Spring Peeper-Bog Ecosystem

Spring Peeper

Order:  Anura

Family:  Hylidae

Genus:  Pseudacris

Species:  P. crucifer

General Characteristics:

Spring Peepers are small frogs that grow less than an inch and a half long. They can be tan or gray or dark brown, but they all have a dark "X" on their backs. Spring Peepers also have large toe pads for gripping plants when they climb.

Spring Peepers are rarely seen, but are often heard in early spring. They breed from March to June. Spring Peepers live in wooded areas where there is water. Usually they are near marshes, ponds, and streams.  Spring Peepers need the water to lay eggs. This is also where they mate.

Special Adaptations:

Spring Peepers are nocturnal, so they are most active at night. In the winter, when temperatures drop to freezing, the Spring Peepers' bodies also drop to freezing, but only some parts really freeze. Spring Peepers produce glucose in their livers. Glucose is a sugar that acts as an anti-freeze that is pumped to vital organs including the heart and lungs. Other parts of the Spring Peeper's body will form ice crystals and freeze.

Evergreen Woodfern-Bog Ecosystem

Evergreen Woodfern

Order:  Polypodiales

Family:  Dryopteridaceae

Genus:  Dryopteris

Species:  D. intermedia

General Characteristics:

The leaves are monomorphic and green through winter, 32--90 × 10--20 cm. The petiole is 1/3 length of leaf, scaly at least at base; scales scattered, tan. The blade is green, ovate, 3-pinnate-pinnatifid, herbaceous, and glandular. The pinnae are in the plane of blade.  The basal pinnules are longer than adjacent pinnules. The pinnule margins are serrate, and the teeth spiny. Sori are midway between midvein and margin of segments. Indusia have minute glandular hairs.

Special Adaptations:

The extreme variability of size and colour may make it confusing to identify. In addition, it sometimes grows mixed with D. carthusiana in some areas.

Savanna-Lipstick Powderhorn

Lipstick Powderhorn

Order: Lecanorales

Family: Cladoniaceae

Genus: Cladonia

Species: C. mailenta Hoff.

General Characteristics: Tall, slender, podetia topped with small, bright red, apothecia. Podetia often thicker at the top.

Special Adaptations: Lipstick Powderhorn has a distinct chemistry, which allows some to describe it further down the chemical race. The chemical race thamnolic acid is more commonly found on rocks.

Savanna-Mullein

Mullein

Order: Lamiales

Family: Scrophulariaceae

Genus: Verbascum

Species: V. thapsus

General Characteristics: Mullein is biennial, so it lives for two years. The first year, this plant grows a rosette, but no flower stalk. The rosette survives through Winter, and the flower stalk grows the second year. At the end of the second year, the plant dies. The rosette leaves are large and soft. They are bluish-green and grow up to 12 inches long and 5 inches wide. Most people compare the soft surface of a leaf to felt.

Common Mullein flowers are yellow with five petals. Flowers are about an inch wide. They bloom a few at a time from June to September.

Special Adaptations: Mullein produce huge numbers of seeds. One mullein plant may make over 100,000 seeds in a year. Seeds can survive almost any conditions and can last up to 100 years. Since mullein can't grow in shade, the seeds can lay in the soil, waiting until plants around them die or are removed.

Savanna-Buckeye Butterfly

Buckeye Butterfly

Order: Lepidoptera

Family: Nymphalidae

Genus: Junonia

Species: J. coenia

General Characteristics: The upperside is brown. The forewing has 2 orange cell bars and 2 eyespots; part of white subapical band appears in the largest, lower eyespot. The hindwing has 2 eyespots; upper one is largest and contains a magenta crescent. The underside of hindwing is brown or tan in the wet season (summer) form and rose-red in the dry season (fall) form.

Special Adaptations: The Buckeye breeds on plants containing bitter iridoid glycosides, including plantains, various Scrophulariaceae, and Lippia. Favorite nectar sources are composites including aster, chickory, gumweed, knapweed, and tickseed sunflower. Dogbane, peppermint, and other flowers are also visited.

Savanna-Whorled Milkweed

Whorled Milkweed

Order: Gentianales

Family: Asclepiadaceae

Genus: Asclepias

Species: A. verticillata

General Characteristics: This native perennial plant is unbranched and up to 2' tall. Whorls of 4-8 linear leaves occur along the slender central stem. This stem is ridged and hairless. Each leaf is up to 3" long and 1/8" across, with a prominent longitudinal vein, and no hairs. The leaves often curve downward from the stem, and then curl slightly upward toward their outer tips. Along the upper half of the plant are short-stalked umbels of greenish white flowers that emerge from the axils of the leaves. These umbels have up to 20 flowers and span about 2-3" across. Each flower consists of 5 strongly reflexed petals that are light green, and 5 white hoods that are arranged around the center of the flower. An individual flower is about 1/3" across. There is little or no floral scent. The blooming period occurs from early to late summer, and lasts about 1-2 months. Later, slender follicles appear where the flowers have been successfully pollinated. These follicles split along one side to release numerous seeds with large tufts of white hairs. The follicles are about 3-4" long and 2/3" across, with a fairly smooth surface. Seed dispersion is by wind. The root system is fibrous and rhizomatous. This plant often forms colonies.

Special Adaptations: This little milkweed blooms later in the year than many other members of the genus, and is good at attracting butterflies. The foliage of this plant resembles a horsetail, but the flowers reveal its membership in the Milkweed family. It can be distinguished from other milkweeds by its skinny whorled leaves and greenish white flowers.

Savanna-Chinese Praying Mantis

Chinese Praying Mantis

Order: Mantodea

Family: Mantidae

Genus: Tenodera

Species: T. aridifolia sinensis

General Characteristics: A long and thin praying mantis with the colors ranging in different shades of browns. When adult, they have a green lateral stripe down the side of the wing case. They also have a small spike on the four walking legs. Being quite a large Mantis, the adult size varies from 85 - 100mm in length (Dependent on the sex).

Special Adaptations: As an organic insect control method, the praying mantis is very effective. With a voracious appetite, the mantid will feed on just about any pest insect. Introduced into the United States approximately 75 years ago, the Chinese Praying Mantis. With an enormous appetite they have been known to eat up to 16 crickets per day and consume over 21 different species of insects.