wildeherb.com – Page 41 – WildeHerb is a collection of wild herb and wildflower sightings.

Bloodroot the White Woodland Flower with a Red Root

August 14, 2012April 25, 2010 by wilde

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.

As the bloodroot flower matures the leaf also continues to develop and pull away from the flower stem.

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.

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.

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.

Dutchman’s Breeches Bloom the First Half of April in Pennsylvania

August 14, 2012April 24, 2010 by wilde

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.

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.

: Image via Wikipedia Bleeding Hearts

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!

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.

Bluets Colonize the Open Field

August 14, 2012April 23, 2010 by wilde

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.

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.

Fields Full of Flowering Weeds Pennsylvania Bittercress, Purple Dead Nettle and Field Peppergrass

August 14, 2012April 22, 2010 by wilde

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.

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 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.

Mill Race Trail: Shoaff’s Mill, Bloodroot and Spring Beauties

April 21, 2010 by wilde

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.)

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.

Look for individual bloodroot plants to flower before their leaves are out. A single bloom is followed by one leaf for each plant.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Huge Skunk Cabbage Leaves Roll Out at the Creek

August 14, 2012April 20, 2010 by wilde

Skunk Cabbage, Symplocarpus foetidus, is quite noticeable this time of year as its enormous leaves dominate the wetlands. Go driving around the countryside and where there are creeks, backwaters, or the edges of rivers in woodlands look for the very large, bright green leaves of this perennial plant.

Patch of skunk cabbage near a drainage creek at Little Buffalo State Park.

Skunk cabbage occurs in the wetland areas near the Mill Race Trail where you can see other spring ephemeral flowers at Little Buffalo State Park, Perry County, Pennsylvania. (Photo taken 3apr2010.)

Close-up image of skunk cabbage plants in a wetland area.

No flowers are visible in this image of skunk cabbage plants growing at the creek’s edge. (Photo taken 3apr2010.)

The flower of skunk cabbage is a strange one. It is the earliest flowering plant of the season by coming up as early as February. Actually, several very small flowers are grouped together in a special structure. Pollinated by flies, these posies stink like rotting flesh some say, but I don’t have any experience to make that comparison. Let’s just say, skunk cabbage has an appropriate name!

Skunk cabbage flowers appear to be miniature yellow fringes dotted on a ball which is housed safely inside a leathery sheath. The sheath is referred to as the spathe and the ball of flowers inside the spathe is called the spadix.

As the flowers become pollinated and the growth activity of the plant continues, the temperature inside the spathe becomes warmer than the ambient temperature. It gets so warm in fact that skunk cabbage flowers have been observed to melt snow from around the plant.

Skunk cabbage leaves and flower next to a creek.

The spathe in the image above – at the lower right of the plant – shows the typical mottled colors of maroon, brown, yellow and light green. The spadix cannot be seen through the opening of the spathe in the image above, but the tiny flowers are visible (in person) if you inspect inside the spathe.

Peterson’s Wildflower Guide lists skunk cabbage under both green and miscellaneous brown flowers. (Remaining photos taken 5apr2010 at Edgar’s Creek.)

Flowers are barely noticeable at the base of the skunk cabbage leaves.

The skunk cabbage plants in this creek-side group are large enough or old enough to have flowered. Note that the yellow-circled areas mark the flowers at the base of the leaves.

Leaves of skunk cabbage rise out of the ground all rolled together and rise up vertically as they emerge from the ground.

Skunk cabbage leaves emerge rolled up and unfurl into huge oval shapes.

As the leaves get bigger and bigger they open up more and more. Skunk cabbage leaves are enormous as they can grow 1 – 3 feet long and half as wide.

Crushing a leaf releases the same rotten odor that the flower gives off. Nobody wants to eat this cabbage! However, Peterson’s Edible Wild Plants Guide tells us that the thoroughly dried leaves collected in very early spring can be used as a cooked green or reconstituted in soup. CAUTION – If the leaves are not dried well, calcium oxalate crystals – which are removed only by drying completely – will burn and cause inflammation. In fall the roots can be collected and dried completely to make a flour.

Trailing Arbutus Flowers Hide Among the Leaves

April 19, 2010 by wilde

I remember reading about the Trailing Arbutus and that it could be found at the Box Huckleberry Natural Area of the Tuscarora State Forest in New Bloomfield, Pennsylvania.

When I took a day-trip over there on 3 April 2010, it took a while to find them. But I finally did!

Guess what you might find growing along Arbutus Lane?

Near the entrance of the Box Huckleberry Natural Area is a side road called Arbutus Lane. Very close to the spot where Arbutus Lane meets Huckleberry Road is a patch of trailing arbutus. The patch of arbutus we saw was about 2 ft by 3 ft in size under the trees at the border of the State Forest.

Trailing arbutus, Epigaea repens, sometimes called the “Mayflower”, is a member of the heath family, just as the huckleberry is. They do occur in the same habitat, shady places under trees. These perennials both have oval-shaped evergreen leaves, but arbutus leaves are 2-3 times bigger than huckleberry leaves.

Green and brown leaves of trailing arbutus.

Arbutus leaves that last over winter may turn brown at the ends.

Flowers are partially tucked under the old leaves and may not be visible to the casual passerby. Here, the shiny trailing Arbutus blossoms were quite noticeable in the sunlight among the old brown leaves, even though they grew so near the ground.

Trailing arbutus flowers come out from under their leaves.

In the photo above there are four flower clusters, three of which are mostly hidden under the arbutus leaves.

A cluster of two or more, five-petaled, white blossoms appear like partridgeberry blooms with their elongated bell shape. The five petals flare out at the ends of the trumpet-like bell. They also smelled wonderfully sweet.

Trailing arbutus flower clusters growing near the ground.

Now that I’ve seen trailing arbutus I’ll be more likely to spot it in other places, especially when the plant is not blooming.

Peterson’s Medicinal Plants Guide states that Native Americans used a leaf tea to treat kidney and stomach disorders. Arbutus was also used as a folk remedy for urinary problems. Arbutus itself might not be toxic, but a chemical formed in our bodies – as a result of drinking arbutus tea – is toxic. We can’t recommend drinking this tea, so we’ll just admire the trailing arbutus on the trail.

Fisherman’s Trail at Little Buffalo State Park Newport PA

August 14, 2012April 18, 2010 by wilde

Little Buffalo State Park is easily accessible from Route 322 in Perry County, Pennsylvania. Take Route 34 south through Newport and follow the signs to the state park. Turn right onto Little Buffalo Road and about a mile down the road, take a left onto State Park Road to get to the Day Use Area, where Spring ephemeral wildflowers can be seen.

Map of Fisherman's Trail at Little Buffalo State Park, Newport PA

The Fisherman’s Trail is a one mile trail that begins near the Day Use Area. It is a difficult trail for a short piece that takes you up and over some really big rocks. You’ll have to be able to climb the rocks or stairs to take the upper part of the trail.

To get to the Fisherman’s Trail from the Day Use Area parking lot, head toward the playground and continue south past the entertainment pavilion. Cross the small stream and pass the Way Car No. 12, which is an old narrow-gauge railroad car.

Wide trail at Day Use Area of Little Buffalo State Park.

From the wide trail near the old railroad car follow the hiking sign to get to the Fisherman’s Trail.

Signpost for the Fisherman's Trail at Little Buffalo State Park

From the trail sign the terrain gets steeper and rocky.

Fisherman's Trail in the rocky section near the Day Use Area.

In places it’s not too obvious where the exact trail is so just keep following the yellow tree blazes to stay on the Fisherman’s Trail.

Yellow blazes mark the Fisherman's Trail.

Rocky terrain and the yellow blaze of the Fisherman's Trail.

Glaciers deposited these big rocks and piled them up lke so many pebbles.

The lower section of the Fisherman's Trail is an easy walk.

After the rocky and hilly section the trail runs downhill and flattens out to the lake level. From here the trail is an easy walk.

The end of the Fisherman’s Trail empties out into a picnic area right off the lake. There are plenty of picnic tables and a few grills, too. A bathroom is near this end of the trail, but it will only be open during the summer months, not in April or out-of-season.

Follow the lake side a little further and you’ll come upon the area where you can rent paddle boats. This area of Holman Lake is for boating, fishing, and watching nature and people. Besides rowboats, canoes or kayaks, only small electric motors are allowed on the 88-acre lake. No swimming allowed at this spot. If you want to go swimming at Little Buffalo State Park, check out their fantastic pool which is just beyond the boat rental and more easily reached from the Main Picnic Area gate on Little Buffalo Road.

I saw a couple of common loons drifting across the lake today. This is a great place to see migrating ducks and other waterfowl.

The Fisherman’s Trail was a nice trail and it got me breathing heavy in the beginning of the trail down by the dammed end of the lake because it’s really quite steep and rocky. After you climb up and over and then down the rocky area the trail widens out to a relatively flat pathway that follows the edge of the lake.

There are no wildflowers on this trail, but I did see lots of moss on fallen logs. The only interesting plant I found was Ground Pine, Lycopodium tristachyum, an evergreen, low-growing perennial of shaded woodlands. It’s also called Ground Cedar because the leaves are very small and flat and grow in rounded, fan-like shapes. Look for these “miniature pine trees” on the lower part of the trail near the dam.

Returning to the Day Use Area you could follow the lower section of the trail closer to the lake’s edge, which is more like a footpath, instead of taking the higher part of the trail through the rocky section.

Watch for rocks on the Fisherman's Trail near the lake.

This section of the trail has a lot of rocks and roots to trip over!

Once you come to the dam you have two options. Either take the steps up to the Fisherman’s Trail, where you’ll have to go by a few rocks getting back to the trail head, or cross the dam and take the steps down toward the parking area.

Steps take you back up to the rocky section of the Fisherman's Trail.

48 steps up to the top!

View from the dam of Lake Holman, Little Buffalo State Park, Pennsylvania

View from the dam end of Holman Lake, an 88-acre lake in Little Buffalo State Park, Newport, Pennsylvania.

The scenery was rugged and beautiful at the top of the trail and serene under the hemlocks and pines near the lake. Didn’t see one single wild flower anywhere on the Fisherman’s Trail on 3 April 2010, the day these photos were taken. At Little Buffalo State Park the best views of wild flowers are along the Mill Race Trail.