Phenology

Observations by Gary Fewless for Green Bay WI (Lat.N 44.51° Long. W 88.02° ), except as noted. For flowers lacking conspicuous petals or sepals I define "anthesis" as release of pollen by mature anthers.

July 2005

Observations by Gary Fewless, except as noted

Date	Observation (Click on links for photos)
July 31	I noticed Scutellaria lateriflora (blue skullcap), Lobelia cardinalis (cardinal flower) and Helianthus giganteus (tall sunflower) all well into flower in Shawano County. Green Bay had a hot and dry July, as did much of northern Wisconsin. There was one period of 10 days with high temperatures of 85 or more and precipitation was about 2 inches less than the average amount for July. As a consequence there are many brown lawns and other symptoms of drought. Green Bay broke the record for daily electrical demand and then rebroke it again several times during the hottest weather, due in large part to the heavy demand from air conditioning.
July 28	Eupatorium maculatum (joe-pye weed) in flower, UWGB's Cofrin Arboretum
July 25	First flowering (anthesis) for Andropogon gerardii (big blue-stem), UWGB's Cofrin Arboretum.
July 24	First open flowers of the year for Aster umbellatus (flat-topped aster), Marinette County. Hot and humid today with a high temperature of 93 F in Green Bay, our 8th day of 90 or above this summer.
July 23	I saw the first ripe blackberries (Rubus allegheniensis) of the year. We were able to eat Blackberries, raspberries (Rubus idaeus) and black raspberries (Rubus occidentalis) all during the same bike ride. First day of flower for Echinocystis lobata (wild cucumber), Brown and Shawano Counties.
July 22	Asclepias verticillata (whorled milkweed) was in flower today in Brown County, but I don't have a convenient location to check this species regularly so I may have missed the start.
July 21	Panicum virgatum (switch grass) in flower (anthesis), UWGB prairie.
July 20	Solidago juncea (early goldenrod) in flower, Brown County, Town of Scott.
July 18	Liatris pynostachya (prairie blazing-star) in flower UWGB prairie.
July 17	First day of flower for Clematis virginiana (clematis), UWGB. Green Bay has had 7 days of 90° F or higher so far this summer and we have had a long period of hot and often humid weather lately. We have not had measureable precipitation since July 4th. Many plants are experiencing water stress and fire danger is high in some areas of northeastern Wisconsin. July 17th at 12:20 pm my maximum/minimum themometer read 100 degrees F. the raido thermometer next to it registered in the house at a cool 98 derees F at the same time. (Dave Parsons)
July 16	I may well have missed the start, but today is the first time that I saw Mimulus ringens (monkey flower) and Scutellaria galericulata (skullcap) in flower, Door County.
July 15	The earliest plants of Helianthus decapetalus (forest sunflower) have begun to flower on UWGB.
July 14	I have noticed that the populations of Melilotus alba and M. officinalis (sweet clover) are both remarkably low this year. They are both alien species and are quite invasive in prairies and other sunny sites. Their abundance is quite variable from one year to the next and this appears to be a very low part of the pattern--at least in the area around UWGB. It had a very good year in 2001.
July 13	Scirpus cyperinus (wool grass) in flower, UWGB. Also Silphium integrifolium (prairie rosinweed) has begun to flower in our prairie, UWGB.
July 12	Solidago gigantea (giant goldenrod) in flower, UWGB. There are only a very few plants in flower--this site is always the earliest of which I am aware. I missed a couple of days observations while I was out of town from the 7th through the 11th. During that time Agrostis gigantea (redtop grass) has gone well into flower (anthesis). I'd estimate that it started about 07/08 on UWGB.
July 06	Oenothera biennis (evening primrose) has begun to flower, UWGB. Prominent flowering species on UWGB's Cofrin Arboretum now include Hypericum perforatum (St. John's-wort), Calystegia sepium (morning glory) and the weedy grass Hordeum jubatum (mare's-tail).
July 05	Rosa setigera (climbing prairie rose, planted) and Ratibida pinnata (yellow cone-flower) in flower, UWGB.
July 04	Monarda fistulosa (purple bergamot) and Pycnanthemum virginianum (mountain mint) first day of flower UWGB.
July 03	Desmodium glutinosum (cluster-leaf tick-trefoil) in flower, UWGB. Lilium philadelphicum (wood lily) in flower, Door County.
July 02	Lilium michiganense (turk's-cap lily) and Silphium laciniatum (compass plant) in flower, UWGB.
July 01	Daucus carota (wild carrot; Queen Anne's-lace) and Erigeron strigosus (daisy fleabane) in flower, Brown County, Town of Scott.