Wet Prairie:
The wet prairie is composed of the ground cover, shrub layer, and overstory. The ground cover was mainly tall grasses such as big bluestem, switchgrass, and indian grass. There are other herbaceous plants on the ground cover like sedges. Sedges have edges while grasses do not. The shrub layer and overstory are both lacking when it comes to wet prairies. There are not too many plants from these categories that come from these layers. There can be willows and dogwoods in the shrub layer along with young sycamores and eastern cottonwood. In the overstory, there may be an adult american sycamore or eastern cottonwood but not all that often.
This is the eastern cottonwood (Populus deltoides) it is identified by the toothed edges on the leaves, the heart shape of the leaves, and the long flattened stem of the leaves that cause them to flutter in wind.
Behind the tall grasses in this picture there are american sycamore (Plantus occidentalis). These are identifiable by their big palmate leaf shape. The lobes are course and toothed. The petiole of the leaf is long and thick.
This is a tall grass called big bluestem (Andropogon gerardi). You can tell because of the “turkey foot” appearance that the seed head has. The seeds are small and are produced in the seed heads. This grass can grow from four to eight feet tall.
This plant/forb is boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum). Boneset is identified by the upright structure, opposite leaves, and white flowers. The flowers bloom from late summer to early fall. It can also smell like medicine or herbs when it is crushed.
Woods:
The ground layer in the woods if full of different ferns, many beautiful wildflowers, trillium, and also sedges and woodland grasses. The shrub layer if full of common shrubs including Laurel, rhododendron, spicebush, and many more species. The overstory full of deciduous trees and have a well developed layer. The trees give the woods a large and dense canopy and are mostly made of up of species such as oak, maple, hickory, beech, tulip tree, ash, and more.
Four Limestone Loving Plants:
This is Common Hackberry (Celtis occidentalis), you can tell because of of pointed tip on the leaves, the serrated edges with small, fine teeth. The veins have asymmetrical bases and they’re prominent veins.
This is Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana), it is identifiable because of the needle or scale-like leaves, slender and flexible twigs, and the aromatic cones when they are crushed.
This is American Hornbeam (Carpinus caroliniana), it has leaves that are ovate to elliptical with a tip, and they are serrated. The veins are parallel and prominent.
This is Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia), with compound leaves, typically with five palmate leaflets. This plant has tendrils with small suction cup structures for climbing.
An Invasive Species:
Honeysuckle. I did not get a picture of this in the field but We did see it. This picture is from (https://bluestonetree.com/forestry-mulching-invasive-honeysuckle-shrubs/). Honeysuckle is identified by the sweet smell, ovate leaves, small orange, or black, berry-like fruit.
Poison Ivy
Natural History Fact: Poison ivy has leaves in three. If there are roots, then wear boots. Drupes white, run in fright.
Four Plants That are Especially “Conservative”
Swamp Birch (Betula pumila) – 10CC
Kalm’s Lobelia (Lobelia Kalmii)- 9CC
Moonseed (Menispermum canadense)- 5CC
Elm-Leaved Goldenrod (Solidago ulmifolia)
“Geobotany”
- The Appalachian plateau is located in the southeastern part of Ohio. It extends into counties like Hocking, Athens, and Scioto. This area is mainly composed of sedimentary rock like sandstone, shale, and limestone. There is significant elevation change, with cliffs, slopes, and deep valleys caused by erosion. The Central lowlands are also known as the Central Ohio Basin. This area is located in the the central and northern parts of Ohio. The rocks are generally sedimentary rock but are from different periods than the sedimentary rock in the Appalachian plateau. The landscape is gentle, flat, rolling lands, influenced by the glacial activity.
- The top layer of sedimentary rock is shale, then limestone, then sandstone. The Appalachian arch affected the sedimentary rock layers in ohio. The crest of the arch is located in southeastern Ohio and the toe of the arch extends northwest. This affects the central and northern sedimentary rock in Ohio. The arch caused rock layers to fold and for different rock types to occur around Ohio. The rivers name is Teays River. This river flowed for 1-2 million years and caused erosion on the landscape influencing deposition of sediments.
- The feature that influenced the slow of the glaciers was the Cincinnati arch, the bedrock in this area is relatively higher than surrounding areas.
- Glacial till is the deposited sediment from glacier ice, it is not sorted or carried by water. Glacial till contains a mix of materials, from large rock to silt. In Eastern Ohio, the glacial till deposited course material and caused for a more rugged hilly terrain. While in Western Ohio the till deposited finer grained material and Eastern Ohio is more flattened and less rugged.
- The drainage in Western Ohio is more well drained than the Eastern side of Ohio. It is better for agriculture and less prone to field holding water. Western Ohio also has better aeration due to the materials that were deposited by the glacier. Soils in Western Ohio tend to be more Limey, meaning it has a higher soil pH than the Eastern Side. The outwash glacial material in Western Ohio make the nutrient availability better for agriculture and plant growth.
- Five species that have a distribution generally limited to limestone or limey substrates are Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana) , American Hornbeam (Carpinus caroliniana), Chinkapin Oak (Quercus muehlenbergii), Black Locust (Robinia pseudoacacia), and Common Juniper (Juniperus communis). These species thrive in calcareous soils.
- Five species that are distributed and generally limited to high-lime, clay-rich substrates are Bur Oak (Quercus macrocarpa), Red Maple (Acer rubrum), Black Walnut (Juglans nigra), Hawthorn (Crataegus spp.) and Serviceberry (Amelanchier arborea).
- Five species of trees that have a distribution generally limited to sandstone hills of Eastern Ohio are Chestnut Oak (Quercus montana), Mountain Laurel (Kalmia Latifolia), Pine Oak (Quercus palustris), Black Birch (Betula lenta), and Hobblebush (Viburnum lantanoides).
- Sweet Buckeye’s major determinant is soil moisture and drainage, it does best in well-drained and moist soils. Hemlock’s determinant is soil moisture and drainage. Sweet buckeye does not require constant moisture and shade like the hemlock. The Rhododendron nis determinant on acidic, moist, and shaded soils.