The Colour Purple! No, not the book/movie, that actual colour. That is this month's challenge - which was one of Chris's most challenging quizzes to put together! Can you figure out what these species are - they all have the word "purple" in their names? A printable version is available here. The answers are available at the bottom of the newsletter.

A walk on the grounds finds many people out enjoying all The Arboretum has to offer. The grounds are full of things to see.

Jason and Rachel are busy leading their Wednesday walks as well as other programs, mostly for groups of children and youth. Our grounds staff can be found working on their many projects, maintaining the grounds and collections and continuing with their plantings. The Elm Project is one of the many ongoing projects and some of the staff have been propagating and doing field work for this project. The loop of trail through the Wall Custance Memorial Forest is progressing well.

Garden Day was on Friday, June 16 and was very successful with over 80 people in attendance. It is great to see so many people in the community interested in gardens.

 
Garden Day 2017 photos

The American Public Gardens Association Conference was held in Hamilton, ON this past month. The proximity to us allowed many of our staff to attend the conference to gather new ideas and information and network with other gardens' staff.

We hope that you are able to come by The Arboretum for one of our Wednesday walks or for a stroll or jog on your own!

by Shelley Hunt

What’s in a name? Sometimes, plant names cause a whole lot of confusion, but sometimes, little treasures of information are hidden in those names as well. This train of thought began after fielding several inquiries over the past few weeks about Red Maples – with Canada 150 looming large this summer, many people are keen to mark the occasion somehow with a tree, and a ‘Red’ Maple seems like it would fit the bill. After some chatting back and forth it often comes out that the tree many folks have in mind is the maple tree that has red leaves all summer long…and it usually comes as a surprise that this is not our native Red Maple (scientific name Acer rubrum – Acer is the genus name, and rubrum is the species – all Maples are in the Acer genus, but each species has a unique species name), but most likely the cultivated variety of the introduced Norway Maple (scientific name Acer platanoides) called ‘Crimson King’, widely planted in residential areas in Southern Ontario.

While our native Red Maple is decidedly green in summer, its name isn’t totally misleading, as it does grace us with brilliant red leaves in autumn. But there are plenty of other cases of plant name confusion out there! For example, asking a friend to meet you at the Ironwood tree could definitely result in a missed get-together. In Ontario, ‘Ironwood’ commonly refers to Ostrya virginiana, a small tree in the Birch family with distinctive bark that peels in narrow vertical strips. But, Carpinus caroliniana, another native Ontario species, is also sometimes called ‘Ironwood’ (even though most of us know it as Blue Beech or Muscle Tree). And worldwide there are dozens of different tree species that share the common name ‘Ironwood’…due to, you guessed it, having dense, heavy wood. Further muddying the waters, our Ironwood is sometimes called Hop-hornbeam (because of its flower clusters which resemble beer-enhancing Hops), Leverwood, or Hardhack. The Blue Beech gives us even more to unpack, since it is not related to true Beeches at all. Blue Beech, or Musclewood (or Ironwood!) is in the Birch family, but its smooth blue-grey bark and toothy leaves give it a passing resemblance to American Beech (Fagus grandifolia), hence the common name.

There are many stories of unrelated species sharing a common name – take the cedars. In Canada we have Eastern White Cedar, Eastern Redcedar and Western Red Cedar…and not one of these is a true Cedar. True Cedars are native to and iconic in the Mediterranean and the Middle East – these are in the genus Cedrus, in the Pine family. Our Canadian ‘Cedars’ are part of the totally different Cypress family, and are either in the genus Thuja or Juniperus (our Eastern Redcedar is really a Juniper!). In a similar vein, Mountain Ash (Sorbus genus, in the Rose family) are not related to ‘regular’ Ash trees (Fraxinus genus, in the Olive family) - good news for anyone with a backyard Mountain Ash who might be concerned about Emerald Ash Borer…you can stop worrying! On the flip side, closely related species can have different common names, like the Aspens, Poplars, and Cottonwoods – all belonging to the same genus (Populus).

So, you may say, if common names can be vague, confusing, and downright misleading, why not stick with using scientific names exclusively? Each species has a distinct scientific name that can’t be repeated, so when you say ‘Acer rubrum’, there’s no doubt which tree you’re referring to. (Sometimes this is called a Latin name, but the root words can be Greek, English or anything else – they are simply treated grammatically as Latin words). The problem is…scientific names are seen as complicated, dense and hard to remember. And they have a reputation for being much less fun than their common counterparts – which would you rather say: Larix laricina, or Tamarack? (Or, even better, Hackmatack)? Acer saccharum, or Sugar Maple? Quercus muehlenbergii, or Chinquapin Oak? Liriodendron tulipifera, or Tulip Tree (incidentally, also known as Yellow Poplar…)? However, learning the scientific names for trees and other plants can be rewarding too. Some are really evocative: Toxidodendron radicans (Poison Ivy), Betula papyrifera (Paper Birch), Populus tremuloides (Trembling Aspen). Most have little bits of information inside that tell you something about that species. Take for example the Kentucky Coffeetree – sure, the common name tells you where it was first noticed by Europeans in North America, and hints that the seeds resemble coffee beans and were possibly used as a coffee substitute (but are poisonous if consumed without roasting – do not try this at home!)…but the scientific name (Gymnocladus dioicus) also tells a story. ’Gymno’ and ‘cladus’ come from the Greek for ‘naked’ and ‘branch’, respectively, while ‘dioicus’ refers to ‘two houses’…this tree loses its leaves early in autumn and leafs out late in spring, so for much of the year it does appear to have naked branches, and the male and female flowers are found on different trees, or in ‘two houses’. Many scientific names describe the shape of some notable feature, like ‘Fraxinus quadrangulata’, which tells about the winged twigs of Blue Ash, that appear four-sided, or ‘Ptelea trifoliata’, which reminds you that the leaves of Hop Tree are divided into three leaflets.

Luckily, you don’t have to choose between scientific and common names when exploring The Arboretum and its plant collections – at the base of each collection tree or shrub you’ll find a plaque with both kinds of names. And, you can use common or scientific names to search for our trees and shrubs in Arboretum Explorer, the interactive feature on our website. Come and check out our Red Maples, or any other tree you might be interested in!

A downloadable version of this article is available by clicking here: http://www.uoguelph.ca/arboretum/Listservnewsletter/July%202017/Shelley%20Arb%20Newsletter%20July%202017.pdf

by Jason Chan

In October of 1988, Poison, an American metal band released their chart-topping ballad, Every Rose Has Its Thorn, a popular love song / power ballad from the 80’s. Though it made international soundwaves, there is something very, very wrong with the song.

Roses don’t have thorns.

I know what you’re thinking, “what are you talking about?!” Many are familiar with the prick of a rose when working in the garden or gifting a bouquet to a loved one. So what are they then? They’re not thorns, they’re prickles.

Within the millions of species in the plant kingdom, many are equipped in different ways to defend themselves. Some have chemical weapons that are used in the battles found among plants. For example, invasive species Garlic Mustard and European Buckthorn are both allelopathic, which means that they can release chemical compounds into the surrounding soil to prevent the growth of other species, often outcompeting and affecting our native species such as the White Trillium or the Trout Lily. Other plants, such as thistles and roses, have physical modifications such as the prickles, spines and thorns which are used for defense, primarily to deter herbivores from defoliating the plant.

“So what’s the difference?” you may be asking, “aren’t they all the same thing?” That’s exactly what I thought but little did I know that there are subtle differences between them all.

THORNS
If you were to classify the three structures based on “danger and deadliness”, thorns would surely take the top spot. They are branches and stems that have been modified, filled with vascular tissues that gives them their sturdiness and allows the circulation of oxygen and sugars throughout the plant. Thorns were found to be so strong that they were once used as nails. But within the world of plants, these sharp points have been observed to be helpful when climbing over other plants whilst deterring herbivores. One of the most prominent examples of a thorny plant is the Honey Locust (Gleditsia triacanthos) which is located along our Arboretum Promenade, just before the Park in the Garden (if you are coming in from the campus entrance). It is hypothesized that these structures tell of the mammoths that once roamed the land. The seed pods would be ingested by the mammoths which would help the dispersion and germination of the seeds. But thorns were present to prevent the mammoths from trampling the trees over.


SPINES
Second to the thorns are the spines, and unlike the thorns, spines are modified leaves which also have the vascular tissue that gives it structure. Besides the deterring factor that these structures share, spines are also a means to reduce and prevent water loss in the plant. Conifers have adapted in a similar way; the needles, like the spines, have a much lower surface area which decreases the exchange of water and air. Cacti are great examples of spiny plants, and with the succulent terrariums that have been in trend as of late, they make great additions to gardens and living spaces especially for those who may not have a green thumb and may forget to water their plants. A more native example is one that is a bit more nasty and undesirable, making their presence known as their sharp spines scrape and stab our legs – the thistles. Commonly found in backyards or untended areas are the Canada Thistle (Cirsium arvense) and the Bull Thistle (Cirsium vulgare). See the spines that come out at the tips of the leaves? Talk about a means of defense, I could barely get close enough for a good photo!

PRICKLES
A major difference that sets the prickles apart from thorns and spines is their lack of vascular tissue. They are merely a slight protrusion on the plant, and like thorns, are used for climbing and protection. As mentioned earlier, prickles are the proper definition for what we see on our beloved roses. If you’re around, be sure to swing by our Rose Collection, just across from the Park in the Garden. They are currently in bloom and are quite the sight to stop and smell the roses.

Now that you’re an expert, can you pick out which of the below are thorns, spines or prickles?

Disclaimer: a naturalist was scraped, stabbed and poked in the makings of this article

answers: top left - dotted hawthorn - thorn // top right - prickly pear cactus - spine //

bottom left - globe thistle - spine // bottom right - wild raspberry - prickles 

A downloadable version of this article is available by clicking here: http://www.uoguelph.ca/arboretum/Listservnewsletter/July%202017/Every_Rose_Has_Its_Prickle_Jason_Article_July_2017.pdf

by Joy Killen, Arboretum Volunteer

Docents love to learn about nature and Docents love to share what they have learned! On Monday, June 4, at our final meeting for the season, we did just that. What a wonderful day!

Ann Estill told most eloquently of an arrogant and autocratic King from long ago who tried to rid his kingdom of creatures that annoyed him: such as, frogs, who with their loud “ribbit, ribbit” disturbed his sleep at night; and mosquitoes which “buzzed, buzzed” close to his ears and bit him. Of course, the people of the kingdom could not rid the kingdom of all the creatures that annoyed him. In fact, all the people left the kingdom and the King was left all alone with no one to serve him anymore. The frogs, the insects, the people and the King are all part of the web of life which cannot be torn without grave consequences. Ann set up our day of learning and sharing with this powerful story about the interdependence of all life.

Outside we gladly went on a beautiful hike to The Francis Ball Rose Garden where Franziska Boerlin-petzold announced that roses do not have thorns! There was a protest of disbelief! Franziska explained that that roses have “prickles” which arise from the cortex and epidermis of the rosebush; whereas “thorns” are modified branches or stems and arise from buds. Distinguished from both prickles and thorns are “spines” which arise from leaves. (see Jason's article above for more information!) As we were absorbing this fascinating information, a warbler flew distractedly back and forth along the rose hedge and we found (without disturbing it, of course) its tiny, perfect nest just waiting for eggs to be laid- a serendipitous privilege for us Docents!

Rosaceae is a huge family and Franziska put our brains to work detecting which of the many edible samples she provided at lunchtime came from the Rose family. Some of the members of Rosaceae were apples, apricots, strawberries, raspberries and almonds; while mangoes are in the cashew family, rice is in the grass family and vanilla I will leave for you to guess! While Franziska guided us through this learning activity, Chris demonstrated his talent at juggling an orange, an apple and a mango.

After Chris' juggling show, Ann again told a folktale. Did you know that it was once possible to reach up and break off a nourishing and tasty handful of The Sky to eat? Long, long ago it was that easy to obtain food but The Sky became so weary of people taking more than they needed and even wasting some of the food by throwing it away, that The Sky moved up, up, up, up so high that humans could no longer reach it and from that time forward had to work for their daily bread. Ann tells stories that encourage us to reflect on how we live. This folktale is found in both Africa and Appalachia, where escaped and freed slaves settled and passed on their traditional oral stories.

Rachel, the new summer intern, shared amazing pictures of her recent trip to The Western Ghats in India, where she completed a field course in entomology: bugs, tiny and huge; weird and beautiful; each having its place in the web of life, even though we Docents had never before seen most of these insects. How wonderful that university students take advantage of such opportunities to learn and thank you, Rachel, for sharing your great adventure with us.

Joy Killen talked about ferns, showing on charts how ferns are classified among seedless plants along with mosses, horsetails, club mosses, and liverworts. Docents reviewed nomenclature of the parts of a fern and what to look for in order to use a key. Lastly, docents examined the life cycle of ferns. Joy was bowled over to find out that such ancient plants, which have a fossil record reaching back almost 400 million years and which were dominant on the earth at the time of the dinosaurs, produce (like us!) eggs and sperm on a tiny prothallus and that the sperm must have water in order to travel to the egg cell and fertilize it. Such a process extending over 400 million years is astonishing! O, Brave New World that has such wonders in it! We mammals are like ferns!

While some things do not change, much has changed for life on earth. Susan Atkinson told Docents about swifts, whose numbers are rapidly declining because of habitat loss, climate change and pesticides coming from their food sources. Except while nesting swifts can spend their entire lives in the air, even sleeping and mating (which Susan was privileged to have observed in England)! Ontario has one species of swift, while The U.K. has three- sadly, all declining in population. Susan`s talk made me think of the excellent poem `Bestiary`by Joanna Macy. Worth looking up! Thank you, Susan!

Janet Scott`s topic was `dandelions`. For the pot luck lunch, she brought very delicious roll-ups made with tortilla or rice wraps, feta, asparagus and, of course, dandelion leaves, both raw and cooked! The roll-ups had a tasty zing! Dandelions have been prized as herbs by many cultures and all parts of the plant can be used. The petals make wine; young taproots taste like carrots when cooked and the stems make dandy whistles for children and Docents to explore. And explore we did: long stems, short stems, peeled stems, holey stems. We huffed and puffed and some people were able to produce a loud sound; others, not so much. After this amusing activity, we had to scrub the white, sticky latex from our hands. We learned that this milky material inside dandelion stems is being used experimentally in making tires! Wow!

That was our Docent day for 2017. Sincere thanks to our mentor, Chris Earley; to Shelley Hunt for her support and encouragement and to Jason Chan and Rachel Irwin, interns, whose knowledge and enthusiasm give us Docents hope for the future of the natural world.

A downloadable version of this article is available here: http://www.uoguelph.ca/arboretum/Listservnewsletter/July%202017/Docent%20Day%202017%20Joy%20Killen.pdf

We have two great options available for guided walks on The Arboretum grounds.

Join Jason every Wednesday at 12:15 as he explores the grounds on a 50 minute hike. It is a wonderful way to explore as summer peaks and life blooms on The Arboretum grounds. The walk is free and you should meet at the kiosk at the end of the promenade closest to campus if you are interested in participating. It should be noted that there is construction taking place on East Ring Road on campus that may mean taking a detour if you are driving in from that direction. You can park in the main parking lot by The Arboretum Centre if it proves too challenging to enter through campus. Please leave yourself a bit of extra time to navigate through the construction.

On Wednesday evenings through to the end of August our Summer Interpretive Naturalist, Rachel leads our Wednesday Evening Walk series. These programs take place each Wednesday evening from 7 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. beginning at the J.C. Taylor Centre. The cost is $2 per person with children under 5 free. Here are some of the upcoming walks:

Living things we Love to Hate (July 19) – As much as we’d like to think of ourselves as nature lovers, we don’t love all aspects of nature. There are many things we’d kill without second thought, scream at the sight of, and complain to our neighbours’ about. We tend to fear what we don’t know and understand, so let’s take a fresh look at the world around us and reconnect with our natural curiosity. “Fears are educated into us, and can, if we wish, be educated out.” – Karl A. Menninger

I’m lichen it (July 26) – Why did the mushroom get invited to this Wednesday night walk? Because he’s a fungi!!! Don’t worry, you’re all invited too and I promise this walk will be better than my jokes! I’ve taken a lichen to the world of fungus and by the end of the night, I’m sure you will have too!

Nature’s ‘True’ Colours (August 2) – Did you know that Blue Jays are not actually blue? Come find out a Blue Jays true colour this Wednesday night! Birds and other species use colour to attract mates, repel rivals, display anger, and camouflage from predators. Tonight you’ll learn that there’s more to colour than what meets the eye!

Animal Locomotion (August 9) – Everybody’s doing a brand-new dance now, come on everybody, do the animal locomotion! We as humans can walk, run, jump, swim and we also have some pretty stellar dance moves, but that’s nothing compared to what other animals can do! Tonight we will be exploring and observing the fascinating movements and methods that animals use to get around!

            
             Rachel leading a tour

The Arboretum has an awesome t-shirt and hat available for purchase. The t-shirt is made in Canada of organic cotton/bamboo (but don’t feed it to your panda) and featuring the leaves of 16 different tree species. It comes in women’s XS-XL and men’s S-XXL and the cost is $33 (includes tax).

The hats are made of a moisture wicking, UV protectant, active wear fabric with an elastic buckle and hidden velcro adjustable size system. They are $28 including tax.

To purchase come into the Arboretum Centre Monday to Friday 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. or call 519-824-4120 ext. 52358.

It is a great time of the year to be out enjoying and investigating nature. We have some amazing tools available for purchase that can help you identify what you see and find in nature. We have 5 booklets ($8 each including tax) as well as 19 different biodiversity sheets ($5 each including tax). To view the details of these please visit our website: https://www.uoguelph.ca/arboretum/educationandevents/arboretumbooks

You can purchase them Monday - Friday from 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. in the Arboretum Centre or by phone by calling 519-824-4120 ext. 52358. We are happy to ship them out ... a shipping fee does apply.

Guelph Bug Day is a fun, free, educational event for community members of all ages. Our goal is to cultivate a fascination for the very cool, very small world of insects! Come get up close and personal with our live specimens, take one (or two, or three!) guided bug-catching hikes in the expansive and beautiful grounds at the University of Guelph Arboretum, try tasty insect cuisine, put your imagination to the test with insect drawing contests, and explore the variety of buggy vendors that Guelph has to offer. Rain or shine, bring your adventuring spirit and prepare to be amazed.

Follow us on Twitter @GuelphBugDay or on Facebook "Guelph Bug Day"

Although it definitely doesn't look or feel like Christmas outside, it is time to think about booking your company's Christmas Party. The Arboretum is a perfect location for your Christmas party. We can accommodate up to 150 people for lunches or dinners with a picturesque view of The Arboretum grounds. We still have some good dates available … book soon before they are gone. For further information please contact Dawn Ann Webster, Bookings Co-ordinator at extension 54110, [log in to unmask] or check out our website. All catering is provided by Hospitality Services, University of Guelph. For further information on the catering please call extension 53350 or e-mail [log in to unmask].

Shrub Identification, Tree Identification, Shorebirds and Smartphone Photography workshops are approaching. The dates and registration deadlines can be found in our Coming Events listing in the column on the left side of this newsletter. A detailed description of each course is available on our website. Help us promote our programs… please forward this e-mail on to your friends and colleagues who may be interested. The more participants we have, the more programs we can offer.

It has been a wet, wet summer so far but this means that things are super green around here! Our collections are looking fantastic! We had our 4th annual bioblitz and, while it rained pretty well the whole time (of course), we did get at least one new fungus species and three new moth species amongst the hundreds of sights we made. We also found an incredible-looking green spider called a green orbweaver which still has to be identified - check out the heart on its abdomen (pictured below)! Other sightings recently include two baby skunks, two deer fawns, a hummingbird moth, a male giant water bug with eggs on its back, monarch caterpillars, phoebe nestlings and a screech-owl being mobbed by robins, redstarts and blue jays. One of our amazing local photographers, Karl Egressy, took an incredible photo of one of our nesting Great Crested Flycatchers and the shot was so crisp we can tell that it is holding this year's only sighting of a dragonfly called the Unicorn Clubtail - thanks, Karl!
What will you discover on your next visit?

 
Peony                                              Green Orbweaver Spider to be identified
photo by Brenda Doherty                    photo by Chris Earley

 
Great Crested Flycatcher holding a            Monarch Caterpillar
Unicorn Clubtail                                      photo by Skey Earley
photo by Karl Egressy

Be a part of the BetterPlanet Project by donating on-line:

Your donation can be directed to The Arboretum online through the secure University of Guelph donation page: http://uofg.convio.net/arboretum

If you prefer not to make an online donation, there are several other ways to provide your financial support. You can choose to donate by telephone, mail, fax, or in person:

UNIVERSITY OF GUELPH Attention Alumni Affairs 50 Stone Road East Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1 Tel: 1-888-266-3108 ext. 56934 Tel: 519-824-4120 ext. 56934 Fax: 519-822-2670 Email: [log in to unmask]

If you would like information on bequests and planned giving to The Arboretum please contact:

Amy Atkinson
Senior Development Manager, Ontario Agricultural College
at (519) 824-4120 ext. 58652 or by e-mail at [log in to unmask]