Wahkeena Nature Reserve, Sugar Grove, Fairfield, Co., Ohio

 Wahkeena Nature Center, Sugar Grove, Ohio

Although I live fifteen minutes away, I visited Wahkeena for the first time on August 2, 2012 with botanists seeking the many ferns and fern allies that thrive here. I knew immediately that this would become a frequent haunt. The trails are well-maintained and offer a great variety of flora.

Water Shamrock (Marsilea quadrifolia)

I started at Odonta Lake to visit the Eurasian Water Clover or Water Shamrock (Marsilea quadrifolia). This is an invasive exotic, but it is fascinating to learn that it is a fern! It looks like clover growing in the shallow water. There are more than fifty species of Water Clovers, but this is the only one established in Ohio. It was deliberately introduced to a Connecticut Lake in 1862. It is now widespread in New England and Central North America.

The four ‘clover leaves’ are actually fern pinnae. They are actually the tip of the frond, beneath the water there many small pinnae. I will try to get a picture of the plant underwater next time. We always think of fern fronds as tapering at the tip, but this is very different!

Adult female Widow Skimmer (Libullula luctuosa)

The lakeshore is a dense habitat for flora and fauna. I saw many Widow Skimmer dragon flies (Libullula luctuosa). They are easy to identify by the saddlebag markings on their wings. So far I have not had good luck shooting dragonflies, but the photo above is clear enough to show the wing patterns. Unlike bees and butterflies, dragonflies don’t stop to feed on nectar. They are fierce predators, moving swiftly to pounce on unwary insects.

White Water Lily (Nymphaea odorata)

Waterlilies fascinate people the world over. Most people who go to the expense of installing and maintaining a water garden, place water lilies at the top of the list of plants they wish to grow. Here at Wahkeena, the waterlilies thrive. Their botanical specific epithet (the second word in the botanical “Latin” name) is odorata, meaning fragrant. I wonder what they smell like? Perhaps some time I can borrow some waders and get the Director’ permission to wade out and smell one?

Dodder (Cuscuta sp.)

The dodder is the orange string lying on the plants. Also known by its genus Cuscuta, it is considered a noxious weed around the world. People who have  come into contact with it need to wash their clothing before planting seed. The Cuscuta use volatile organic compounds to identify their preferred hosts. It is not possible to identify individual Cuscuta species in Ohio in the field.

Blunt-lobed Woodsia (Woodsia obtusa)*

Woodsia are Cliff Ferns; not surprisingly they like to grow in rock crevices. They can be confused Cystopteris ferns, if not examined carefully with a magnifier. I have not seen this fern, growing from a crack in the back stairs of the Nature Center at Wahkeena, anywhere else. It was the only specimen pointed out to us during my four-day fern course. Perhaps once I learn it better, I will see it all over the place?

Then I joined a walk led by Tom, the Preserve’s Director. We started by the Casa Burro Trail, named for the small barn, once home to burros, that it overlooks.

American Chestnut (Castanea dentata)

American Chestnut was the giant of our forests until the chestnut blight (a fungus introduced by insects) destroyed it. So I was surprised to be shown

One at Wahkeena. It seems that Chestnuts still spring up in the forest from old seeds of logs. The saplings grow vigorously until their bark in compromised, allowing insects carrying the fungus to infect them.

 Chestnut Oak (Quercus montanus)

Not far away we found Chestnut Oaks. They are not related to chestnuts, but as you can see from the leaves shown here, they are similar to those of the chestnut. They are not sharp and pointy like most oaks. Having seen the two so close together, I think I will be able to identify them in future!

Turkey Tail Fungus (Trametes versicolor)

Eared fungae are often found on dead tree trunks. The Turkey Tail Fungus is very common and displays a wide range of coloration. Any green is actually algae growing on the fungus! T. versicolor is recognized as a medicinal mushroom in Chinese medicine under the name yun zhi. In China and Japan T. versicolor is used as in immunoadjuvant therapy for cancer. It also has potential for bioremediation, as it biodegrades certain toxins. A remarkable organism commonly found in lowly places!

Oak Forest Behind

As we crested the hill, Tome bade us look back and then ahead again. On either side of the ridge, the vegetation were quite different. Behind we saw the thick and slightly disorderly forest dominated by oaks. Ahead the arrow-straight trunks of Tulip trees (Liriodendren tulipifera).

Tulip trees (Liriodendren tulipifera)

Broad Beech Fern (Phegopteris hexanoptera)

Broad Beech Fern thrives here. Note how the pinnae are attached directly to the rachis (stem). There is no costa (stem) between the rachis and the first pinnae.

 Jack-in-the-Pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum)

One of the group spotted a bright blaze of red off the trail, where we found the bright red berries of the Jack-in-the-Pulpit. At this time of year the foliage has faded away, but the brilliant berries attract diners who may carry the seeds away.

We briefly enjoyed the company of this intrepid Stag! He has been making a nuisance of himself around the preserve.

Green Stain (Chlorociboria aeruginascens) syn Elf Cap Fungus

This blue-green fungus appears as a stain on rotting wood. The tiny fruiting bodies look like elf caps.

Fern Moss (Thuidium delicatulum)

Fern moss does indeed look like tiny fern fronds. It is commonly found in moist areas. I am a beginning student of mosses. The red strands are the sporophytes or fruiting bodies.

Black Cherry (Prunus serotina)

Black Cherry has distinctive dark, shaggy bark. I have quite a lot of Amish-made,cherry furniture, hard, dense and finely textured. The leaves contain cyanide and are poisonous.

Royal Fern (Osmunda regalis)

The Royal Fern is quite distinctive as the non-fertile pinnae (seen here) are simple and the fertile pinnae are very lacy. It loves damp areas in acid soils.

Interrupted Fern (Osmunda claytoniana)

The Interrupted Fern is named for a gap in the pinnae on fertile fronds. None of which are to be seen here. This is one reason I find fern identification frustrating at times: not all fronds are fertile and the fertile fronds are most distinctive. The spores on their undersides gather together to create sori which are distinctively shaped and placed on the pinnae.

Thallose Liverwort (Marchantia polymorpha)

Liverworts are another world of botany that I am just beginning to explore. They are rife in my damp shady Hocking Hills terrain. These Marchantia grow on the lip of a basin fed by a spring.

Marginal Wood Fern (Dropteris marginalis)

This is an example of fern identification. Look at the shape and location of the sori, located at the edges of the pinnae.

In under two hours I learned a staggering amount about the flora of my area. I take photos and have begun to write about my walks to help me to remember it all, or even a small part of it. I recently read someone describe our initial views of the forest as ‘green wallpaper’. Indeed the wealth of life in even a square foot of forest is intimidating. For the amateur, I recommend choosing one type of plant to learn: trees, wildflowers, mushrooms, ferns etc. These soon lead to other associated plants, etc.

To see my photos in better resolution: http://www.flickr.com/photos/vbergesen/

Other species I identified: Poison Ivy (Toxicodendron radicans), Spice Bush (Lindera benzoin), Greenbriar (Smilax rotundifolia), Sassafras (Sassafras albidum), Indian Tobacco (Lobelia inflata), American Beech (Fagus grandifolia), Tick Trefoil (Desmodium spp.), Partidge Berry (Mitchella repens), Dissected Wood Fern (Botrychium dissectum), Shining Club Moss (Huperzia lucidulum), Obedient Plant (Physostegia virginiana), Mad-dog Skullcap (Scutellaria laterifolia), Great Lobelia (Lobelia siphilitaca), Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis)

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fern is a good overall article about ferns

http://hardyfernlibrary.com/ferns/illustratedGlossary.cfm Just click on the

          term and you will see a clear diagram with labeled parts. Great

          resource!

http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=CUSCU Shows the spread of

          Cuscutus and lists the states that consider it noxious.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuscuta This is a great summary, explaining

          how devastating this parasite can be.

http://ohiodnr.com/Portals/3/Abstracts/Abstract_pdf/C/Cuscuta_coryli.pdf

          Explains why it is difficult to identify individual Cuscuta species.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trametes_versicolor A useful article about

          Turkey Tail Fungus.

Books:

Clements, Steven & Carol Gracie. Wildflowers in the Field & Forest: A Field

          Guide to the Northeastern United States. Oxford University Press, NY,

          2006.

Cobb, Boughton, Elizabeth Farnsworth, & Cheryl Lowe. Ferns of

          Northeastern and Central North America (Peterson Field Guides), 2^nd

          edn, Houghton Mifflin, NY, 2005. Great reference guide that includes

          fern allies.

Hallowell, Anne C. & Barbara G. Fern Finder. Nature Study Guild Publishers,

          Rochester, NY, 2001. The book to keep in your back pocket!*

Henn, Robert L. Wild Flowers of Ohio, 2^nd edn. Indiana University Press,

          Bloomington, IN, 2008.

Mead, Kurt. Dragonflies of the North Woods. Kollath + Stensaas Publishing,

          Duluth, MN, 2009.

Munch, Susan. Outstanding Mosses & Liverworts of Pennsylvania & Nearby

          States. Albright College, 2006.*

Newcomb, Lawrence. Wildflower Guide. Little, Brown & Co., Boston, 1977.

Symonds, George W. D. The Shrub Identification Book. Harper Collins, NY,

           1963.

          The Tree Identification Book. Harper Collins, NY, 2003.

*Available for sale at the Wahkeena Nature Center.