WildeHerb is a collection of wild herb and wildflower sightings.
Plant Sightings
Plant sightings is the main focus of wildeherb. Plants native to North America, and especially the Northeastern United States and Pennsylvania, are found, identified, observed and photographed to become part of a living diary about our plant friends, new and old.
Spring weather always keeps us guessing. Will it get warmer today so I can open the windows or will I have to bring in more wood for the furnace? Can I go take pictures outside or will the wind make that a useless adventure?
Besides the Spring rains there are always some freak winds that come up the valley or across the mountains that ends up toppling a few trees here and there. The night of the 17th was terribly windy with some real gusts. Not sure how strong as far as miles per hour, but the trees were really swaying. The wind gusts made a wild noise sweeping through the trees. It was eerily quiet in between the gusts.
I was at Little Buffalo State Park the next morning and wasn’t too surprised to run into a DCNR employee with a chainsaw in hand. I got a few pictures of a rather large white pine that was taken down by some stiff wind. We’re very lucky that more damage wasn’t inflicted on the Clay Covered Bridge. Maybe a few shingles were lost, but the damage could have been a lot worse!
Toppled tree at the end of Clay Covered Bridge.White pine toppled by wind gust.Tree rings of large white pine tree.
This white pine was at least 55 years old.
Sap is flowing from the outer rings of wood on this felled white pine tree.
The sapwood released its watery contents in the areas that were damaged. When the tree was felled and cut, its vessels that transport water and nutrients were broken, and so, the sap bled out of the wood.
Felled white pine tree just misses the Clay Bridge.
Nice straight trunk, maybe nice enough to be sold for board content.
In our woods we see trees that are damaged by weather every year. Some are just old trees, but others were probably damaged first by insects and then brought down by the wind.
One of my favorite trees bloomed beautifully this year. The weather cooperated to stay chilly during the blooming period for the Eastern Redbud, Cercis canadensis. The redbud is native to the eastern US and as the Peterson Eastern Trees Guide tells us, Central Pennsylvania is the redbud’s northern-most limit.
I delight at seeing the redbuds each spring at the edge of the woods, peaking out with their rosy purple blossoms. Perhaps its the time of year – Happy Spring.
Redbud flowers arise directly from the stems. From a distance the blossoms appear to follow the lines of the tree. The result is a purple outline of many of the tree’s branches. Nice thin lines.
I think the redbud was probably the tree that made me realize that wild trees flower and can be beautiful doing so.
The flowering redbuds stand out where the corn field meets the woods at the base of the ridge. I look for them every Spring, but I’m sure that quite a few people zip down the highway without noticing them. Sad, don’t you think? Stop and smell the roses, people!
Redbud trees blooming at the woods edge. Photo taken 10Apr2010.Redbuds flowering in Pennsylvania. Photo taken 13Apr2010.
The redbuds flowered from at least the 10th, and probably a couple days before that, through the 23rd of April when some trees were noticed with leaves coming out. Rain on 24-25 April probably took down a lot of spring tree blossoms.
It’s hard to pin down the flowering times or blooming times of spring flowers. From year to year differences in weather patterns will dictate the blooming times of at least some of the Spring ephemerals.
We live in the Ridge and Valley Province of Pennsylvania, where you can change elevation in a matter of feet. Since elevation plays a role in temperature, it will also play a role in blooming times. From certain vantage points you can watch the tree leaves emerge in turn as you go up the mountain. In town, which is some 200 feet below our place on the ridge, plants can flower a week ahead of ours…forsythia, dogwood, azalea are examples from the past couple of weeks.
In Pennsylvania one of the Spring Ephemerals that blooms in early April is the Trout Lily, Erythronium americanum, which is also called Adder’s Tongue or Dogtooth Violet. Trout Lily is a better or more descriptive common name because the trout lily is a member of the Lily family, Liliaceae.
If you know traits of the Lily Family, then you’ll be able to recognize that trout lily is a lily. It’s supposedly named for blooming at the time when the trout are running, or spawning. Since April 3rd was the first day of trout fishing season here, the name trout lily might be right on.
You’ll probably first notice the foliage of the trout lily as it is visible for many weeks, yet the blossom is out for a short time, perhaps a week at the most. The flowers in these photographs, taken 8 April 2010, were gone by the 13th of April.
We found a colony of trout lilies blooming along my favorite river road. It was easy to spot their yellow flowers on the west-facing slope that overlooks the Juniata River.
Large group of trout lily blooming next to the river road.Colony of blooming trout lily.Looking up at trout lily blooming on the hillside next to the river.
Looking up the hill at all the yellow trout lily blooms.
Small group of trout lilies flowering.
Flowers at the bottom of the image are just opening their bell-shaped blossom. Once open the petals flare backward exposing the bright yellow stamens.
Trout lily flowers and leaves.
The palmate or divided leaf on the left in the image above is a cut-leaved toothwort, which was growing in small patches among the trout lilies.
The thick, sword-like leaves of trout lily come to a point at the tip and are mottled with dark green to maroon on a light green background, or vice versa.
Found in wetland areas, natural water drainage areas next to creeks, rivers, lowlands.
Close-up of trout lily flowers with yellow stamens.
One to three lance-like leaves per bloom and sometimes you find a large number of single leaves with no blooms on this perennial spring flower. Trout lily flowers are the tallest part of the plant and they reach 8 – 10 inches tall.
The under or back side of the yellow petals is streaked with brown, and more so on the three outer petals.
Petals of trout lilies flowering.
Oh, see those three little leaves in the foreground? Well, I certainly didn’t. In my enthusiasm for the opportunity to photograph these flowers I neglected to check for poison ivy, but that’s what I got! Never used to as a kid. Use caution if you’re going in the woods, no matter what time of year. All it takes is one brush with the poison ivy plant and you could be itching for a long time. Take my word for it!
Spring beauty blooming as trout lily cohort.Spring beauty flowers and the mottled leaves of trout lily.
Also blooming in the same area were Spring Beauty and Cut-Leaved Toothwort.
Trout lily and spring beauty blooming together.
Across the road on the river side, a small patch of Virginia Bluebells, Mertensia virginica, were blooming at the base of a tree.
Virginia bluebells blooming next to the river.
On the east side of the Juniata River these bluebells were blooming on the 8th of April 2010.
From what we’ve seen on the Juniata River it seems that river banks and the adjacent lands might be great places to search for spring flowers. If you can find a trail near you that runs through river side areas, take a hike and let us know what you find.
One of the earliest blooming Spring Ephemeral flowers is Bloodroot, Sanguinaria canadensis. The days are often cold and windy at the time of year when the bloodroot blooms, but once the sun shines long enough to warm the ground bloodroot will emerge.
Bloodroot grows in eastern forests, especially moist soils in wooded areas. The Mill Race Trail at Little Buffalo State Park, Newport, Pennsylvania, is a great place to see this perennial spring flower blooming in early April.
A group of bloodroot flowers in the woodlands.
The flowers arise from an underground rhizome in a bud fashion. If you looking for bloodroot on the early side, you might see a few flowers still curled up tight before the blossoms open.
Bloodroot flower emerges as a tight bud.
In the image above you can see the leaf curled around the flower stem below the small white flower bud. The sword-like mottled leaves next to the bloodroot are trout lilies that had yet to bloom.
As bloodroot grows the flower stem continues to elongate and the flower opens up. The leaf of bloodroot is still wrapped around the flower stem while the flower is blooming.
Bloodroot flower opening. Note leaf curled around flower stem.
Once the petals of the bloodroot flower start to open you’ll be able to see the large canary yellow stamens.
Leaf of bloodroot opening.
As the bloodroot flower matures the leaf also continues to develop and pull away from the flower stem.
Bloodroot petal closeup.
It would be cool to see bloodroot flowers under a UV light – I wonder if the gray lines on the white petals would light up to show the pollinators where to find the pollen. You have to inspect the flower really closely to see these lines, which are barely visible in bright sunlight.
Bloodroot is considered a Spring Ephemeral, flowering only for a brief time in early spring before the trees leaf out. If you get into the woods after the tree leaves emerge, you probably won’t find any bloodroot still blooming.
Bloodroot blooms for about a week, depending on the weather in early Spring. Here in Southcentral PA we see bloodroot the first or second week of April.
Bloodroot flowers have eight to ten, white, elongated petals that seem to be attached rather loosely. Any attempts at picking the flower or digging one up will result in the loss of petals. That’s probably why we don’t see bloodroot at garden centers. They’re too delicate for any handling and would never look good in flower arrangements because of that.
Group of bloodroot flowers.
The flowers of bloodroot should be appreciated in their natural habitat or perhaps in a native plants garden.
Bloodroot flowers in the forest in early April.
Closer inspection of the flower shows that it comes up first, followed by a single leaf for each flower. The leaves emerge curled around the flower stem. After the flower has bloomed and lost its petals, the leaf will grow in earnest.
The large round leaf of bloodroot is a unique one with a deeply scalloped edge. In the image below there are about 16 bloodroot leaves.
Bloodroot leaves after the flower is gone.
Some of the leaves will get pretty large – as big as your hand, or 8 to 10 inches across. No two leaves seem to have the same exact design, although they all have 7-10 deeply cut lobes each of which are scalloped or have deep, rounded notches.
Bloodroot leaf with scalloped edge and rounded lobes.
Peeking underneath the leaves you can see the seed pods forming from the old flower.
Seedpods under the leaves of bloodroot.
Bloodroot seedpods are circled in yellow in the image above. (Click on photo for larger image.) Eventually, the flower stem will bend down to the ground where the seedpod can release its contents. The bloodroot plant disappears, or cycles back to the earth, in summer.
(Photos of bloodroot flowers were taken 3Apr2010 and photos of bloodroot leaves were taken 18Apr2010.)
Bloodroot is named for the red juice that bleeds out from a cut or damaged root. The root itself is an orange-red color. Native Americans used bloodroot as a dye and to decorate their skin. If you rub the juice on your skin it will last a few days.
Peterson’s Medicinal Plants Guide tells us that, historically, bloodroot was used in the form of a root tea to treat coughs, laryngitis, asthma, bronchitis, lung ailments and rheumatism.
CAUTION – bloodroot is toxic – do not ingest.
A component in bloodroot, sanguinarine, has been shown to have antiseptic, anesthetic and anticancer activity. Today, it is used in commercial mouthwash and toothpastes as a plaque-inhibiting agent.
Went to drop off the car at the local garage a couple weeks ago for its annual inspection. The garage is located on a “river road” that travels along the Juniata River in Perry County, PA.
On Saturday, 3Apr2010, I had reason to travel the same river road (on my way to Little Buffalo State Park in Newport, PA) and it was then that I first spied these massive groupings of Dutchman’s Breeches. Until then I had not seen such a large grouping of these curious Spring ephemeral flowers.
Dutchman’s Breeches, Dicentra cucullaria, were blooming in mass quantities on high stone outcroppings and along the roadside. The stoney hillside coming up from the river bank is gradual in slope on the river side of the road, but once you cross the road the stone rises more vertical, making small cliffs in a couple areas that are probably 30 to 50 ft. tall.
Dutchmen's breeches blooming on the hillside.
The Dutchman’s Breeches were in full bloom and really shone white in the sunlight. As we passed by them in the car you could easily see the white blossoms on their flower spike hanging above the plant greenery.
Flower stalks of dutchmen's britches.
Dutchman’s Breeches have all their flowers in a row going up a curved flower stalk, in the manner of the old time garden favorite Bleeding Hearts, Dicentra spectabilis, a close relative of Dutchman’s Breeches. Comparing one to the other you can see similarities in the way the flowers hang from their flower stems.
While the Bleeding Hearts dangle down from their flower stem, the Dutchman’s Breeches appear to be hanging on the clothesline with their feet up!
Flowers of Dutchman's britches.
Note the highly divided, feathery leaves. This closeup image shows the “pantaloons” hanging from the flower stalk. The unique flower of Dutchman’s Breeches makes identification a simple matter. No other flower looks quite like a hanging pantaloon. Another related plant, called Squirrel Corn, Dicentra canadensis, has a similar flower, but instead of two “legs” sticking up it’s blossom has a rounded end that makes it look like a kernel of corn.
We’ve seen Dutchman’s Breeches blooming from the 3rd to the 18th of April this year, so there’s at least a two week time period to observe their flowers, which is kind of long for a Spring ephemeral. Once you know what they look like, they’re easily noticed – even while driving by at highway speeds – by their flowers on the upright flower stalks.
Apparently, Dutchman’s Breeches prefer a wooded, hillside habitat. We’ve seen several areas with mass groupings of them and all were on a slope in wooded areas.
Dutchman's breeches blooming on a east-facing hillside.
Dutchman’s Breeches on a east-facing hill on the western side of the Juniata River. (Photo taken 10Apr2010.)
Dutchman's breeches blooming on a west-facing hillside.
Dutchman’s Breeches on a west-facing hill on the eastern side of the Juniata River. (Photo taken 7Apr2010.)
Blooming on the same west-facing slope were Dogtooth Violet or Trout Lily, Cut-Leaved Toothwort and Spring Beauty. This slightly shaded, moist area next to the river was still receiving runoff as we saw some water flowing down the rocks to the river.
A dainty little flower that can truly be appreciated from afar is called Bluets, Houstonia caerulea. You never see just one Bluet, so I guess that’s why they’re called Bluets.
Bluets are perennials that have the ability to form large colonies. It is this ability that will probably draw your attention to this tiny little plant.
The Bluets colony in this field can be seen from afar.
Light blue flowers form a great big colony in the field in the image above. The flowers stand taller than the surrounding grass, which was very short, and so appeared as a great big patch of light blue color in the field.
Bluets flowers colonize a grassy field.
Open areas, grassy fields and yards are likely areas to find Bluets, but they can occur in other open areas. Below, a small group of Bluets were found growing on a wooded bank along a country road.
A small grouping of bluets on a wooded hillside.
The white spots in the image above are bluets that were growing on a hill that faced the morning sun. (Photo taken 13Apr2010. All other photos taken 7Apr2010.)
Four-petaled flowers are held upright on a thin stem, 2 to 8 inches high. Light blue to white petals surround a yellow ring in the center of the flower. Petals are pointed and the flowers look rather symmetrical.
Bluets are four-petaled flowers in light blue with yellow centers.
Leaves are smaller than the blossoms. Very thin and short, the leaves are paired on the flower stems which have a few larger basal leaves.
The Houstonia genus is represented by 20 species in our area, but distinguishing them requires examination of the flowers, fruit and seed shape. Microscopy must be used to see fine seed detail in order to identify Bluets to the species level. Exact identification would require collection of fruits and seeds and further examination. In general, we can just refer to these cute little flowers as Bluets.
According to Peterson’s Medicinal Plants Guide Native Americans used a leaf tea for bed-wetting. No other use is mentioned and apparently Bluets aren’t edible, so I guess we’ll just have to appreciate the little Bluets smiling in the millions from afar.
Growing in the farmer’s fields at this time of year are crops that were planted last fall, like wheat or grass. If crops were not planted to overwinter, then weeds have taken hold and many of them are now flowering.
After winter and early spring the ground is wet and must dry out enough before farmers can work the soil. Tractors can’t get into the fields when the soil is too wet or there is a great chance of getting stuck in the mud. Besides, the soil has to be dry enough to be able to be tilled or planted.
Environmentally-minded farmers will plant fall crops to protect the soil and to keep weeds at a minimum. Doesn’t it make sense to plant a crop in the fall to save the topsoil from blowing away? Even if it’s not a cash crop, the benefit to the farmer and the environment is great. Why not plant a crop that could be turned under instead of letting weeds grow that will be sprayed with herbicides that pollute the air, water and soil?
Weeds will grow where ever they can. If there is bare land, weeds will try to grow on it. Weeds can be defined as “plants that grow where you don’t want them to grow”. So, anything growing in a farmer’s field that the farmer didn’t plant can be called a weed.
Field weeds are those types of plants that quickly colonize empty areas, especially areas with little competition. Open fields certainly fit that description and are the perfect places for weeds to grow explosively.
An example of these field weeds can be found in a nearby field. From a distance you can see some “green” plants growing with a few colorful spots here and there.
A farmer's field with many weeds.
On closer inspection one can see that two field weeds have exploded to overtake most of the field. This field is typically planted with corn or soybeans, but right now it’s filled with Pennsylvania bittercress and purple dead nettle.
Pennsylvania bittercress and purple dead nettle blooming in the farmer's field.
The taller weed with the little white flowers is Pennsylvania bittercress. Note the long seed pods sticking straight up. Setting seed so early in the growing season guarantees that we’ll see this weed again next year. PA bittercress has basal leaves to collect sunlight and the energy needed for the plant to flower and reproduce. It is large enough to reproduce before its purple co-hort has grown to any size, so competition between the two is reduced and they can flourish together.
The purple dead nettle flowers are irregular in shape having one large upper lip forming a sort of hood and two lobes on the lower “lip” with each flaring out to a side. The blooms are light purple to lilac on the outside and spotted on the inside.
Irregular flowers of purple dead nettle.
Blooms peak out from under each layer of leaves and several flowers are open at any given time. The triangular, heavily-veined leaves appear quite uniform as they arise from the four sides of the square stem.
Different weeds occur in different fields. We drove by one the other day that was completely filled with field peppergrass. (Below images taken 18Apr2010, above images taken 5Apr2010.)
Farmer's field full of field peppergrass.
In the image above the light green weeds in the farmer’s field is peppergrass. Unless you know your food crops, the above field almost looks planted for a purpose. The field peppergrass is an alien plant, which are known for taking over areas. With a huge seed production it’s no wonder that this plant will seem like a perennial, coming back year after year.
Field peppergrass along the roadside.
Field peppergrass is similar to Shepard’s purse, another member of the Mustard Family. Mustards start blooming in early Spring, as witnessed by the white-blooming garlic mustard that we see practically everywhere. In other places fallow fields are showing yellow with blooming field mustards.
At the Day Use Area of Little Buffalo State Park in Newport, Pennsylvania there is a lot to do. Besides picnicking and grilling at the provided picnic tables and pavilions, you can appreciate nature and a couple historic sites by walking the Mill Race Trail.
Mill Race Trail is wide in most places, mostly flat, and only a half-mile long, so it can be considered an easy hike. From the parking area head away from the lake and toward the covered bridge. Pass through Clay’s Bridge, a covered bridge that was originally located one mile west of its present location. It had to be moved when the dam for Holman Lake was built. The bridge was built across Little Buffalo Creek a little upstream from the lake.
Nearly everyone can enjoy the Mill Race Trail. It’s an easy walk in the woods that traces the waterway serving the old grain mill, Shoaff’s Mill. The mill is an attraction in itself. The water wheel is supposedly one of the biggest wheels around. The steel wheel measures 32 feet across. (All photos taken 3 April 2010.)
Shoaff's mill large steel water wheel.
Water released from Holman Lake is diverted down the “mill race” to the water wheel. It is this race of water that the Mill Race Trail follows. Water flowing over the wheel turns the wheel and the mill grindstone. The water wheel also operates gears, pulleys and ropes that assist in transporting materials from floor to floor of the mill.
Shoaff’s Mill is still operational and demonstrated the third weekend in October during the Old Fashion Apple Festival. If you walk the Mill Race Trail, you can’t miss it! Be sure to check out the collection of grindstones or millstones at the front of the mill.
From the water wheel follow the path that the water would take to get to the mill. Look for the Mill Race Trail sign and follow the arrow.
Trail sign for Mill Race Trail at Little Buffalo State Park.
The wooded hillside in the photo above is a great place to see bloodroot, spring beauty and trout lily flowers in early April.
Bloodroot flowers on the forest floor.
Look for individual bloodroot plants to flower before their leaves are out. A single bloom is followed by one leaf for each plant.
Large grouping of bloodroot flowering.
Bloodroot flowers have eight white petals and bright yellow stamens that project from the center of the flower.
Spring beauty is another of the spring ephemeral flowers occurring in these woods. Spring beauties have leaves that look like grass and they’re about as tall. The flowers are small, the size of a nickel or dime, with five rounded white petals that may or may not have pink lines. The anthers at the stamen tips are very noticeably pink. Spring beauty flowers bloom in clusters, but often only one flower is open at a time.
Spring beauty blooming in April.
The mottled, thicker leaf on the left in the image above is the leaf of a trout lily that has not yet bloomed. Trout lily flowers appear for a very short time after the bloodroot has begun flowering.
Mill Race Trail follows the mill race.
The image above looks back toward the mill. Note the mill race on the right.
Water gate at the head of the mill race.
Water level in the race, and therefore the amount of water going to the mill, is controlled by a gate that you can see in the image above. Note the red blaze on the tree that marks the Mill Race Trail. From here you cross over the mill’s water source and follow the path to the right.
This part of the trail is a little more natural, so watch for those tripping rocks and roots.
Mill Race Trail goes through a wooded area at the far end of the trail.
Looking back up the creek is a scenic view under the hemlocks.
Mill Race Trail along the creek.
The end of the Mill Race Trail empties out into a wide path. Go right to get back to the covered bridge. Either side of the trail in this section has plentiful spring ephemerals flowering in April. If you go, look for bloodroot, spring beauty and trout lily spring flowers.
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tells us, Central Pennsylvania is the redbud’s northern-most limit.
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tells us that, historically, bloodroot was used in the form of a root tea to treat coughs, laryngitis, asthma, bronchitis, lung ailments and rheumatism. ![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=68ea5c60-a1b8-4827-a7f6-8d9498ffdf09)
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