Summer 2012 - Gorman Nature Center

Mohican Native Plant Society
Spring Field Trips
The unseasonably warm spring weather inspired us
to schedule more trips including a series of Thursday
evening walks led by John and Ginny Boggs.
Here are highlights from some of those trips.
The temperature was in the 80s for the evening
walk May 3 on the trail to Little Lyons Falls. The
Wild Columbine growing on the rocks is a hallmark
of this trail in the spring. Early Saxifrage, Miterwort,
Mandarin lily, and one morel were also found.
Our visit to Crall Woods-Pine Hill, an Ashland
County Park, on May 10 found many of the
expected flowers past their prime. But the surprise
was finding Green Dragon.
Wild Columbine
Newsletter
Summer 2012 Vol 12 , No. 3
Canada Mayflower
Johnson Woods produced
Canada Mayflower,
Maple-leaved Maple-leaved Viburnum
Viburnum, and White
Baneberry as well as Marsh Blue Violet, Spring
Cress, and Aniseroot.
The group returned to Audubon Wetlands, a spot
visited last year, for the final Thursday evening trip.

Mohican State Forest –
Twp. Road 3364
“Fern Heaven”
May 26, 2012
On a nice, cool spring morning, seven members
took a long, leisurely three hour walk south of
McCurdy Road at the very south end of the forest.
We started at the west end of TR 3364 and worked
our way east to TR 799, just west of St. Rt. 3. We
found approximately 35 active/blooming plants
and 15 ferns.
With this year’s hot spring weather, most plants
were at their peak three to four weeks early. A
couple weeks, even two days earlier, can make a
difference. After a heavy downpour the night
before, many were left wet and “de-bloomed”.
John Boggs photographing Fire Pink.
Some of the native plants found were Mapleleaved
Viburnum, Bluets, Blue Cohosh, Hawkweed,
Honewort, Pokeweed, Golden Ragwort, fruit of
Bellwort, and Solomon’s Plume. The more rare
finds included Four-leaved Milkweed, Pussy Toes,
Venus’s Looking-glass, Star Toad Flax, and our
favorite find – Fire Pink. (These were all in the
same area.)
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Ferns that were found in abundance are: Sensitive,
Christmas, New York, Hayscented, Cinnamon, Lady,
Grape/Rattlesnake, Bracken, Polypody, Maiden
Hair, Interrupted, Spinulose Wood, Marginal Wood,
Glade, and Ebony Spleenwort. Not found, or
missed, was the Fragile Fern.
Interrupted Fern
This road is little traveled and therefore we could
spend time enjoying all the plants. Around every
corner and bend in the road lay another surprise
find. Thanks to John and Jan as they moved the
vehicles along the way. Following the walk we
gathered under a shade tree at the Memorial for a
picnic lunch and relished in our many finds.
By Mary Lou Bricker
Four-leaved Milkweed

Walsh U Field Botany Class
at Camp Mowana
On the morning of May 30th,
the Mohican Native Plant
Society traveled to Camp
Mowana to hike with Walsh
University's Field Botany
Class. This has become an
annual tradition with this
being our 5th year! Native
Plant Society members joined
9 college students in a hike along
Chipmunk Creek led by Jennifer
Clevinger and Steve McKee.
Members and students shared
their knowledge of nature with
each other and helped pull the
invasive garlic mustard which is a
service project for the class.
A highlight of the day was seeing
the reproductive features of the
liverwort, Marchantia. In the past,
the liverworts at Mowana near
the historic Oneida Lodge have
rewarded the group with gemmae
cups which facilitate their
asexual reproduction. When
rainwater hits the cups, the
raindrops disperse small
pieces of tissue called
gemmae which can develop
into new plants. The
gemmae are genetically
identical to the parent plant.
This year, however, we were
in for a real treat in that the
Gemmae cups
Photo by Jennifer Clevinger
Archegoniophores (female)
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liverworts also had produced archegoniophores
and antheridiophores! The archegoniophores are
the female sexual reproductive structures of the
liverworts. Each consists of a stalk with star-like
rays on top. The
archegoniophores contain
the egg-producing
archegonia. The
antheridiophores are the
male sexual reproductive
structures consisting of a
stalk with a disk on top and
resembling miniature
umbrellas. The
antheridiophores contain the
sperm-producing antheridia.
Photo by Jennifer Clevinger
Antheridiophores (male)
Photo by Shantil Dickerson
Living among the liverworts, the
Walsh students found and
caught a red eft, which is the
juvenile stage of the eastern
newt. Other interesting finds
during the hike included a
chocolate-tube slime mold
growing on a rock and the black
ash that grow in the wet
bottomlands along Chipmunk
Creek.
Soren Brauner introduced some
of us to a new iphone
application called Leafsnap
which attempts to identify
trees by the shapes of their
leaves.
Walsh University's Field
Botany class would like to
thank all who participated
in the hike. It is a great way
to show college students
that there are people and

organizations in the community that are dedicated
to nature study!
By Jennifer Clevinger
Chocolate-tube Slime Mold
Photo by Jennifer Clevinger
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Red Eft
Photo by Jennifer Clevinger
Photo by Shantil Dickerson
Photo by Shantil Dickerson

Cranberry Bog State Nature Preserve
and
Black Hand Gorge State Nature Preserve
We knew June 23 would be a good day
when the first orchid of the day was
discovered in the parking lot. Ted
Grotjohn stepped out of his car and
picked up a crayon from the ground.
It was “orchid”!
The short boat ride to the island pro-
vided opportunity for the Buckeye Lake
Historical Society volunteers to talk
about the bog. They are currently
managing it for the ODNR for five years.
Cranberry Bog is unusual in that it is
surrounded by water while other bogs have
a pond in the middle. From its original 50 acres,
the bog is now down to 12 acres as it continues
to deteriorate.
The Water Willow that greeted us on our last
MNPS trip to the bog in 1991, is still growing
beside the dock. Upon landing, trip leader Rick
Gardner talked about the vegetation and various
factors affecting it. The highlight of the trip was
finding a number of the beautiful
Grass Pink Orchids (Calopogon
pulchellus) (See photos) Most of us
missed the one fading Rose Pagonia.
Arrow Alum was present along
with Pitcher plants and Sundew,
Poison Sumac, Cinnamon ferns,
and the cranberries that carpet
much of the island.
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Black Rat Snake photo by Gary Kennedy
After lunch in the state park pavilion, we drove to
Black Hand Gorge State Nature Preserve. There is
an easy, paved trail. This is the only one of our
state nature preserves to have a bike trail.
One of the first things we encountered was a nice
Black Rat Snake which Rick shooed off the trail and
out of sight of an approaching group of walkers.
Small-flowered Leaf Cup, Wild Hydrangea, Tall
Meadow Rue, and Thimbleweed were some of the
summer flowers seen. We enjoyed looking at the
cliffs and marveling at the remnants of the old
canal through the gorge.
By Joanne Wrasse
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Wild Hydrangea
Thimbleweed

Eight MNPS members joined the Native Plant
Society of NE Ohio at Pee Wee Hollow, a scout
camp NW of Wooster. Rick Gardner, along with
Fritz and Alice Schmitthenner, led us into the
ravine and across the creek into interesting terrain.
Along the way we observed a newly emerging
cicada. Among the rocks in the creek bed, someone
spotted a two-lined salamander. Ramps were
in bloom, also Hairy Wood-mint, Monarda, and Tall
Bellflower. In the lowlands, there was Wingstem
and Thin-leaved Sunflower (Helianthus
decapetalus). We also found Dissected Grape Fern
and Blunt-lobed Grape Fern.
Palmate-leaved Violet
Hen-of-the-woods
Pee Wee
Hollow
July 21, 2012
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Single file, we climbed up a steep bank to the top of a
ridge where we saw Hen-of-the-woods mushroom
which Fritz told us grows at the foot of black oaks,
usually in September. They are edible. He pointed out
an Indian mound and told us there were three on the
property. Also growing on the ridge were Bastard (or
Star) Toadflax and Palmate-leaved Violet, past bloom.
By Joanne Wrasse
MNPS Steering Committee
John Boggs – Chairman
Ginny Boggs
jjboggs@frontier.com
419-281-2541
Mary Lou Bricker – Treasurer
419-524-1018
Ruth Brown
bandrbrown@willard-oh.com
419-935-0668
Rick Gardner – Field Trip Coordinator
rick.gardner51@yahoo.com
614-638-0013
Jan Kennedy
janaTK720@gmail.com
419-756-7657
Mike Klein
klein5235@roadrunner.com
440-963-6678
JoAnne Morrison
cardinalflower@earthlink.net
330-378-5339
Roger Troutman
rogertrout@aol.com
419-884-3529
Joanne Wrasse – Newsletter Editor
jwrasse@zoominternet.net
419-281-3690

Saturday, August 18
DAUGHMER PRAIRIE
SAVANNAH SNP
Sunday, September 23
GUY DENNY’S PRAIRIE
Saturday, October 27
ANNUAL MOHICAN
COOKOUT AND HIKE
MNPS Field Trip Schedule
For 2012
12:30 pm at Gorman Nature Center---1:15-1:30 on site.
NOTE THE CHANGES.
Leader: Rick Gardner Difficulty Level 2 There is a trail.
This new state nature preserve of 34 acres has huge bur oaks that are
from 150 to 250 years old or older. This land was never plowed but has
been grazed by cattle and sheep.
Rick will meet the group on site. For any who wish to go directly there,
the directions are:
US 30 West to Bucyrus. Take the Rt. 4 exit. Head south on Rt. 4 to St.Rt.
294. Turn right (west) on St.Rt. 294. Travel west for about 2 miles and
turn right on Marion-Melmore Road. Travel north for about 3/4 of a
mile and the preserve will be on your left.
2 pm on site. Directions: From the Mansfield area, take I-71 South to
the St. Rt. 95 exit. Go East on St. Rt. 95 to the Morrow/Knox County
line. Guy’s property is the first drive on the left after crossing the
Morrow/Knox County line.
1:30 PM at the usual shelter house at the end of the road above the
covered bridge accessible from the north entrance. Bring a dish to
share, table service, and meat to cook if you wish.
Questions? Call an officer or Steering Committee member (p. 7).
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