I biked to the Lot 12 parking and scanned the back of the lot for evidence of phytophagy. I had to step over the guard rail into the knee-high brush located directly behind the guard rail. Amongst the golden rod and low shrubs stood a plant with small purple flowers blooming from long pinnacles. The leaves of the plant are lanceolate and have serrated margins. It is easy to distinguish from the surrounding plants behind the guard rail. The phytophagy evidence is easily found on almost all the leaves on this plant. Each leaf has many holes in it that are possibly chewed away by insects. Using my phone, I photographed one of the leaves from about 5 inches distance. I then stepped back and photographed the whole plant. I stepped back over the guardrail, back into the parking lot. I then moved 5 feet away from the guardrail and photographed the general area that the plant was growing. To better show the area, I moved about 20 feet away from the guardrail and took another photograph. To better identify the plant, I used a identification app called inaturalist. I uploaded the photo to the app and allowed the filter to suggest plants that match the description of this plant as well as the location of the plant. The app identified the plant as Blue Vervain.
Recent comments