October's EcoQuest Challenge will focus on porcelainberry, an invasive twining woody vine that was introduced to North America from Asia in 1887 as a horticultural curiosity, owing to its beautiful, distinctive "robin's egg-like" speckled fruit. Porcelainberry is highly aggressive and can quickly smother underlying native vegtation, transforming forest habitat and roadside edges into dense monocultures in short order. The added weight of the vine makes the underlying trees and shrubs more prone to breakage and also deprives the understory of critical light and water, leading to drier, low-quality soil conditions. The berries can have varying degrees of speckled/mottled spots and will range in color from greenish-yellow to a series of pastel colors: lilac, amethyst, sky blue, or turquoise. These berries will disperse with the help of birds, mammals and water, making it a particular threat to protected natural areas in our region.
To join the Invasives Strike Force EcoQuest and help us monitor the distribution of porcelainberry, all you need to do is 1) register to participate here (no need to re-register if you've already done so for a previous challenge) 2) visit our EcoQuest webpage for ID tips 3) download the free iNaturalist App, 4) hit the trail, head to a park or look around your property for the target species, and then 5) point, click, and upload photos directly to iNaturalist! |