Bumblebee on bluebeard, 23 Sept 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)

27 September 2025

Good morning.

Sunrise in Pittsburgh on 27 September 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)

After it rained on Monday I took a walk just before another rainstorm pelted the neighborhood. All the plants had been washed clean and a garden of bluebeard (Caryopteris sp.) was swarming with bumble and honey bees. Bluebeard is native to Asia but the bees don’t care.

Bees on bluebeard, 23 Sept 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)

Three days earlier, while birding in Frick Park, I noticed the amazing spikes standing up from the leaflet axils on Japanese angelica (Aralia elata).

Spines on Japanese angelica leaves, Frick Park, 20 Sept 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)

A closer look revealed that all the leaf veins had spikes down to the tiniest detail.

Closeup of spines on Japanese angelica leaves, Frick Park, 20 Sept 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)

How did I know this is the invasive alien Japanese angelica (Aralia elata) instead of the native devil’s walking stick (Aralia spinosa)? I didn’t, but it was a good assumption because of the plant’s location and the fact that even botanists were fooled by Aralia elata for a while.

See the range maps and how to tell the difference in the article below. Good luck!