Killdeer Plains wildlife area is a large property managed by ODNR in Marion and Wyandot counties. The habitat is composed of mixed deciduous forest, mesic forest, shrubby grassland, tallgrass prairie, and marshy wetland. Most of the property is grassland dominated. Forest components are primarily windbreaks between rectangular patches of grassland. The property shows clear signs of management for prairie species as some patches are mowed or have herbicide applied to keep them clear of trees and shrubs.
Map:
Posion ivy has compound leaves with three leaflets, a waxy appearance, a pointed tip to the end of the leaflets, short stalks connecting the leaflets to the main petiole and stems with aerial rootlets.
PART TWO: FLOWERS and INFLORESCENSES (10 pts.)
Let’s apply and extend the flower analysis skills that we learned early on. At your survey site or any other convenient location, discover 4 wild (not cultivated) plants that are flowering. Identify them using species using your Newcombs Wildflower Guide. Photograph each one.
Provide the following information about each plant:
- common and scientific names for them, the latter written properly in terms of capitalization and italics.
- a description of the flower in terms of the features we covered in class: symmetry, fusion of parts, numbers of parts, relative insertion of flower parts (hypogyngous, perigynous or epigynous), gynoecium type (unicarpellate, syncarpous, or apocarpous).
- where you saw the plant
- what type of inflorescence the plant has (for all 4 plants)
- What type of fruit the plant has/will have.
- Have fun with this; be creative!
One of the most interesting native wildflowers that stuck out to me at Killdeer Plains was the foxglove beardtongue (Penstemon digitalis). Large patches of this native penstemon were blooming in grassland patches around the first site I visited at the property. Flowers are bilaterally symmetrical with fused sepals and fused petals that form a cup shape and two lips at the front of the flower. The flowers are hypogynous with a syncarpous ovary. Penstemon flowers grow in a raceme and form a capsule after they finish flowering.
Southern blue flag iris (Iris virginianica) was another species I observed at Killdeer Plains that was extremely interesting personally. I only observed one that was flowering but it is the only native iris that I can recall having seen in Ohio. The plant has blueish purple flowers with yellow veining and leaves around a half inch to an inch wide. The iris was growing in a marshy patch of grassland at the edge of the first field I surveyed. Irises have three outer sepals forming the outer divisions of the plant. The flowers are radially symmetrical, have an epigynous ovary, and are syncarpous. Southern blue flag irises have one to two flowers atop a stem which forms their inflorescence. Irises produce a capsule.
Immel, D. (2006). Virginia Iris. Plant Guide. https://plants.usda.gov/DocumentLibrary/plantguide/pdf/cs_irvi.pdf
Common yarrow (Achillea millefolium) is a widespread plant in tropical North America and Eurasia. The plant is a member of Asteraceae and produces large flat topped inflorescences. Each individual “flower” has 4-6 rays that are three toothed. Yarrow’s composite flowers are radially symmetric, have epigynous ovaries, and have syncarpous gynoeciums. Yarrows were scattered throughout prairie patches and often grew in large groups likely as a result of the way it grows. Yarrow spreads by rhizomes and a single plant can cover a large area as a result. Many of the yarrow patches were growing in patches of grass that were relatively shorter and sparser. The flower heads are arranged in large clusters and have 20-25 ray and disk flowers. The fruit this plant will produce will be a cypsela.
Atiyha, B. A. S., & Al-Khesraji, T. O. (2022). Morphological, anatomical, palynological phytochemical, and molecular characterization of Achillea millefolium (Asteraceae) in western desert of Iraq. Journal of Advanced Education and Sciences, 2(4), 09-18.
TWC Staff. (2015b). Plant database. Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center – The University of Texas at Austin. https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=OSCI
Atlantic blue eyed grass (Sisyrinchium atlanticum) has flowers that are yellow eyed with blue petals. This particular plant was growing in a prairie field that had looked to have been mowed earlier in the year. The field was composed of a mix of wildflowers and grasses. The flowers have radial symmetry, are epigynous, and have a syncarpous gynoecium. The fruit produced will be a capsule. Inflorescences are a single flower in this species.
Atlantic blue eyed grass (Sisyrinchium atlanticum)TWC Staff. (2015b). Plant database. Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center – The University of Texas at Austin. https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=SIAT
PART THREE: INVASIVE PLANTS (boo, hiss!) (10 pts.)
Using this Ohio Invasive Plants CouncilLinks to an external site. page as a guide, identify 4 listed invasives on your site. Display your photos, and for each nasty plant give pertinent information about its origin, ecosystems where it is problem, and suggested control measures.
Field bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis)
A mixed approach of control methods including regular cutting and removal of vegetation, tillage of soil, and application of herbicide to kill the plants is recommended.
Ohio Agricultural Reasearch and Development Center. (2024). Ohio perennial and biennial weed guide. Ohio Weedguide. https://weedguide.cfaes.osu.edu/singlerecord.asp?id=5
Reed canary (Phalaris arundinacea)
Reed canary is an invasive grass that is originally from Eurasia but has become a widespread invasive in the United States. Management of reed canary involves removal of as much of the plant as possible. Pulling by hand works on small populations, but for large ones, repeated cutting and mowing is recommended to keep it under control. Covering patches in black tarp is a good temporary solution to kill off small patches. Herbicide can completely kill of patches of reed canary as well, especially when applied after the plant seeds in the fall and
Ohio Invasive Plants Council. (2013a). Fact sheet 6 reed canary grass. Invasive Plants of Ohio. https://www.oipc.info/uploads/5/8/6/5/58652481/6factsheetreedcanarygrass.pdf
Autumn olive
Autumn olive (Elaeagnus umbellata) originated in China and Japan and was introduced to the United States in 1830. Manual removal of seedlings where possible is recommended for controlling and eliminating populations of this species. Large mechanical equipment, coupled with herbicide application, is recommended to remove large populations of the plant. Application to the leaves or to cuts on the stems or trunks during the growing season are the strategy recommended for killing Autumn olive.
Ohio Invasive Plants Council. (2013). Fact sheet 7 autumn-olive and Russian-Olive. Invasive Plants of Ohio. https://www.oipc.info/uploads/5/8/6/5/58652481/7factsheetautumn-oliverussian-olive.pdf
Bird’s foot trefoil
Bird’s foot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus) is an invasive legume that originated in Eurasia and North Africa and established in the United States after being introduced for erosion control and forage for herbivores. Grazing by large herbivorous mammals can keep the plant under control, but without that, herbicide, prescribed burning, or mowing are the best options for managing this species.
Undersander, D., Greub, L., Leep, R., Beuselinck, P., Wedberg, J., Smith, D., … & English, J. (1993). Birdsfoot trefoil for grazing and harvested forage (Vol. 474). Iowa State University, University Extension.
PART FOUR: WOODY PLANT FRUITS IDENTIFICATION (10 pts.)
and/or
PLANTS IDENTIFIABLE TO FAMILY
Using the “Fruit Key” half of the William Harlow “Fruit Key and twig Key” book (available on loan in class), find, photograph and identify 4 trees or shrubs by fruit alone. Describe the type of fruit that it is (samara, achene, nut, etc.) and how/why it is identifiable to species. At this time of the year it might be impossible to find that m,any tree fruits, so instead find plants identifiable to family (4 or fewer instances of different families–as long as fruits examples PLUS families examples equals 4 plants). Photograph and idemtify the plants, and describe the flower and fruit traits you observed that make them recognizable to family.
White ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica) is identifiable by the samaras with a narrow wing that is around 3/16ths of an inch wide and narrowly tapered.
Rosaceae often have large pomes like this one with fleshy fruits. The pomes contain a single large seed inside and can be produced singly or in clusters like this. Because the fruit is unripe I was unsure what species these belonged to.
Black raspberries (Rubus occidentalis) have aggregate fruits composed of multiple individual drupes. The berries leave behind receptacles when picked. The leaves are whitish on the underside and the stems are glaucous.
TWC Staff. (2015b). Plant database. Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center – The University of Texas at Austin. https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=ruoc
Brassicaceae is unique for producing a type of fruit called siliques. These are an unusual type of seedpod made of two fused carpels that are much longer than they are wide.
PART FIVE: MOSSES and/or LICHENS! (10 pts.)
At your site you probably have a number of mosses and lichens growing. For the mosses, if it is possible for you to non-destructively and without offending the property managers collect a small (less-than-finger-sized) piece of moss (enough for lab identification), please do so, and bring them to lab any day. If you CANNOT gather moss from your field sites, you can get them from some other location –any other location.
For the lichens, let’s not collect them, because lichens are too slow growing and often are tightly adherent to the substrate. ID lichens in the field using the “Common Lichens of Ohio Download Common Lichens of Ohio” field guide (hard copies available in class).
Discover and photograph a total of 4 mosses and/or lichens. Present them on your site.
Have fun and be creative!
Klips, R. (2017). Common lichens of ohio: Field guide. Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Wildlife.