Many plants (and even some animals) propagate by means of a stolon (sometimes called a runner). If you observe an organism that shows evidence of stolon production, add an observation field to track this. On any observations page, under the heading “Observation Fields”, do the following:

1. Choose a field: evidence of stolon
2. Select a value: yes or maybe
3. Click: “Add”

Click the link below for the current list of observations that specify this field:

• Observation field: evidence of stolon

I’m personally interested in Tiarella stolonifera and Mitella nuda but the above observation field may be applied to any organism that produces a stolon.

The purple crowberry (Empetrum atropurpureum), thought to be extirpated in Vermont, has been rediscovered:

• Alpine plant believed extinct since 1908 in Vermont rediscovered on Mount Mansfield (vtdigger.org)

It was observed on Mount Mansfield in October 2022.

Flora of North America (FNA) accepts a single taxon of Tiarella in eastern North America known as Tiarella cordifolia. Until recently, the treatment in FNA has been widely recognized by authorities (including iNaturalist) but a revised taxonomy of Tiarella in eastern North America was proposed in July 2021. The proposal splits Tiarella cordifolia sensu lato into five species, three of which are new:

1. Tiarella austrina (Lakela) G.L.Nesom
2. Tiarella cordifolia L. sensu stricto
3. Tiarella nautila G.L.Nesom
4. Tiarella stolonifera G.L.Nesom
5. Tiarella wherryi Lakela

This new taxonomy has been accepted by Plants of the World Online (POWO) and Flora of the southeastern United States (FSUS, 2022 edition), and as of November 2022, by iNaturalist as well. Besides POWO and FSUS, one or more of the new species has been accepted by VASCAN, Alabama Plant Atlas, and Vascular Plants of North Carolina.

In the southeastern United States, where the greatest diversity of Tiarella occurs, it will be difficult to distinguish species. For easy reference, the identification key from the original paper has been reproduced in wikipedia.

REFERENCES

Primary source:

• Nesom, Guy L. (2021). "Taxonomy of Tiarella (Saxifragaceae) in the eastern USA" (PDF). Phytoneuron. 31: 1–61.

Foamflowers (Tiarella):

• https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/51644-Tiarella
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiarella
• https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:30002940-2

Heartleaf Foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia):

• https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/53789-Tiarella-cordifolia
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiarella_cordifolia
• https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:30175905-2

I recently learned that Red-necked False Blister Beetle (Ischnomera ruficollis) is a well-known pollinator of Yellow Trout Lily (Erythronium americanum):

• https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/143180117

Both of my earlier observations of this insect were made in the presence of trout lily, and since that's probably not a coincidence, I reviewed all of my earlier observations of flowering trout lily and found six more false blister beetles:

• https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=any&taxon_id=831188&user_id=trscavo&verifiable=any

Of 80 total observations in Vermont, 53 observations of false blister beetle were in the process of visiting yellow trout lily.

Thanks to Tom Norton (@tsn) for providing info re this cool plant-insect interaction.