Lake MI. Mystery Plants

[VoodooChile]

Been out working on Lake Michigan the last couple weeks, and have encountered two plants that I have never seen anywhere else, and can't i.d.

Anyone want to venture a guess, especially you folks (Julie) who work on the Great Lakes quite a bit?

The first is a shrubby tree about 8' high, 6' across. Bark is a deep red with prominent lenticels. Twigs are rectangular, not round. Leaves are very birch or popular like, but aren't to be found in any books I have. The site is about 50' from the Lake, and pure sand, although I am sure the roots reach the water table easily.

Here's some pictures:

[VoodooChile]

Leaf Detail:

[VoodooChile]

Whole tree with mystery plant two:

[VoodooChile]

The second mystery plant is the grass seen in the lower left corner of the above picture.

It looks just like Blue oat grass, Helictotrichon sempervirens , but has much coarser foliage, and a sprawling habit. It reminds me of what I think Blue Lyme grass, Leymus arenarius, looks like, but since I have only seen pictures of that plant, I don't really know what it looks like.

Any grass experts out there???

[P-Train]

Ahhh…I believe that is the ever elusive blood veined arrowhead sand dweller.

Remarkable, you’ve captured one in its natural habitat.

Jolly good work my fellow.



Indeed!

[VoodooChile]

Hey P-train,
That was my first guess!:p

[P-Train]

I think you're right about the grass. At least it looks like it a lot. I'm sure someone just planted it there because it looked nice. Surely not native, right?

Maybe you could take a cutting to a nursery.

[VoodooChile]

Hey P-train,
I checked into Blue Lyme grass on the CD-Rom version of Rick Darke's Encyclopedia of Ornamental Grasses and it is in fact not native, but is frequently used for shoreline stabilization because it will grow in pure sand and spreads. Also, it's hardy to zone 4. So I think mystery plant #2 is nailed...

As for mystery plant #1, the birch/popular/alder-like shrub/tree, I remain baffled...

[justgardens]

Voodoo you got me on the shrub. It is has beautiful in color and leaf form. It looks so familar but I can't place it. Maybe you have found a species of Birch which you can name.....Betula x 'Voodoo'. I'd be willing to bet money the grass is Blue Lyme. However my gambling skills leave much to be desired.

[justgardens]

I was out at a clients house this morning and guess what "weed" was popping up that I pulled ...your mystery shrub. I got out my National Audubon Field Guide and I beleive what you have growing there is a Poplar called 'Eastern Cottonwood'. The book says habitat bordering streams and pioneers on sandbars ( a clue). A thought. Check it out.

[VoodooChile]

Julie,
I pulled out Peterson's Guide to Eastern Trees and Shrubs during lunch last week and keyed it down to the genus Popular too, but rejected Populus deltoides because of the red leaf stalks, fine teeth, and lack of yellow twigs.

The picture of a Popular leaf that I've seen and is closest, in form at least, would be Populus nigra 'Italica', Lombardy Popular, but again, no red leaf stalks. Makes me wonder what the species looks like, but I can't find any pictures of a straight Populus nigra

My best guess now is that it is some sort of introduced hybrid, of which Dirr says there are many, but it will take a real Popular expert to nail it, I expect.

It is really a beautiful plant, and clearly tough, considering the location.

Thanks for all the help!:)

[Lanelle]

I just found one of these mystery trees growing on the outside of our fenced nursery yard. We have only occupied this land for a few months so we couldn't have introduced it. The red veins are very prominent. Clearly it belongs to the Poplar family but I haven't figured it out either.
I have found a mention by Dirr of a cultivar of Populus deltoides (Eastern Cottonwood) that may be a near match.
He says, "Red Caudina - Narrow pyramidal form 50'-70' by 8' to 12', large deltoid leaves with red veins and petioles, young leaves are bronze-red, male."

[justgardens]

The one I pulled out today has very prominent red veins also. I see no mention of the red veins in any of the descriptions I have read.

[VoodooChile]

Lanelle,
Does it have prominent glands on the underside of the leaf at the base? That's the characteristic that distinguishes P. deltoides from other members of the genus.

Dirr isn't specefic about 'Red Caudina's' parentage, but it sounds like it might be a P. deltoides/P. nigra hybrid, which would explain the intermediate traits...

I think you and Julie might have nailed it. Any chance you folks can post a pic?