Whetstone Park in Clintonville, Ohio is 149 acres, notable for its rich botanical design and plant communities. Most known for its heavily curated and manicured Park of Roses, Whetstone Park is a nucleus for recreation and soaking up nature in a big city. The focus of this assignment will not observe plants from the Park of Roses as those are not necessarily naturally occurring. However, the park also contains many other naturally existing plant communities that will be focused on. For this assignment, we look at the rich and thick woodland areas, the restored prairie lots, riparian/river zones, and species along maintained bike trails or open areas. Most of the species in this park that are naturally occurring are run of the mill and can be seen across this more lime substrate areas.
Areas I focused on where near the casting ponds and the trails behind the Meadow Field Spaces, the dense woods west of the casting pond, along the Olentangy River, and in the Prairie which is south of the Picnic Pavillion. Whetstone Park
But First…Poison-Ivy – Toxicodendron radicans
Poison Ivy: Found in nearly any ecosystem nowadays, poison ivy is a good one to now without having to get too close! Some ways you can identify poison ivy without having to touch it is by its trifoliate leaves, aerial roots that help it climb trees, and bunches of white drupes. While poison ivy does grow on the ground, you can often see it climbing trees. Don’t get too close to this one though, the oils can cause allergic reactions that give itchy red rashes!
New (to you) Plants!
Boxelder Maple – Acer negundo
COC – 3
Boxelder Maple: So I bet you are asking why I am showing you another picture of poison ivy! Well good on you for paying attention, but this is actually Boxelder Maple! It often also has trifoliate leaves, but this is a tree and not a vine like poison ivy. Just make sure you determine the source of the leaves before you start picking at them because poison ivy can grow down limbs and look like hanging leaves too! Anyway, like I was saying, Boxelder Maple is a trifoliate or sometimes also pinnately compound tree that is part of the Maple family. While not the ideal specimen for maple syrup now, in the past, Prairie settlers would tap Boxelders to make maple syrup while Plains Native Americans would make sugar from the sap. Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Database (ACNE)
Honey Locust – Gleditsia triacanthos
COC – 4
Honey Locust: This unique tree was all over Whetstone Park, especially its sapling! In the Fabaceae family, this plant is part of the Legumes. The leaves of this tree are usually twice-compound, and its fruit is these dark-purplish pods. Watch out though, this tree tends to have some pretty decently sized spines running all the way up its trunk onto its branches. In-between the seed pods is a honeylike, sweet pulp that wildlife and sometimes livestock will munch on. Also those spines I was telling you about, they have actually been used as pins and needles in the past! Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Database (GLTR).
Black-haw – Viburnum prunifolium
COC – 4
Black-haw: As the scientific name, this is a shrub with cherry-like leaves! It usually goes fairly unnoticed, but when its blue-black drupes come out you may think they look kind of tasty. Many songbirds, gamebirds, and mammals would agree with you as they can be found to consume them. Luckily for us, we can also use them and make them into preserves like jam and jelly! The rather astringent bark can also be used for medicinal purposes. Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Database (VIPR)
Common Ninebark – Physocarpus opulifolius
COC – 4
Common Ninebark: The brown cluster you see are actually what remains of ninebark’s beautiful clusters of flowers. These shrubs have a rich history with Native Americans who would use the inner bark as laxatives, remedies for tuberculosis, helping with urination, treatment of abscesses and also gynecological aid as it was believed to increase fertility. A beautiful plant with quite the diversity of uses it appears! Garden’s Eye View
Common Blue Wood Aster – Symphyotrichum cordifolium
COC – 4
Common Blue Wood Aster: This dainty little plant is a great late season pollinator plant that helps many overwintering bees and butterflies. In fact, you can see one in the top left of the picture coming in to land! Common Blue Wood Aster is also the host plant for the Pearl Crescent butterfly. North Carolina Plant Toolbox
White Panicle Aster – Symphyotrichum lanceolatum
COC – 3
White Panicle Aster: Another aster, this one tends to also be a great late season bee plant that provides nectar throughout the late autumn. It is known to attract butterflies and moths, but this one appears to have attracted a little daddy-longlegs! Also interesting to note is that this genus seems immune to predation from rabbits, that goes for the one above this too. USDA Plant Database
Invasives – Grr Aghh Boo Hiss
Amur Honeysuckle – Lonicera mackii
Amur Honeysuckle: This plant was imported as an ornamental plant into the New York Botanical Garden in 1898 from China/East Asia and has completely taken over the eastern United States! It has cushion of 3-5 weeks of extra photosynthetic activity compared to most native plants allowing it to take over. By outcompeting native plants, it threatens the ecosystem and all those who inhabit it – especially songbirds like robins and cardinals. The best approach to removing it is pulling young plants, roots and all, or cutting adult shrubs and painting the stump with glyphosate treatment. Invasive.org
Multiflora Rose – Rosa multiflora
Multiflora Rose: This shrub is native to China and was introduced in the 1860s as a horticultural rose garden plant. It was widely planted, but now its thickets can become quite dense and unmanageable. While still providing good habitat to rabbits, quails, and pheasants, its removal is encouraged as it grows persistent. Its high seed production and viability as well as its dispersal by birds make it one thats hard to get rid of. Efforts to do so usually consist of cutting the plant and painting a glyphosate treatment on the remaining stumps. Ecological Landscape Alliance
Winter Creeper – Euonymus fortunei
Winter Creeper: This vigorous vine invades a lot of forested edges. Coming from China, it displaces many herbaceous plants by climbing trees into the canopy to seek the most sunlight. It is an evergreen vine that can persist in a wide range of environmental conditions, making it quite successful as an invasive plant. Typical removal and management of this plant includes pulling, cutting, and applications of herbicides. Invasive.org
Chickory – Cichorium intybus
Chickory: This ligulate capitulum flower originated in the Mediterranean and was grown for centuries as a salad green. It’s cultivation in North America began in the 1700s and it can be seen on many a roadways now. The little purple flowers open and close as sunlight intensity changes which is why they are little shy right now. Chickory is unique; however, in that there are versatile ways to use it. It can be used to make dyes, the roots are a good coffee substitute, the leaves are a good addition to salads, and it has medicinal purposes. I actually really like this folklore origin of chickory in which a beautiful maiden refused the advances of the Sun, so he turned her into a chickory flower. She had to stare at the sun all day, and when night came she faded. This pretty purple flower isn’t highly managed and if you do want rid of it, pull them out before they seed. Ohio Perennial and Biennial Weed Guide
Woody Plant Fruits
Black Walnut – Juglans nigra
Black Walnut: The black walnut fruits are large, spherical nuts with a nut husk. You’ll often see them as greenish-yellow balls on the ground. They also emit an odor known as Juglone.
Riverbank Grape – Vitis riparia
Riverbank Grape: These berries often grow in clusters on their long leafy vines. They are usually covered in a white powdery substance, but feel free to eat, they are quite yummy!
Hackberry – Celtis occidentalis
Hackberry: Despite being named hackBERRY, the fruits of this tree are actually drupes! Looking quite a bit like the grapevines, they only grow singly.
Eastern Redbud – Cercis canadensis
Eastern Redbud: In the Fabaceae family, this tree produces many legumes. They look quite a bit like black locust legume pods, but the eastern redbud pods typically come to a sharp point whereas black locust’s are more rounded.
Mosses and Lichens
Lemon Lichen – Candelaria concolor
Common Button Lichen – Buellia erubescens
Common Greenshield Lichen – Flavoparmelia caperata
