<![CDATA[FRIENDS OF FOREST HILL PARK

<![CDATA[FRIENDS OF FOREST HILL PARK - Park Ecology]]>Thu, 14 May 2026 22:10:36 -0400EditMySite<![CDATA[A Tale of Two Vines]]>Mon, 07 Aug 2017 23:04:15 GMThttps://www.friendsofforesthillpark.org/park-ecology/a-tale-of-two-vines

There are two types of honeysuckle vine in Forest Hill Park. One, the Japanese honeysuckle, is well known and loved by many. You may have never heard of the other. Here are their stories.

The Japanese honeysuckle, Lonicera spp., was introduced to this country after European settlement as an ornamental and for wildlife value. For a while after introduction it lived wherever it was planted just as peonies, gardenias, and such plants live in our gardens today. And then, as seeds were transported by birds and other critters, this plant began to spread far and wide, covering and threatening shrubs, trees, anything in its path. Instead of being known for the sweet fragrance on a warm summer day or for the flowers’ taste of sweet nectar, it should be known as a very aggressive non-native species that is a threat to our environment.

The other honeysuckle, Lonicera sempervirens, has been here for many thousands of years evolving with our native plants and animals. It belongs here. The beautiful, red flowers attract hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies; fruits are eaten by finches, the hermit thrush, robins and others. This plant is not an aggressive grower and, like many of our native plant species, is in danger of being lost to the non-native species that can easily out-compete with other plants. There are only a few of these left in Forest Hill Park.

This image, taken near the lake, shows both growing together; the native honey-suckle (with the red flower) is struggling to survive among the aggressive non-native plants.
What can you do?

Learn about honeysuckles. There are both vines and shrubs, native and non-native. James River Park has a serious problem with the invasive bush honeysuckle, Lonicera maackii.
Remove Japanese honeysuckle and other non-native plants from your yard.
Purchase and plant only those species native to this area.
Join Friends of Forest Hill Park and other groups for invasive plant removal projects.

]]><![CDATA[Strawberry Bush]]>Mon, 05 Jun 2017 00:10:20 GMThttps://www.friendsofforesthillpark.org/park-ecology/strawberry-bush

As you walk through Forest Hill Park over the next month, you might easily miss the subtle flowering of one of our native understory shrubs, Euonymus americanus. Common names for this plant include Hearts-a-burstin’ and Strawberry bush – names that will be explained shortly.

Strawberry bush is a small shrub that seldom gets over 10 feet tall and generally has an open, airy appearance. This growth form is partly due to its natural shaded habitat and the struggle for light. Plants growing in sunnier locations take on a more compact, “shrubbier” appearance. Strawberry bush leaves are relatively small; taper from an oval shape to a point, and the edges are “serrated” (series of little notches similar to a bread knife). Fortunately, there is one characteristic that sets strawberry bush apart from most other shrubs or small trees and is a great aid in identification. The branches are dark green in color. Even the main trunk is green for several years until turning gray.
There are several strawberry bush plants growing near the path in Forest Hill Park that leads from the dam down to Riverside Drive. By mid-April, the plants have flower buds that are initially reddish in color. From late April and into May, the flowers are open; but you may have to get up close to the plant to see them. The flowers are less than ½ inch wide and have five small petals that are a light yellow-green in color. And the number of flowers on most plants growing in the shade is rather small. The word inconspicuous comes to mind when describing the flowering of strawberry bush.

While strawberry bush may lack brilliance in the Spring, it more than makes up for it in the late Summer and Fall. Those inconspicuous little flowers become remarkable fruits. By late August, the fruits are turning bright red and the outer surface is “bumpy”. Suddenly, it becomes very obvious why strawberry bush is one of its common names. But the show is not over. By the middle of September, the fruits open wide to reveal four-five fleshy, bright orange seeds – the source of the other common name, hearts-a-burstin’.

The fruits are not wildly popular with birds or mammals and so much of the fruit often remains on the plant well into Fall. Eventually the leaves turn bright crimson to add a final dash of color.

Overall, strawberry bush makes a great native shrub for many home landscapes. It grows well in full to part shade and provides year-round interest including those distinctive green stems in Winter when any sign of green is most welcome.

The one caution about strawberry bush is that deer love the foliage. It is hard to find a plant anywhere in Virginia that has not been browsed by deer. But if you can get the plant through its first year with minimal damage, it will reward you well into the future.

Here’s hoping you get a chance to see some strawberry bush in bloom this Spring and know where to look for the Fall show.

]]><![CDATA[Invasive English Ivy]]>Sun, 30 Apr 2017 04:00:00 GMThttps://www.friendsofforesthillpark.org/park-ecology/invasive-english-ivy

The term habitat destruction probably brings to mind bull dozers in a rain forest, but the equivalent is occurring in our beloved Forest Hill Park where English ivy and other non-native plants are rapidly replacing our native plant species. They arrived here years ago, have found conditions in urban areas ideal for growth, and are now out of control. It has become botanical land grab.

English ivy (Hedera helix) seems to be the greatest threat to our park. On the ground it covers ferns and small wild flowers. The thick, evergreen ground cover blocks light, making it difficult for new seedlings to sprout and even alters soil conditions which can suppress the growth of those that do sprout. As the ivy climbs, it smothers small shrubs and will threaten trees if the load becomes too large. It also competes with our native plants for food and water. Large areas soon become a monoculture – just ivy, not much else. This decrease in plant diversity will not provide adequate food and shelter for the wild creatures that depend on native plants for their existence; the damage is occurring now.

Like many other non-native plants that are now considered invasive, English ivy was brought to this country as an ornamental, perhaps as long ago as the late 1700’s. At first there were no problems. The plant covered walls and small areas of gardens, requiring little effort on the part of the gardener. Neighbors probably shared plants as we do today, the birds spread the seed, and the plant began to appear in disturbed urban soils everywhere. The result is that today, in the city of Richmond, you are never far away from English ivy. This plant is a serious threat. If we do nothing, English ivy, Chinese privet, Japanese honeysuckle, wintercreeper and other non-native species will continue to consume acre after acre. However, there are some things we can do to stop the spread of these plants.

Do not allow English ivy to grow up trees or any vertical surface. This applies to our own yards and our public spaces. When ivy grows vertically, it matures, forming flowers and fruit. Birds eat the fruit and spread the seed to other locations. (It’s also not good for the trees!)
Learn to recognize English ivy seedlings and remove them when they are small. This is important and so easy!
Join Friends of Forest Hill Park for invasive removal projects in the park.
Choose native species for planting on your own property. All non-native plants have the potential to become a problem in the future. By planting native species we can prevent this from occurring, increase diversity, and support our wild creatures.

The next time you are in the park, ponder this: What would you rather see when you enjoy the outdoors? English ivy covering the ground and trees with patches of privet and honeysuckle in between? Or would it be mighty oaks, tulip poplars, and other big trees with an understory of pawpaw, service berry, muscle wood, and native azalea, and with ferns, mosses, spring beauty, wild ginger and twin flower covering the ground, AND the wildlife this would support! The choice is yours.

]]><![CDATA[Eastern Bluebirds]]>Tue, 11 Apr 2017 19:45:39 GMThttps://www.friendsofforesthillpark.org/park-ecology/eastern-bluebirds

Laura Dysart photographed these bluebird eggs April 8th in one of the bluebird houses in Forest Hill Park.
The eggs will incubate for about 13-16 days. Both parents bring food to the nestlings. Their diet includes crickets, grasshoppers, beetles, spiders, earthworms, snails and berries. The young birds will leave their nest in about 18 days. Eastern Bluebirds produce 2 broods per year, sometimes 3.

]]><![CDATA[Mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum)]]>Sun, 09 Apr 2017 15:05:13 GMThttps://www.friendsofforesthillpark.org/park-ecology/mayapple-podophyllum-peltatum

The woodland plant known as the mayapple is not an apple and blooms before May in our area. Another common “umbrella plant” is a less used but is a more accurate description. You can see this for yourself now in Forest Hill Park and other wooded parks in Richmond. The leaves unfurl just like an umbrella does when opened.

Mayapple spreads by rhizomes (underground stems that send out roots and shoots), forming colonies that may actually be one individual plant. These plants are unique in that they usually have only one leaf on the stalk. Occasionally the plant will send up a stalk with two leaves; this one is a fertile leaf which will flower and fruit.

The leaves, stems, roots, and flowers are poisonous, but were used by Native Americans and are still used in some herbal remedies today. (The taste must be pretty bad since deer don’t often browse these plants!) Within the last few years there has been an effort to produce chemotherapeutic drugs from the toxic chemicals this plant produces.

So who uses this plant? Bees collect pollen and possibly get some nectar. The small fruit is edible when fully ripe and can be used for jams and jellies, however there is little fruit to be had in the small colonies that exist here today. Let’s leave that for the box turtles; they like the fruit!

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