Yesterday morning's moonset over Adams County, Ohio. I was on the road plenty early enough to see the big ball of cheese make a spectacle of itself, then slip below the horizon.Astrophotography was not my goal on this trip, however. Southern Ohio woodlands, and the beginnings of the vernal wildflower eruption was the target. After a long cold winter, those of us with a botanical bent can hardly wait for the resurgence of plant life.
The greening forest above is part of a very special place known as the Ohio River Bluffs. It is one of many gems owned by the Arc of Appalachia. The preserve encompasses steep south-facing slopes overlooking the broad Ohio River. Hit hard by the sun's rays, this is one of the first places in Ohio that spring wildflowers rise from their long dirt nap.
Major eye candy at the Bluffs is acres and acres of Virginia Bluebells, Mertensia virginica. Come next weekend or thereabouts, the bluebell show should be peak. That path is a good place to be, at that time.
Purple Cress, Cardamine douglassii, is one of the first spring wildflowers to bloom. The slopes were covered with them yesterday. The flowers are quite variable in color and arrangement. Some plants form open candelabras like this one, while others have a denser inflorescence. Color can range from nearly white to a deep violet.
I hit a trifecta of fumeworts, which is not difficult at the Ohio River Bluffs. The Fumariaceae family has only five representatives in Ohio, and two are quite rare summer bloomers. This is Yellow Fumewort, Coryadalis flavula, which along with the preceding two species is an early spring wildflower. Yellow Fumewort is a bit earlier than Dutchman's-breeches and Squirrel-corn, and this plant has already formed a ripe fruit (lower left).
Excepting the extremely hardy and rare Snow Trillium, Trillium nivale, Toadshade, T. sessile, is our first trillium to do its thing. Many plants already sported their odd cylindric flowers. This one is nestled in a leafy bed of Dwarf Larkspur, Delphimium tricorne.
Going prostrate for the bees brought me in closer proximity to numerous Red Velvet Mites in the genus Trombidium (I think). I've never seen so many on a single day. Maybe they have boom and bust years, and if so 2021 is decidedly a boom. I did not "pose" the mite - it was very busy inspecting Spring-beauty flowers which made for a particularly aesthetic backdrop.
A trio of Goldenstar, Erythronium rostratum, flowers in picture-perfect condition.
EVERY time I post a photo of this rarity, people tell me they have them on their property. No. They have the common and widespread Yellow Trout Lily, Erythronium americanum, which looks superficially similar. Goldenstar has a scattered and localized distribution, with Arkansas being the epicenter. Northern Kentucky and southern Ohio sites are far removed from the core range. Famed Cincinnati botanist Lucy Braun discovered this species along Rocky Fork Creek on the edge of Shawnee State Forest in 1964. While there are probably tens of thousands of plants along a few miles of the stream valley, that's it. Only fairly recently was another much smaller Ohio population discovered not far to the west in Adams County. These are the only known Ohio sites and the only populations north of the Ohio River.
If you can get to the Ohio River Bluffs next weekend or sometime the following week, you should be treated to a remarkable display of spring wildflowers.
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