Plants of Whetstone Park

Botanical Survey of Whetstone Park

Whetstone park is a 149 acre lot in Clintonville. This natural location was once a family farm in the early 1800s, then purchased and converted to a park during World War II. The park has become quite the family attraction over the years, including athletic fields, a community center and garden, gazebo, a playground, picnic location, and paved trails. Additionally, nature enthusiasts can enjoy the park’s pond, rose gardens, the Olentangy Trail, and the Whetstone prairie. The park hosts a variety of different ecosystems, both botanically and of animals. I chose to mostly focus on surveying the meadow field space, and a bit along the river.

Whetstone Park and Columbus Park of Roses | Columbus Recreation and Parks Department

 

Make sure you avoid poison ivy at Whetstone park! To identify poison ivy, lets look for a hairy vine attached to a tree that has leaflets of three. It has aerial roots and white drupes! I found some around the Lower Meadow North location on the map above.

Poison Ivy

5 New Plants!

Pawpaw – Asimina triloba

  • Coefficient of Conservation – 6
  • When the fruit is ripe the skin will turn brown. They have several oblong seeds
Pawpaw tree

 

Red Mulberry – Morus rubra

  • Coefficient of Conservation – 7
  • Unripe fruit and sap are slightly toxic, they may cause hallucinations and stomach pains. However, the berries are apparently quite delicious!
Red Mulberry

 

Northern Spicebush – Lindera benzoin

  • Coefficient of Conservation – 5
  • A tea can be made from the leaves and twigs. The fruit can be dried and grinded to be used as a spice.
Northern Spicebush

 

American Pokeweed – Phytolacca americana 

  • Coefficient of Conservation – 1
  • Berries and roots of the plant are poisonous, but if boiled, the young shoots can be eaten as greens.
American Pokeweed

 

Ladysthumb – Persicaria maculosa 

  • Coefficient of Conservation – 0
  • Medicinal plant used to treat stomach pains and poison ivy. It can also repel insects.
Ladysthumb

 

 

4 Invasive Plants!

Garlic Mustard – Alliaria petiolata 

  • Origin – Europe for herbal and medicinal purposes
  • Ecosystems where it is a problem – Forests and woodlands. It reduces the growth of wildflowers and produces mass amounts of seeds that remain viable for up to ten years!
  • Control measure – For small infestations hand removal, with careful notice to remove the whole plant, is efficient. For large quantities chemical sprays may be necessary to kill all stages of life.
Garlic Mustard

 

Amur Honeysuckle – Lonicera maackii

  • Origin – China, eastern Russia, Korea, and Japan. Introduced as ornamental plants
  • Ecosystems where it is a problem – Moist woods, forest edges, fields, prairies, pastures, and open upland habitats. It prefers limestone soils.
  • Control measure – Hand removal of light infestations is effective, but once again make sure to remove the whole plant. If you are trying to control its growth, be advised that in the following years it may grow back at denser or faster rates. Herbicide is most effective when applied to young or damaged trees (whether this be from cutting or natural causes).
Amur Honeysuckle

 

Asian Bittersweet – Calestrus orbiculatus

  • Origin – Eastern Asia, introduced as an ornamental plant.
  • Ecosystems where it is a problem – Roadsides, fencerows, forest edges, forest gaps, woodland edges, and early successional forests. It prefers sunny areas, but is a hardy tree that can tolerate a variety of conditions.
  • Control measure – Repeated hand removal of the whole plant is sufficient for small infestations. For large infestations chemical herbicides may be necessary. It is recommended to apply sprays in early spring or late fall, when other native vegetation is dormant. It is most successful to spray after the plant has flowered, but before the plant goes dormant for the winter.
Asian Bittersweet

 

Japanese Honeysuckle – Lonicera japonica 

  • Origin – Japan, Introduced as an ornamental plant for erosion control and wildlife cover
  • Ecosystems where it is a problem – Woodland edges, early successional forests, and riparian corridors. It prefers sunny areas, but is very tolerant and hardy.
  • Control measures – Hand removal is only effective for small populations, and you must remove all parts of the plant. For larger infestations, it is recommended that chemical herbicides be applied in early spring or late fall, when native vegetation is formant. It is best to spray after flowering, but before it goes dormant for the winter.
Japanese Honeysuckle

 

Woody Plant Fruits!

Honey Locust

  • Thick, dark brown/red, strap shaped legumes that are decently long. They have varying degrees of curl

American Sycamore 

  • Small achene of about 2/3 cm in length. They are light for dispersal

American Basswood

  • Cluster of drupes that are small (1/2 cm) and a pale green. They have a bract that is a lighter green and shaped more long rather than the round leaves.

Sugar Maple

  • Small samaras that are connected at a wider angle, compared to a maple like the boxelder. You can tell this by looking at the dark part in my picture and noticing the angle at which the inward side is.

 

 

5 Mosses and Lichens!

 

Fissidens Moss

 

Hypnum Moss

 

Anomodon Moss

 

Ruffle Lichen

 

Bushy Beard Lichen

 

 

Citations

Andreas, Barbara, Mack, John, McCormac James. Florist Quality Assessment Index For Vascular Plants and Mosses for the State of Ohio, http://ohioplants.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Ohio_FQAI.pdf. Accessed 8 Oct. 2023.

Kramer, Rachel, and Katerina Kimonis. Fall Wildflowers of New England, www.bio.brandeis.edu/fieldbio/Wildflowers_Kimonis_Kramer/PAGES/MAIN.html. Accessed 8 Oct. 2023.

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. The University of Texas at Austin, 2023. https://www.wildflower.org Accessed 8 Oct. 2023.

Petrides, George A. 1972, Trees and Shrubs of Northeast and North Central US and Southeast and South Central Canada (Peterson Field Guide). Houghton Miflin, 428 pp.