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. 

April 9 - Early flowers at Culp Nature Preserve

Round-lobed Hepatica leaves from last year surround the opening flowers

These Scarlet Cup fungi are the fruiting bodies of the fungus that grows in fallen branches

Culp Nature Preserve, on LaGrange CR 900 West, about 1 mile south of US 20, is one of many fine nature preserves of ACRES Land Trust .  On April 9, 2011 Hepatica (Hepatica nobilis var. obtusa) and Cut-leaved Toothwort (Cardamine concatenata, Mustard Family) were just opening.  Scarlet Cup Fungi were fruiting on fallen twigs.

April 17 The Pumpkinvine again

Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis, Poppy Family) growing right at the edge of CR 33 where it intersects the trail.

We volunteered to lead a wildflower hike for The Friends of the Pumkinvine Nature Trail Sunday afternoon, April 17, 2001 in the wooded section south of CR 33.  Fourteen adults and 3 children participated.  The woods shielded us from the wind, so the walk was pleasant.  On April 12 we recorded ten native species in bloom.   Five days later, two new ones were in bloom - Yellow Trout Lily (Etythronium americanum, Lily Family) and Spicebush (Lindera benzoin, Laurel Family).

Clusters of flowers of the shrub Spicebush (Lindera benzoin).  By late summer these flowers will have developed into bright red, aromatic berries

April 13, 2011 Bender Memorial Forest

Above are very young leaves of Woodbetony (Pedicularis canadensis).  An unusual flower will appear in late April or early May.

Rue Anemone (Thalictrum thalictroides, Buttercup Family)

At the south end of Albion, IN on SR 9 you will see the River Road street sign; drive about 1 1/2 miles west and south on River Road until you see the sign and parking lot for Bender Memorial Forest, another fine ACRES Land Trust preserve.  We found ten native species blooming on April 13, 2011: Spring Beauty, Purple Springcress, Cut-leaved Toothwort, Skunk Cabbage, Marsh Marigold, Harbinger of Spring, Hepatica (both round-lobed and sharp-lobed varieties), Bloodroot, Dutchman's Breeches, and Rue Anemone.

April 12 - The Pumpkinvine Nature Trail

Common Blue Violet (Viola sororia, Violet family) is a native plant that is common in town as well as in woodlands.  There are several native species of blue violets, yellow violets and white violets that grow in northern Indiana.

Note the cut leaves and four petal flower of Cut-leaved Toothwort (Cardamine concatenata, Mustard Family)

Purple Springcress (Cardamine douglassi, Mustard Family)

The section of The Pumpkinvine Nature Trail between CR 31 & 33 opened in June, 2009.  When we hiked it for the first time that October we saw a few fall wildflowers still hanging on and leaves of many spring wildflowers, so we looked forward to seeing what would bloom in the spring.  We weren't disappointed - there were many spring wildflowers and in summer there was a good display of flowers in the open wetland areas.  On April 12, 2011 we saw these species blooming: Bloodroot, Spring Beauty, Dutchman's Breeches, Rue Anemone, False Rue Anemone, Cut-leaved Toothwort, Purple Springcress, Harbinger of Spring, Hepatica, and Common Blue Violet.  We will go back to this section of the trail frequently because the flower display changes throughout the year.  There's room for 1-2 cars to park where the trail intersects CR33 and the trail is hard surface, so it is accessible for most anyone.

April 10, 2011 - Spurgeon Woodland Reserve

Dutchman's Breeches

Tiny white flowers of Harbinger of Spring -appears in late March; note the tiny parsley-like leaves.  The large leaves in the lower left corner are of Ramps, a wild leek.

Hepatica colors range from pure white to varied shades of pink and purple

April 10, 2011 - Spurgeon Woodland Reserve ACRES Land Trust is one of the best preserved woods in the area.  We love to visit the woods frequently each spring.  It is easy to find: at the only stoplight in Topeka IN go south into Noble County.  The road becomes Noble CR 600 West; approx. 1/4 mile south of the intersection of Noble CRs 600W & 1000N you will see the Spurgeon parking lot on the east side of the road.  As you go into the reserve you will walk about 300 yards through secondary woods that was crop land until c. 1960; but then you will enter a mature primary woods dominated with beech, maple, and tulip poplar trees.  Five native species were blooming on April 10: Harbinger of Spring (Erigenia bulbosa, a tiny white flower in the Parsley Family), Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica), Dutchmans Breeches (Dicentra cucullaria), and two varieties of Hepatica (Hepatica nobilis var. acuta and Hepatica nobilis var. obtusa).  Entire hillsides were covered with Hepatica, the most spectacular display we've ever seen; photos don't do justice to the fine show.  Within a week Hepatica will be beyond its peak.

A hillside of Hepatic

April 9, 2011 Woods south of Benton Dam

April 9, 2011 - Since our April 5 walk in this jewel of a woods south of the Benton Dam, three more species are blooming - Bloodroot (Sangauinaria canadensis), Cut-leaved Toothwort (Cardamine concatenata) and Purple Springcress (Cardamine douglassi).  Both Toothwort and Purple Springcress  are members of the Mustard Family, with the characteristic 4 petals.  For directions to this site see River Preserve County Park