Indian Paintbrush

Indian Paintbrush, Castilleja coccinea is the Flora-Quest flower for 2012.  It was an excellent choice for this super-heated spring, as it is likely to continue to bloom well into May.  But there is more to this plant than meets the eye. Those attractive "flowers" aren't flowers at all.  The video below features one of Ohio's best-known naturalists, Jim McCormac, as he tells the whole story.

Charmed, I'm sure

No matter how many times I venture into Adams County, we always see something new.  This weekend the Eastern Fence Lizards were real crowd pleasers.

Eastern Fence Lizard, Sceloporus undulatus

Don't worry, we didn't hurt this little gal.  She is just resting comfortably in John Howard's hand. He used the old "alligator belly-rubbing"  trick to hypnotize it.  





Ned Keller had caught the critter and John volunteered to show us his "magic" with the little lady.  We didn't believe it until we saw it, but fact is- John has a way with the lizards.  

The males have a trick of their own in the springtime: a spectacular blue-belly.  All the better to impress the lady's with, I am sure.  No lizards or handlers were harmed in the photo sessions, oh, except  Nina.  This male did put a chomp down on her finger.  Unfortunately, I missed that shot. Not to worry, she was relatively unharmed as well.

Now who is Jim McCormac trying to charm?   

That's too small to be a lizard. My goodness, it is no biggger than a dime, whatever it is. 

It is Ohio's only green butterfly- a rarity for sure!  The Juniper Hairstreak butterfly was "puddling" for minerals and gave us an incredible show.  After an intense half-hour photo session, Jim decided we best move the little guy out of the road before we left. Occasionally butterflies will sit on your dampened finger; they are probably after body salt. Note his tiny proboscis in the photo, it is uncurled and taking up minerals.  Slurp.

No matter how many times we hit the trails in Adams and Scioto Counties, we always find something new.  People love to come to Flora-Quest year after year, because we always find something we have never seen before.  

This year the botany will be different than most, due to the unseasonably warm weather. Who knows what we will find!  Call or e-mail today to get one of the few places remaining in Flora-Quest 2012.

Butterflies at Picnic Point

The earliest of butterflies in southern Ohio includes the charismatic Falcate Orangetip,  

wicked fast and no bigger than a nickle. One has to exercise patience to get a good photo of this wee beastie.  Its larval host plants are the early season mustards.

The view from Picnic Point in Shawnee State Park is stellar, and you might want to rest a bit after chasing all those tiny butterflies. From this vista we can see all the way to the Ohio River.

Another wee bit, the Gemmed Satyr.  Hardly the size of a quarter, but encrusted with "jewels".  The dusky colored flier is worth that second look, especially if you use your binoculars or macro camera lens.  Another early season favorite; larval host is Bermuda grass.

Highlights from Lorain

The Black River Audubon Society in Lorain was a gracious host for my "Butterflies as Bioindicators" program last night.  We had a great crowd of fifty or so folks willing to consider butterflies in a new light:  many butterflies have affiliations with habitats and can be used as markers for those habitats.  

When we booked this program last fall, we never  dreamed that we would be able to see butterflies in Lorain in early April.

Red Admiral, Vanessa atalanta

 This morning we took a walk around the pond at the Peak Preserve and saw over 30 Red Admirals!  The were a couple of Cabbage White butterflies looking for nectar, but they were far out-numbered by the flashy "leps" with the red-orange racing stripe. Many were very fresh looking, which makes me suspect they were able to survive the mild winter and are recently emerged from a chrysalis.  The theory has always been that Red Admirals fly in from the southwest in the spring. Most of these bugs did not show any of the wear and tear one would suspect if that were the case.

The next stop: Lorain Lighthouse.

This is a favorite haunt to visit and well worth the trip, even if we had no other sightings. 

The Bonaparte's Gull were putting on a plumage show today.  The stars of the pageant were the breeding males with their fully blackened "hoods."  The off season plumage is more common in Ohio and we are used to seeing "Bonies" with a small black dot on the side of their head.

Laughing or Franklin's Gull, Lorain channel

Another slightly larger "hooded" gull was being stand-offish from the other gulls, and spent its time on shore. A closer look determined it had black legs and a bright red bill.  It was too large for a Bonaparte's and the leg and bill colors were our first clues to the identity of this Laughing  or Franklin's Gull.   Fact is, it is time to eat crow on this one.  We called it Laughing Gull and it was probably a Franklin's.  I think I better stick to butterflies!  They don't have different plumages.

It is migration time and one never knows what might turn up!  So take a second look at anything that seems odd or out of place.  You may be surprised by what can be found in Ohio.

Life Place, Life Plants

Spring is in full swing in Central Ohio and playing host to the full suite of spring ephemeral flowers.  Here today and gone tomorrow, the botanists are all trying to see as many species as we can manage.  Better yet, the rare or unusual species are what we dream about seeing.

 Narrow-leaved Toothwort, Cardamine dissecta

A close relative of the commonly seen Cut-leaved Toothwort, the Narrow-leaved variety is an Ohio rarity.  It favors limestone and more southern climes.  We were able to see it on a recent trip to a preserve owned by Ohio Wesleyan University. 

 Take a close look at those leaves. They are not serrated on the edges like the common cut-leaf variety. The flowers look the same and one must wonder if it can play host to the West Virginia White butterfly. (You knew we would get back to butterflies, right?)

Our guide, David Johnson seems to be saying, "Look everywhere.  Rarities abound on both sides of this trail."  We were touring the Bohannan Nature Preserve, found just north of Delaware Ohio.  It is a property owned and protected by the Ohio Wesleyan University.  It is one of the very few places in Ohio that has the rare toothwort.

 Carey's Sedge, Carex careyana    Sure... all sedges "look the same."  But this one was different. 

It had long, stately culms.  A life-sedge for me!  One shudders to admit to a "life sedge list."  It is akin to the passport to total plant geek-dom.

 The reproductive bits all on one culm.  How handy!   The female parts are to the left and the male pollination parts are finishing up, on the right.  It must be bliss to be wind pollinated; certainly keeps things simple.


Look at the base of the sedge: red.  One of the keys to identifying Carey's sedge. That easy enough, right?

Special thanks to Steve McKee and especially to Ray Cranfill.  Ray openly admitted that Carey's Sedge was one of his favorites.  However,  I suspect he has many "favorites" among sedges (and ferns) as a widely acclaimed botanist who wrote the Ferns and fern allies of Kentucky. 

It was a pleasure to tag along after these two knowledgeable guys.  And if you happen to be a fern fan, you'll want to get in Steve's group at Flora-Quest.  There are plenty of  varieties to see in Adams County.