Geobotany, Battelle Darby and Cedar Bog

Geobotany:

Ohio may be considered a boring state, but when it comes to geology and botany (or geobotany!..which is a combination of the two), it is anything but boring! Geologically speaking, Ohio may be divided into two general sections, east and west. The western region is deeply composed of limestone rock and as a result of the climate along with chemical composition of limestone rock, the landscape has eroded over time to be nearly flat. In comparison to the western region, the eastern region is seemingly the polar opposite. In the eastern region of the state lies a high concentration of sandstone. Compared to the western region, the eastern region of the state is exponentially less flat because the sandstone that resides there is resistant to erosion and weathering. While weathering does occur in the eastern portion of the state, it has happened in a way that has resulted in production of deep valleys, gulleys and hills.

Many years ago, when the geological Ohio we know today was being formed, the land was composed of sedimentary rock. The sedimentary rock itself was composed of thick layers of limestone covered by shales which were then covered by sandstones. These layers of sedimentary rock created a sort of “arch” that peaked in the western portion of the state and reached its lowest in the eastern portion, thus creating todays geological regions. The erosion that occurred to create the Ohio we know and love can be blamed on the Teays River. The Teays River used to flow through Ohio for around 200 million years, eroding rock and soil the whole time. During the Pleistocene Epoch the Teays River was erased by passing glaciers and the geological landscape of Ohio was forever changed.

From the beginning of the Pleistocene Epoch to the most recent glacial activity in Ohio, the Wisconsin Glaciation, Ohio changed drastically. As a result of the sandstone composed rock in eastern Ohio the glaciers moved slowly through the region but when they reached the western portion, things began to speed up as the western portion was flattened, allowing the glaciers to move more freely with less resistance. Pictured below is a visual representation of the resulting boundary the glacier produced. Glacial till can be defined as the sediment that may be picked up or dropped off by a glacier as it travels across the land. In western Ohio, glacial till is composed of limestone with a high acidity while the eastern portion has till composed of sandstone with low acidity.

Western and eastern boundaries of Ohio. The striped portion is the eest and the unstriped is the east.

5 Limestone-loving plants in the woods!:

Photographed below are 5 tree species that are limited to limey substrates areas. All five of these species were identified and photographed at Battelle Darby Park in Galloway, OH. Hackberry (Celtis occidentalis), Chinquapin Oak (Quercus muehlenbergii), Redbud (Cercis canadensis),

Hop Hornbeam (Ostrya Virginiana)

Hackberry (Celtis occidentalis)

Bark of a Hackberry, doesn’t it look like its been “hacked” into?

Chinquapin Oak (Quercus muehlenbergii)

Leaves and tiny acorn of the Chinquapin Oak

Blue Ash (Fraxinus quadrangular)

Redbud (Cercis canadensis)

5 Species limited to high-lime, clay-rich substrates:

Shagbark Hickory (Carya ovata)
American Beech (Fagus grandifolia)
Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum)
White Ash (Fraxinus americana)
Hawthorn (Crataegus mollis)

5 Species limited to sandstone substrates:

Sourwood (Oxydendron arboreum)
Chestnut Oak (Quercus montana)
Mountain Laurel (Kalmia latifolia)
Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis)
Deerberry (Vaccinium stamineum)

Distribution of Sweet Buckeye, Hemlock and Rhododendron

Sweet Buckeye (Aesculus flava) and Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) can often be found in close range of each other as they both commonly reside in southeastern Ohio, in areas where the glaciers did not reach. Hemlock trees can be most often found in areas of low elevation with high moisture content. Sweet Buckeye has a limited range however the characteristic of its range is unknown. It is said that the Sweet Buckeye only exists in sandstone areas as it cannot reproduce limestoney substrate. Rhododendron is another species that exists in similar ranges as the Sweet Buckeye and the Hemlock outside of the glacial boundary. Rhododendron is found in the Appalachian region, it is estimated that as the glaciers moved through Ohio, Rhododendron could not survive in the northern region so it utilized waterways to move itself south.

Battelle Darby Metro Park

Woody Plants in Wetland:

Eastern Cottonwood Leaves in a bright blue sky

Eastern Cottonwood tree found in wetland

The first wetland woody plant shown above is the Eastern Cottonwood (Populus deltoides). Eastern Cottonwood can be identified by its unique leaves that are heart shaped with flat tops, or triangular shaped. Pictured below is an American Sycamore (Platanus occidentalis). American Sycamore can be identified by its bark that seems to “peel” off starting at the top and going down the tree.

Mature American Sycamore found on the edge of wetland

Monocots in Wetland:

Pictured above is the first wetland monocot identified. Bulrush (Scirpoides holoschoenus) is a sedge that is often found in wetlands, swamps and other areas that have high moisture content. While the name may suggest that this species is a rush, it is actually not, as it is in the sedge family. Minnesota DNR – Bulrush.

The next wetland monocot highlighted is photographed below. This is the Narrow Leaf Cattail (Typha angustifolia). Cattails are a species that seemingly everyone can identify. The easily identifiable portion of the plant is the flower and despite the fact that it looks similar to a hotdog, if you ask anyone who has tried to infamous social media trend of taking a bite out of a cattail, it does not taste like hotdog.

Poison Ivy:

One plant most all humans have heard of regardless of their experience or knowledge of the outdoors is the ever famous, always itchy, Poison Ivy (Toxicodendron radicans). It is highly advised that this plant be avoided at all costs as its oils can result in an extremely itchy and irritating rash that can be spread if itched. Poison Ivy can be identified by its leaflets of three that are widely toothed on the edges as photographed below, as well as by getting a visual of its vine. The vine of poison ivy has many “hairs” that are used to attach the vine to whatever it may be that the plant is trailing on, in this instance it is the tree. (Petrides, George A. 1972, Trees and Shrubs of Northeast and North Central US and Southeast and South Central Canada, Peterson Field Guide, pp 271).

Prairie Grasses:

Big Bluestem (Andropogon gerardii) is a warm season, perennial grass. This species often grows up to 8 feet tall and is planted to aide in erosion prevention. When the seed heads are newly emerged and spread out, they can be easily identified because they resemble a turkeys foot along with the blue-green stem of the grass itself. Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center – ANGE

Big Bluestem seed head with its habitat in the background

Canada Wild Rye (Elymus canadensis) is a cool season grass that is pretty versatile and can be found in a plethora of ecosystems. Growing 4 feet tall, this grass is a fast grower and spreads its seeds by formation of these distinct seed heads as pictured below, that reach their prime in early fall. Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center – ELCA4

Prairie Forbs:

Panicled Aster (Symphyotrichum lanceolatum) is the most common white Aster in most of North America. These flowers can have 16-50 rays and grow up to 100 flowers per plant! There are many varieties of this species that vary pretty significantly so it is questionable to determine exactly which variation is photographed here. Panicled Aster can be found in fens, ditches, meadows, wooded edges and more. Minnesota Wildflowers

Panicled Aster flowers blooming in a field of green

Western Sunflower (Helianthus occidentalis) is the shortest lived sunflower of all native sunflowers in North America. Also called fewleaf sunflower and naked stemmed sunflower, this species is known for having a naked stem and few leaves compared to others in the sunflower family. This species is beneficial for erosion prevention and is often found in prairies. Blooming in the early fall, this plant portrays beautiful yellow flowers photographed below. Missouri Botanical Garden

Western Sunflowers bringing bright colors to an early fall bloom.

Cedar Bog (…that isn’t a bog)

The name Cedar Bog may allude you to think that the nature preserve is in fact a bog, however it is actually a fen! Fens obtain water via runoff, surface water and precipitation and disposes of water via streams where bogs obtain water in similar manners, but can only dispose of water via evaporation. The capability of disposing of water via a flowing body of water allows for the fen to get rid of unnecessary material and break down minerals for beneficial uses as opposed to that of a bog which is left to home all organic material until it is eventually broken down.

Cedar Bog is home to many unique things, one of which being its own ecological condition. Cedar Bog has its own microclimate, similar to that of the southern region of Michigans peninsula, which allows plant species to grow there that are not typically found in the central Ohio region. All information collected about Cedar Bog was collected from the display material from Cedar Bogs nature center.

Special Assignment:

While exploring the Cedar Bog and Battelle Darby Creek parks I was instructed to identify two fruits. The first fruit identified is the acorn of a Chinquapin Oak (Quercus muehlenbergii) . Acorns are nuts and can be identified by the little “caps” they use to cover the seed. Chinquapin Oaks produce acorns yearly and are ripe in October.

The next fruit identified is the fruit of the Spicebush (Lindera benzoin). The bright red drupes of the spicebush are used to make allspice and if consumed, have a taste similar to black pepper. Spicebush can be identified without presence of drupes by the spicy aromatic smell that emits from scratched twigs.

Conservative Species:

The Floristic Quality Assessment Index is a scale that is utilized to rank plants based on its Coefficient of Conservatism (CC). The coefficient of conservatism is a scale ranging from 1 to 10 that determines the quality of a species, 0 being invasive and undesirable and 10 being superb quality and highly desirable. There are a handful of species at Cedar Bog with CC values of 8 or higher and pictured below are a few.

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GEOBOTANY, BATTELLE DARBY AND CEDAR BOG