What is this shrub

j-bird

Well-Known Member
I have two locations on my place where I see these. They grow on higher rocky ground with some filtered light. I have provided as many pics as I could think of. The one of the bark came out blurry - sorry. They grow in a clump form and these are about 6 feet tall of so. The deer seem to like them to some extent, but they don't seem to hammer them. I though the "seed pod" things may help ID it as well.
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I've become obsessed with identifying this and I am failing. Just wanted you to know, we're working on it! :LOL!
 
Jay, that is American Bladdernut.
I cannot begin to express my awe at your command of tree, shrub, and weed identification! Do you just know this stuff? Like born with the mojo? Do you use a key? I get keys, but still have trouble. Advice for a novice? What do I do when I don't have you close by? With admiration....
 
OK - anything good, bad or otherwise about it? It doesn't seem to be invasive and the deer seem to browse it some......is it something I should try to promote, contain or just leave it be? I tend to lack shrubs in general on my property so IF it can be beneficial I may try to collect some seed and see what happens.
 
I cannot begin to express my awe at your command of tree, shrub, and weed identification! Do you just know this stuff? Like born with the mojo? Do you use a key? I get keys, but still have trouble. Advice for a novice? What do I do when I don't have you close by? With admiration....

Thank you Dan.

About 80% of the time I will just know it. Sometimes I just have a hunch, and sometimes I will have to search a little.

For whatever reason I have kind of been obsessed with nature since my earliest memories. I had the honor of growing up around some outstanding woodsmen and also being involved in farming for most of my life. Years ago, I started getting interested in how the Native Americans were able to survive, and how they used different plants. So, I basically went into independent study on my own. I have several books, and when I get a hunch about something I don't know, I will look for websites that have more information.

I guess you could say it's a passion, and I have found that nothing in life will get you further along that passion and blessings.
 
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Bladdernut has a habit of suckering from the roots so allow plenty of room. If you end up collecting the seeds and like pistachios pop a few in your mouth as they have a taste very similar.
 
OK - anything good, bad or otherwise about it? It doesn't seem to be invasive and the deer seem to browse it some......is it something I should try to promote, contain or just leave it be? I tend to lack shrubs in general on my property so IF it can be beneficial I may try to collect some seed and see what happens.

Jay, it is a great plant for honeybees. They love the flowers. I've never read where it is a preferred deer browse, but it is a native plant, and although it may take up quite a bit of space in areas it prefers, it certainly isn't invasive.
 
cool - I won't eat any but I may collect a few and plant some and see what happens. I just had my place logged and I have lots of light available right now and a few areas where I would think a shrub like this could benefit the habitat, outer edges of bedding areas. My knowledge of trees is fairly limited to those native to IN (thanks to my Ag/FFA days) and my knowledge of shrubs and weeds is about ZIP!
 
Thank you Dan.

About 80% of the time I will just know it. Sometimes I just have a hunch, and sometimes I will have to search a little.

For whatever reason I have kind of been obsessed with nature since my earliest memories. I had the honor of growing up around some outstanding woodsmen and also being involved in farming for most of my life. Years ago, I started getting interested in how the Native Americans were able to survive, and how they used different plants. So, I basically went into independent study on my own. I have several books, and when I get a hunch about something I don't know, I will look for websites that have more information.

I guess you could say it's a passion, and I have found that nothing in life will get you further along that passion and blessings.

Native, would you mind offering your recommendations of the best books in your collection. Thanks.
 
Native, would you mind offering your recommendations of the best books in your collection. Thanks.

I'm still looking for that perfect book myself.

A good book for beginners is "Forest Plants of the Southeast and their Wildlife Uses" (by Miller and Miller). The pictures are very good, and the information is accurate with good academic background.

Another book I use a lot is "Weeds of the South" (by Bryson and DeFelice). The pictures are small, but they do give some different stages of plant growth, and I really like the fact that a range map is included for each plant. This book is geared more toward farmers.

I have some others, but these are good starting books.

Once you are able to ID a plant, you can generally go to Web Sites of Universities that support farming and find some pretty good information. You can't trust much you read anywhere concerning apples, rootstocks, etc. anymore, but weed information is pretty good. I had an old thread that told why this is, but I won't get into that here.

Google Scholar is not that user friendly, but still a good tool. You just have to know what to believe and what to take with a grain of salt when you find something. If money is involved, over 90% of what you read might be the truth, but not "the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth." Partial truth can be worse than having nothing at all. But, sometimes you can find old articles on it from years ago that are really good.

Here is a pretty good link that has excellent pics, but not a great deal more.

http://www.southeasternflora.com/search.asp?page=1&plantform=Herb&flowercolor=White&mdn=2

Good luck....
 
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