Species of the Month

It’s time once again for the wearin’ o’ the green. To celebrate, our species of the month is white clover. This three-leafed plant is also known as the shamrock, a traditional symbol of Ireland and Saint Patrick’s Day.

White clover leaf (Michigan State University)

Scientific name: Trifolium repens

Kingdom: Plantae (plants)

Class:   Magnoliopsida (dicotyledons)

Order: Fabales (dicot flowering plants)

Range: native to Europe, now globally distributed

Habitat: pastures, yards

Lifespan: perennial plant, at least two years

Diet: sunlight and water

Predators: small mammals such as groundhogs and rabbits, deer, livestock

White clover flower (USDA PLANTS)

Closeup of the flower (USDA PLANTS)

Conservation Status: no special protection, may be considered noxious in some areas

Other Information: Believe it or not, clover is in the legume family with peas and beans. These plants form a symbiotic relationship with fungi that live in nodules on their roots and can absorb nitrogen from the air and fix it to the soil, benefitting other plants. Most white clover plants have three leaves, but the ones with four leaves are considered good luck. The four leaf clover is actually a genetic mutation. There are also clovers with five, six, or more leaves but whether or not they are lucky is undetermined. White clover is commonly planted with pasture grasses for grazing. The Ladino variety is tall enough to be cut as hay. It is an important flower for honeybees. It spreads quickly and is sometimes used for erosion control as a ground cover. Native to Europe, it is an invasive species in the US.

This week's information comes from USDA's PLANTS database.

The elusive four leaf clover (Wikipedia)

Feeling a Little Squirrely

If you live near a park, or even just a tree, you’ve probably noticed how busy the squirrels are this time of year. I’ve been watching them scurry about looking for acorns outside my office (no, this isn’t my day job) and getting into fights. In another one of those perfectly timed connections in the natural world, the acorns are dropping with the temperature and giving squirrels a feast to carry them through the lean winter months.

The eastern gray squirrel is the dominant squirrel species in my neck of the woods. Others that I’ve seen in my journeys are the Douglas squirrel and golden mantled ground squirrel in Washington and Oregon, the American red squirrel in South Dakota and Alaska, and I even saw a black squirrel in Minnesota. The black one was actually an eastern gray squirrel with a condition called melanism, which is sort of a reverse albino. 

Douglas squirrel

Golden mantled ground squirrel

Squirrels are one of my favorite critters. They are rodents and belong the family sciuridae. Several species of squirrels have a scientific name beginning with Sciurus and I just love that. Every time I see sciurus it makes me think of scurry, which is what those little guys do when they aren’t climbing trees.

Rodents have front teeth (incisors) that never stop growing. It’s great for beavers, since chomping on trees all night will quickly wear out their teeth. It is also helpful when you’re just a tiny little thing eating nuts and acorns. If you’ve ever gotten close enough to a squirrel to see its teeth, they are frighteningly large considering the size of animal attached to them.

Terrifying squirrel teeth (Capitol Theater)

Squirrels spend a lot of their time in trees, and they are agile climbers but they occasionally have an accident. You didn’t hear it from me, but a squirrel in the park fell into the creek once back in the 90s. It made me promise not to tell, and it’s probably dead by now but it’s best not to take chances. 

Eastern gray squirrel (Ohio Department of Natural Resources)

Red squirrel (World Association of Zoos and Aquariums)

All those nuts and acorns the squirrels are gathering now are too much for a meal and won’t fit inside a squirrel house. So they hide their overstock from other critters that might want them by burying them in the ground. With so many nuts hidden in so many holes, there’s no way a squirrel will remember each hole. The ones that get left behind stand a chance of germinating and growing into trees. So not only are squirrels terribly cute, they are also little horticulturalists.

In addition to your basic tree squirrels, there are also ground squirrels. The ground squirrel side of the family includes marmots, groundhogs, chipmunks, and prairie dogs. While they get their name from their dwelling, ground squirrels are not averse to climbing trees. 

Western chipmunk

Species of the Month: Groundhog

February’s Species of the Month is another little critter we associate with winter weather. Or spring. It’s everyone’s favorite amateur weather prognosticator, the groundhog. No matter what his prediction is, it is still six weeks until spring and six weeks of winter. Information and picture this month come from University of Michigan’s Animal Diversity Web.

Scientific name: Marmota monax

Kingdom: Animalia (animals)

Class: Mammalia (mammals)

Order: Rodentia (rodents)

Range: Eastern US from the South to eastern Canada, west across Canada as far north as southern Alaska

Habitat: Grassland, forest, urban and agricultural areas.

Lifespan: 4-6 years

Diet: leaves, bark, seeds, grain, flowers, insects, eggs, mollusks

Predators: wolves, coyotes, foxes, bears, lynx, bobcats, hawks, snakes, domestic dogs

Conservation Status: No special protection

Other Information: Also known as the woodchuck and whistle pig. If it could chuck wood, it chucks unknown amounts. Abandoned dens find new life hosting a diverse array of critters including foxes, ground squirrels, skunks, and raccoons. Ecosystem functions groundhogs perform are seed distribution and soil aeration. They are able to climb trees and make a whistling call when frightened. Other sounds are hissing, growling, and teeth chattering. A hibernator, they sometimes wake up early, giving rise to the Groundhog Day legend. Favorite plant foods include clover and dandelion. Groundhogs are used for biomedical research and are a crop pest.