, 2021 Broomsedege (Andropogon virginicus), also called broomsedge bluestem, is a warm-season perennial grass that grows on old fields, pastures, and early-successional sites across Virginia. It grows in bunches 2 to 4 feet high, and develops a golden-orange color in the late fall that can make broomsedge an attractive winter ornamental plant. When mature, this golden color and its […]
American Mistletoe
February 8, 2021 American mistletoe (Phoradendron leucarpum), also called eastern or oak mistletoe, is a parasitic shrub that grows on the branches and trunks of trees across Virginia. It is most commonly found on oaks, red maples, and gum trees and is most abundant in the swampy forests of Virginia’s Coastal Plain. Mistletoe is a hemiparasite, meaning the it both produces its own sugars using photosynthesis and […]
Winterberry Holly
January 11, 2021 Winterberry holly (Ilex verticillata) and deciduous holly or possumhaw (Ilex decidua) are both shrub holly species that are deciduous (drop their leaves in the winter). Their fruit are ripe now and they will retain the fruit through the winter until birds and small mammals eat them. Winterberry occurs throughout Virginia and the eastern United States from Maine […]