April 21, 2011 Hiking Four Woods in One Day

On April 21, 2011, John spent the day walking in three woodlands: Thomas Woods at Goshen College's Merry Lea Environmental Center, south of Wolf Lake, IN; Dygert Woods Dygert Nature Preserve ACRES, north of Columbia City, IN; and Bender Memorial Forest ACRES, west of Albion, IN.  That evening Joann and John visited the woods at River Preserve County Park.  Below are lists of what was blooming in each woods.

Thomas Woods at Merry Lea Environmental Center:

Cut-leaved Toothwort (Cardamine concatenata)
Purple Springcress (Cardamine douglassi)
Dutchman's Breeches (Dicentra cucullaria)
Hepatica (Hepatica nobilis) 
Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis).  The Bloodroot display was the best I have seen anywhere.

Huge blanket of Bloodroot at Merry Lea

Dygert Nature Preserve ACRES :

Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica)
Blue-eyed Mary (Collinsia verna)
 Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica)
Yellow Trout Lily (Erythronium american)
Sharp-lobed Hepatica (Hepatica nobilis var. acuta)
Cut-leaved Toothwort (Cardamine concatenata)
Purple Springcress (Cardamine douglassi)
Yellow Violet (Viola pubescens)
Common Blue Violet (Viola sororia)
False Rue Anemone (Enemion biternatum)
Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis)
Dutchman's Breeches (Dicentra cucullaria)
Marsh Marigold (Caltha palustris).

Its been a cool spring, so most species are 1-2 weeks later than usual.  In a week or two this preserve will likely have a fine show of Virginia Bluebells, Bue-eyed Mary, several species of Trillium, and many other species.

Virginia Bluebells in early bud stage

Bender Memorial Forest ACRES
 
Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica)
Sharp-lobed and Round-lobed Hepatica (Hepatica nobilis var. acuta and H. nobilis var. obtusa)
Cut-leaved Toothwort (Cardamine concatenata)
 Purple Springcress (Cardamine douglassi)
 Yellow Violet (Viola pubescens)
Common Blue Violet (Viola sororia)
 Rue Anemone (Thalictrum thictroides)
Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis)
 Toad Trillium (Trillium sissile) - just beginning

 Harbinger of Spring (Erigenia bulbosa)
 Dutchman's Breeches (Dicentra cucullaria)
 Spicebush (Lindera benzoin)
Skunk Cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus)
Marsh Marigold (Caltha palustris).

An unusual plant at Bender Forest is American Columbo (Frasera caroliniensis); now it only has basal leaves, but in early June it may bolt a tall, central stalk with whorls of large, green flowers.  It doesn't bloom every year.  We last saw it blooming in June, 2009. Please see photos below.

American Colombo basal leaves, April 21, 2011

American Colombo in bloom, June 2, 2009

 A wild turkey hen ran past me as I was walking through the Beech - Maple part of the forest.

River Preserve County Park:

Fourteen species are blooming, the most species in any one woods so far this year. 

Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica) 

Round-lobed Hepatica (Hepatica nobilis var. obtusa)

Cut-leaved Toothwort (Cardamine concatenata), Purple Springcress (Cardamine douglassi) 

Common Blue Violet (Viola sororia)

False Rue Anemone (Enemion biternatum) 

Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis)

Dutchman's Breeches (Dicentra cucullaria)

Yellow Trout Lily (Erythronium american)

Toad Trillium (Trillium sessile)

Large-flowered Trillium (Trillium grandiflorum)  

Harbinger of Spring (Erigenia bulbosa)

Spicebush (Lindera benzoin) 

Wood Anemone (Anemone quinquefolia).   

Buttercup (Ranunculus species -perhaps R. fascicularis, Early Buttercup? )

The Hepatica are almost done blooming and the Large-flowered Trillium are in very early stages of bloom.