Day Tripping to Adams County

If you have ever spent time with me, you probably know that I love Adams County in southern Ohio. Adams County has some of the most fantastic and unique nature in the state of Ohio. Last week I traveled to Adams County with two fellow naturalists from Ohio University—Olivia Brooks and Alayna Tokash—in order to do some botanizing, herping, and birding.

Out of the several places we traveled to, the favorite was Lynx Prairie. Lynx Prairie is a public preserve that is owned by The Nature Conservancy, and is a location I've written about extensively on this blog. To get a general overview about the nature and history of this famous preserve, check out this link: Lynx Prairie Posts. Lynx Prairie is a system of 10 xeric short grass prairies that are of varying sizes. There is a whole host of interesting and rare species that call these "pocket prairies" home, and so I wanted to share a few of the highlights from my most recent trip!

I'll begin with this inconspicuous flower. This is Slender Ladies'-Tresses (Spiranthes lacera). The ladies'-tresses is a group of orchids with a white inflorescence that typically inhabit prairies or prairie-like habitats. There are 9 species that can be found in Ohio, with 3 of those species being state-listed. The Slender Ladies'-Tresses is one of the more common of the Spiranthes species in Ohio.

The ladies'-tresses can be a difficult group to identify down to species. To identify a ladies'-tresses, you should first see if the flowers are arranged in a single-spiral (such as the Slender Ladies'-Tresses), or a double spiral (like the Great Plains Ladies'-Tresses). After that, you have to carefully inspect the flowers. There are several single-spiral species that can be found in Adams County, but the flowers of each species differ slightly. The Slender Ladies'-Tresses has a characteristic green labellum (or lip), which can be seen above. If you want to read about some of the other species of ladies'-tresses that can be found in the prairies in Adams County, check out my previous post: Spiranthes Orchids at Blue Jay Barrens.

The most exciting plant find of the day—and a lifer for yours truly—was the unassuming succulent pictured above. This is False Aloe (Manfreda virginica). Although common in the southern US, False Aloe is extremely rare in Ohio, where it can currently only be found in Adams and Highland Counties. False Aloe has an extremely interesting history in this part of the state. False Aloe thrives in dry prairie openings, which is currently a rare habitat in Ohio. But between 8,000 and 4,000 years ago, the world entered a very warm period called the Hypsithermal. Ohio became very dry and hot, resulting in the prairies of the west extending into Ohio. False Aloe—a plant of the south-central part of the United States—is thought to have invaded northward into these new Ohio prairies during this time, where it thrived. 

When this hot, dry period ended around 4,000 years ago, the forests began to recolonize Ohio. False Aloe found itself suddenly restricted to the dry limestone barrens of southwest Ohio, which were already thousands of years old. Originally kept open during the last ice age by megafauna like the Mastodon, these barrens were now being kept open as a result of fires set by the early Native Americans in the region. False Aloe became the dominant plant in some of these limestone barrens, and one European settler from the early 1800's even made reference to an "agave desert" in the Adams County region. Once the European settlers killed and pushed the Native Americans out of this region, the human-set fires in the prairies and forests of this region ceased and became a thing of the past.

As the 1900's approached, the people living in this region allowed the forest—which had been all but clearcut in the mid 1800's—to come back. The remaining limestone barrens of Adams County that had not been developed or otherwise destroyed began experiencing the effects of natural succession. Red Cedars and Tuliptrees—which had previously been kept at bay by the fires the Native Americans had set for thousands of years—began pushing their way into the barrens. As many of these barrens became forested, the False Aloe found itself dying out in Ohio. Nowadays this species is found in only a few of the protected barrens which are managed with prescribed burns. Sadly, a recent study found that many of the remaining populations of False Aloe in Adams County are reproductively  isolated and inbred. This will only lead to a further decrease in numbers over the next century, as the seeds of inbred False Aloe tend not to thrive. At its current state, the future of the False Aloe in Ohio seems rather grim...

Moving aside from the doom and gloom to something more upbeat, here is a recently-hatched Eastern Fence Lizard (Sceloporus undulatus) that Alayna found hiding under a loose rock. Learning that Ohio has lizards may come as a surprise to many, but Ohio is indeed home to 5 species (Eastern Fence Lizard, Common Five-Lined Skink, Broad-Headed Skink, Little Brown Skink, and the non-native Common Wall Lizard). The Eastern Fence Lizard belongs to the genus Sceloporus, which are collectively known as the "spiny lizards." The Eastern Fence Lizard is the only spiny lizard that can be found in Ohio, where it inhabits the southern and southeastern portions of the state.

Alayna Tokash (Master's student in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Ohio University) studies the tiny Eastern Fence Lizard as it perches on Olivia Brooks's (Undergraduate majoring in Wildlife and Conservation Biology at Ohio University) thumb.

Eastern Fence Lizards begin mating as early as late April here in Ohio, and the first round of eggs begin hatching in June. The individual we found probably hatched out in either June or July. Although Eastern Fence Lizards can live 3-4+ years, most don't make it past their first year due to depredation or other such life-ending circumstances. Hopefully this individual makes it past the initial first year, as chances of survivorship greatly increases in year two. If you want to see what a grown-up Eastern Fence Lizard looks like, take a peek back at my previous "Eastern Fence Lizards" post.

Only an hour later, I came across another baby lizard that was hanging out in a patch of forest between two of the pocket prairies. This is a recently-hatched Common Five-Lined Skink (Plestiodon fasciatus). The Five-Lined Skink is the most widespread and common lizard in Ohio, but isn't commonly seen due to its secretive nature. Five-Lined Skinks can be incredibly skittish, and they will often dart up a tree, under a log, or under the leaf litter upon seeing a human or other potential threat approach. The Five-Lined Skink, along with most other species of lizards, has another line of defense in addition to great evasion skills. The Five-Lined Skink is able to detach its tail in times of danger. If a predator gets too close, or if a predator grabs onto the skink's tail, the skink is able to willingly detach its tail at one of the several breakage points along the tail. 

When the tail becomes detached, it begins to wildly thrash about, which—if all goes according to plan—will surprise and distract the predator, giving enough time for the skink to run away. The Five-Lined Skink that I caught had already used this defense earlier in the summer, as can be told by the healing stub of a tail. Amazingly, Five-Lined Skinks, and other tail-dropping lizards, are able to regrow their tail over time. The catch: they aren't able to regrow the bones in the tail, and are only able to grow a rod of cartilage that takes the place of the bones.

Lynx Prairie is a great location for Five-Lined Skinks. The Five-Lined Skink exploits edge habitats, which are areas where two different types of habitats meet. They prefer edge habitats in which a forest meets some sort of disturbed open habitat, especially if such an area offers plenty of rock and log objects to bask on and to hide underneath. There are copious amounts of edge habitat at Lynx Prairie, offering plenty of appropriate areas for Five-Lined Skinks to inhabit.

One of the most unexpected finds at Lynx occurred when Alayna flipped a small piece of wood. Underneath this tiny piece of wood were two Long-Tailed Salamanders (Eurycea longicauda). The Long-Tailed Salamander was something of a nemesis species of mine for the longest time. They can be found throughout Ohio, except for the northwest quarter of the state. They can be relatively common in near streams in moist forests, but they tend to hide pretty well under rocks and logs, and in crevices in the ground. Despite looking for them for several years, the Long-Tailed Salamander evaded me—until this year, that is. This summer I've seen several Long-Tailed Salamanders, with these being number 3 and 4. As their name implies, the Long-Tailed Salamander has an abnormally long tail when compared to other Plethodontid (lungless) salamanders. In fact, a Long-Tailed Salamander's tail makes up approximately ~60% of its entire body length.

Visiting Lynx Prairie always makes for a fantastic day. However, this trip decided to give me two rather unpleasant surprises. Somehow while in the cedar barrens, I managed to pick up dozens and dozens of tick nymphs. In fact, I ended up pulling 87 tick nymphs off my body that day, and also got 40+ chigger bites as well. I guess that's the price you have to pay to see neat things?

Short-Eared Owls!

This past Sunday I was out chasing a Ross's Goose and two Snow Geese in Lancaster, Ohio. When driving back to Circleville, I noticed that it was approaching dusk. On a whim I decided to drive just south of Circleville to Radcliff Road and see if there were any Short-Eared Owls about. Radcliff Road (and the attached River Drive) cuts through the area that was once the Pickaway Plains, a small section of prairie now all but gone. More recently, a large section of land in this area was put under control of the Conservation Reserve Program. In an attempt to create habitat for wildlife and restore land that was intensely farmed for decades, farmland was converted to a sea of various grasses. This area (including the famous Charlie's Pond) has become well-known to birders for the interesting array of grassland species that call it home.

The grasslands along Radcliff Road and River Drive have been known to harbor overwintering populations of Short-Eared Owls for several years. Actual numbers of individuals of vary year to year, and I've personally missed out every time I've gone looking for them here. But this night was different. Just a few minutes after turning onto Radcliff Road, I noticed a Short-Eared Owl on the ground looking at me! Finally, my Short-Eared Owl lifer! I was dancing in my car from excitement and shooting photo after photo. Finally, after a few minutes, I decided to continue on down River Road. Then I noticed the others; there were Short-Eared Owls flying everywhere!

This is when I really started freaking out from excitement. At least 7 Short-Eared Owls were flying over the grassland. I wasn't really expecting to see any, let alone have them circling my car! The Short-Eared Owl is a medium-sized owl species that can be found on every continent except Australia and Antarctica. In North America, the Short-Eared Owl breeds in Canada and Alaska as well as the north-western quarter of the lower 48. During the winter months they will migrate farther south to overwinter. Their migration isn't quite like the typical migration of most birds, and instead they exhibit more of an irruptive migration. Basically, they follow vole populations. When vole populations crash in the northern section of North America, large numbers of these owls will irrupt southward to find better food sources. Sometimes this results in these northerly owls being found as far south as Florida or northern Mexico and in great numbers. If the vole populations are high in the north, these owls will not go as far south, and might be completely absent in locations they were abundant at a year ago. These irruptive cycles can make them hard or easy to find in Ohio when it comes to a yearly basis, but they always make an appearance throughout the state each winter. There have even been a few records of them breeding in Ohio, including right here in Pickaway County (probably in this location, but I cannot find exact details), but these records are few and far in between.

Spot the Short-Eared Owl.

The Short-Eared Owl is an inhabitant of grasslands, prairies, marshes, and other open country habitats. They are nocturnal, but they often begin to come out and hunt up to an hour before sunset. These owls were out and about at 4:30, while the sunset wasn't until 5:10 or so. As you might have guessed, the decreasing light made it hard to take decent photos. Telephoto lenses already don't do well in low light, and I have a pretty amateur-level 300 mm telephoto lens at that. Couple that with my Nikon D5100 camera sensor that does okay with ISO (light sensitivity) levels, and it was pretty hard to get a decent, focused photo without a crazy amount of noise. All of these photos were shot at f/8 with a shutter speed of 1/250 seconds and an ISO of 320 and 400. I also shoot in RAW which allows me to be more flexible with exposures. These photos were all underexposed, but Lightroom does a wonderful job at bringing under-and-over-exposed RAW photos under control.

Since the Short-Eared Owls came out while there was still light, they weren't the only ones patrolling the grasses for voles. Northern Harriers, which are essentially the niche-wise daytime equivalent of the Short-Eared Owl, were still out. The two species didn't like this competition though, and some scuffles broke out. The photo above shows a Short-Eared Owl (on the left) chasing a Northern Harrier (on the right). These two frantically chased each other for a bit and occasionally hit each other if one got close enough to launch an attack.

These owls are strikingly beautiful. You might be wondering about their name though. The Short-Eared Owl is called such as they have small feather tufts (not actual ears) that stick up from the top of their head, much like a Great Horned Owl. However, these owls only raise these tufts when alarmed or excited. Most of the time these tufts are held down, like in the individual above.

If you want to see these owls, check out Radcliff Road and River Drive in southern Pickaway County at dusk. If you aren't near this location, try checking out nearby hay fields or grass fields at dusk. The roads around The Wilds near Zanesville seem to produce a bunch as well! Thanks for reading!

Spiranthes Orchids at Blue Jay Barrens

Nearly a month ago, I had the pleasure of visiting Blue Jay Barrens. Some of you surely recognize that name. Blue Jay Barrens is a large tract of land in Adams County that's owned and managed by Steve Willson. If you've heard of this place, chances are you've read about it on Steve's wonderful blog entitled Blue Jay Barrens. If you haven't checked out his blog, I highly suggest you do. I've been meaning to make a post on some of the amazing things I saw there, but the past few weeks have been crazy for me. I've had to finish up my summer lab work, as well as move back in to Ohio University and deal with the insanity that is the start of a new semester. Anyway, I now have a little bit of time to write, so better late than never!

As I said before, Blue Jay Barrens is a privately owned tract of land that resides in the northern part of Adams County. I've been an avid reader of Steve's blog for a few years now, and he recently reached out to me and asked if I wanted a tour. The answer to a question like that is always yes. I came down on August 13th and Steve gave me a wonderful tour that lasted about 6 hours. He has just over 100 acres, and we saw only about half of it that day. The number of interesting plants and other goodies that I saw that day was simply astounding. Blue Jay Barrens lies in the incredible and unique Adams County, my personal favorite county in Ohio. Adams County is perhaps best known for its globally rare cedar glades (also called cedar barrens) that contain many dozens of rare plant species for Ohio. An example of an Adams County cedar barren is Lynx Prairie. Blue Jay Barrens is a little different though; before Steve bought it in 1985, it was actually farmland. Decades of farming and bad land use practices had eroded essentially all of the topsoil, leaving the land desolate. Slowly but surely, native plants began to come back and soil is slowly being replaced. Adams County, luckily, has many native plant species that can thrive on thin, rocky, and dry soils, most of which are prairie species. Seeds of these hardy species naturally made their way from neighboring areas and began to recolonize the area. Fast forward to the present and you have a beautiful prairie environment with Red Cedars (which are managed by Steve) that dot the landscape.

I was able to visit at a great time in the year. Several Spiranthes orchid species were in bloom, and Spiranthes also happens to be my absolute favorite genus of orchids. Lucky me! Spiranthes is a genus (the classification category right before species) of orchids that mainly calls open areas such as prairies home. There are 9 species that can be found in Ohio, with 3 of those species being state-listed as either Potentially Threatened or Threatened. They're generally small plants, with their white inflorescence (the flowering part of the plant) often being overlooked among the tall grasses they tend to grow in. To give you an idea, look at the photo above. There's a single Spiranthes individual growing on the right side. The good news is, once you intitially find one, your eyes get a "search image" and you start seeing them pretty often. Steve and I saw a few dozen blooming individuals that day, and each one was a treat. 

One of the main reasons I adore these orchids is their shape. Spiranthes orchids flower in either a single or double spiral. This individual shows a single spiral really well. This is a Spring Ladies'-Tresses, Spiranthes vernalis. First, a note about the common name of the Spiranthes. I will be using "Ladies'-Tresses" which is what the Ohio Department of Natural Resources uses. You will also see some places using "Lady's Tresses," "Ladies-Tresses," or some other similar name. A tress is a long lock of a woman's hair, and these flowers take on the name Ladies'-Tresses as they resemble a braided lock of hair. As common names are wont to do, the Spring Ladies'-Tresses does not bloom in the Spring, except when they do. The issue here is that in the southern states (where the common name stems from), this species actually does bloom in the Spring. However, the farther north you travel, the later this species blooms. So although the common name is due to its blooming habits in southern states, this species actually blooms in late Summer or early Fall here in Ohio. It blooms as late as October once you get into New England! 

A closeup of the flowers on the Spring Ladies'-Tresses, with a beetle guest.

The identification of ladies'-tresses can be difficult. In Ohio, you can often narrow it down to 2 or 3 species depending on your location and time of year, and then you have to start getting into the tiny details to separate them. I am relatively new to plants, so I always like to double check my ID's with the more knowledgeable members of the Facebook group Ohio's Wildflowers and Flora, which is a really wonderful group. Often the flowers, and specifically the labellum (or lip), have some characteristic feature to help nail the identification. In the Spring Ladies'-Tresses, the labellum often has a yellowish-tinge, as you can see in the photo above. An uncommon plant here in Ohio, the Spring Ladies'-Tresses is confined to only 8 counties in the southern tip of Ohio.

Next we have a much smaller species. This is the Little Ladies'-Tresses, Spiranthes tuberosa. This dainty species is also an inhabitant of dry prairies and meadows like the previous Spring Ladies'-Tresses (although they can be found in other habitats as well), but this species is generally much smaller in height. This individual was probably less than a foot high, while the Spring Ladies'-Tresses we saw were about 2 feet or so tall.

As I previously mentioned, the labellum of many Spiranthes orchids holds a clue as to what species it is. In this case, the labellum is pure white, while the previous Spring Ladies'-Tresses had a labellum with a yellow tinge. This pure white labellum is an easy way to quickly identify Spiranthes tuberosa. The Little Ladies'-Tresses has a decently wide range in Ohio. In fact, it pretty much has a straight distribution line from Adams County in Southern Ohio up to Ashtabula County in extreme Northeastern Ohio that's about two or three counties wide. You can see a range map here.

This is the Slender Ladies'-Tresses, Spiranthes lacera var. gracilis, which was last Spiranthes species we saw that day. I should note that ladies'-tresses are often a hard genus of flowers to photograph. They're generally short and very thin. This gives your camera's autofocus quite a challenge many times. The main issue is that they are often set among similarly-sized grasses and assorted other flowers. As a result, a camera's autofocus has a hard time deciding what exactly you're trying to focus on. If you add a breeze, good luck. Luckily this day was quite still, for the most part at least. There was one instance where I was trying to focus on an individual while there was an intermittent breeze. As soon as my camera would focus on the Spiranthes, a breeze would come and move the flower out of focus, and my camera would then decide to focus on a random piece of grass. Cue the process of trying to refocus on the flower, only to have the process repeat again a few seconds later.

The defining characteristic of the Slender Ladies'-Tresses is the green spot on the labellum, which you can see above. If you noticed in the previous paragraph, I said this was Spiranthes lacera var. gracilis. You might notice that this isn't the "normal" type of scientific name with only a genus and species part; there's also a "var. gracilis." This means that it is the gracilis variety of Spiranthes lacera. A variety is essentially a distinct type within a species. S. lacera var. gracilis is also known as the Southern Slender Ladies'-Tresses. The other variety is S. lacera var. lacera, also called the Northern Slender Ladies'-Tresses. Andrew Gibson, the blogger at The Buckeye Botanist, helped me on the variety part. He said "The best way to differentiate the two [varieties] is by the presence of basal leaves at anthesis. Variety gracilis' basal leaves are gone while var. lacera's are still there during flowering. Additionally, var. gracilis is a single rank of flowers in a tight spiral around the stem; var. lacera's flowers are more or less secund and all to one side of the stem and hardly spiraled." He also pointed out that var. lacera hasn't been found in Ohio so far, although he believes it is probably somewhere in extreme northern Ohio.

My trip to Blue Jay Barrens was jam-packed with exciting species, and hopefully I'll have some more time to make at least another post on it. These three orchids, which were all lifers for me, bring me up to 14 orchid species for my life list out of the 47 species in Ohio.

A Gentian and an Orchid

About three weeks ago, I and a couple of other Ohio University students made the trip up to northern Ohio to assist with a graduate student's salamander research. While up in Erie County, we decided to stop by Castalia Quarry Metropark to check it out.

After pulling into the parking lot, we decided to head down the Fringed Gentian Trail. After a few feet in a forest, the trail opened up to this limestone-based prairie. Knowing that this was prime blooming time for the fringed gentians, I eagerly began searching the grasses for a fringed gentian, a lifer for me.

After only about 3 minutes of searching, a medium-sized blue flower caught my eye. Quickly moving to it, I laid eyes upon a beauty of a flower. There are multiple gentian species in Ohio, including two of the fringed kind (which get their names from the fringing on the flowers). These are the Lesser and the Greater. The ones I came across at Castalia Quarry were the Greater Fringed Gentian, Gentianopsis crinita. This species is state-listed as "Potentially Threatened." As of 2008, this species has been recorded in only 10 counties here in Ohio, mostly in the north and northeast.

So why is this a Greater Fringed instead of a Lesser? Both occur in Erie County, so I wasn't sure. I didn't feel comfortable enough making the ID, so I consulted the Facebook group Ohio's Wildflowers and Flora. Andrew Gibson, a field botanist for ODNR and the blogger who runs the amazing Natural Treasures of Ohio, IDed it as a Greater Fringed Gentian. He said "there is distinct fringing across the summit of the petals and the cauline leaves are more lance-ovate and stubby. Lesser Fringed Gentian's leaves are much narrower/linear and longer by comparison."

Greater Fringed Gentians can be found in wet meadows and prairies, ditches, fens, and a variety of other open habitats. This is an Autumn-blooming species which blooms from September to October, which is relatively late in the year for flowers. They were definitely one of the coolest flowers I've seen, and they're definitely worth a look for those interested!

While I was taking pictures of the prairie area, the others of the group decided to head back to the car. After I was finished with my photos, I began heading back to the car myself. Along the way, a tiny spike of white flowers made me freeze. Looking over, I saw to my surprise that it was none other than a species of ladies'-tresses, a type of orchid. Closer inspection revealed it was the Great Plains Ladies'-Tresses, Spiranthes magnicamporum, which is yet another state listed plant (Potentially Threatened). As the name suggests, this is a prairie species that is at home in the Great Plains. This species, however, does exist in other pocket prairies throughout the east, including a few places throughout Ohio.

This ladies'-tresses orchid is quite similar to S. cernua (in fact, it was considered the same species until 1973), but there are a few distinguishing features. The Great Plains Ladies'-Tresses is found in prairie habitats; the one above was found in a dry limestone prairie for example. There are also no leaves on the stem when this species flowers, and instead is just the stem coming straight up from the ground with a spike of white flowers. Closer inspection of the flowers also holds some identification traits. As you can see in the photo above, the lip of the flower curls downward. The sepals, which can be found above the curled flower, extend past the lip of the flower. This species also has a very strong scent.

Both of these flowers were a completely unexpected find; I'm very happy we stopped by the park! I've been going on these weekend salamander research trips for the last 3 weeks, and I've seen a lot of cool stuff. I'll be working on a few more blog posts that go over some of the things I've been able to get photos of, so stay tuned!

Flowers on the Prairies

As I mentioned in my post about Lynx Prairie, Adams County is home to the rare xeric limestone pocket prairie habitat (man, what a name), also known as cedar glades.

*EDIT* Woo! I just passed 20,000 views on my blog with this post! Thank you all so very much for your support!

The North Prairie at Lynx Prairie.

These small prairies that are scattered around Adams County are thousands of years old (possibly 10,000+ years). They have a basic soil (8+ pH) that is nutrient poor. Because these soils are typically only a few inches deep, water evaporates very easily which then makes for very dry soil. All these factors make for a very harsh living environment, and as a result many unique, and rare, plant species have come to adapt to this environment. This post will go over a few of the rare and some of the common flowers that were blooming in late July.

Let's start with a rarity in Ohio. This is American Bluehearts, Buchnera Americana. This is state-listed as Threatened in Ohio, and is state-listed in many other states as well. American Bluehearts have only been recorded in 6 counties here in Ohio; however, only three counties have had records since 1980. Those three counties are Pike, Jackson, and Adams. American Bluehearts can be found in limestone glades (the one above was found at Lynx Prairie), prairies, open woods, and moist sandy soils like you might find on roadsides. According to ODNR, management is a necessity for this species to continue to exist in Ohio. American Bluehearts are yet another species that greatly benefit from the burning of land every few years. As a result, controlled burning should be carried out in the lands where this species grows to maintain a decent population there. I have covered parasitic plants on here before (Indian Pipe and Squawroot), and now I can also add American Bluehearts to that list. American Bluehearts are what is known as "hemiparasitic," which means that while they can live independently, they can also live as parasites. In the case of American Bluehearts, this species will attach parasitic roots to nearby trees and take nutrients from them, especially when there are difficult living conditions, like a drought, going on.

Let's continue with another flashy flower, Canada Lily, Lilium canadense. This individual was found at Chaparral Prairie and let me tell you, you will not pass by this flower without noticing it. A tall species, Canada Lily can reach heights of 5 feet or so. Hanging reddish flowers 5 feet in the air are hard to ignore. I will admit I was very excited to finally find this plant.

While Canada Lily is showy when you look at it at the angle in the previous photo, look up into the flowers and you'll be blown away. Canada Lily is probably Ohio's most common lily species. A resident of the Allegheny Plateau of eastern Ohio, this species can be found in open woodland, openings in forests, moist prairies, and savannas.

Next let's move on to one of the Liatris species that was just beginning to bloom in the prairies of Chaparral Prairie SNP. This is Dense Blazingstar, Liatris spicata. Dense Blazingstar is the most common blazingstar species in Ohio (there are 7 native species). The individual above was the one that was most in-bloom at the time, as all the others only had about 10 or less of the flowers blooming. When blooming peaks, Chaparral Prairie is awash with tall purple spikes swaying in the breezing among the greens of the grasses and Prairie Docks. Dense Blazingstar is a species that prefers more moist (instead of dry) soils and as a result isn't limited in habitat choices. You can find this species in moist prairies, wetlands like fens and marshes, and other wet fields. Even though this is the most common blazingstar species in Ohio, it's still not overly common by any means. It has been recorded in about 27 or so counties that are scattered all throughout Ohio.

Another Liatris species in bloom currently is Scaly Blazingstar, Liatris squarrosa, which I've previously covered. Another state-listed species, Scaly Blazingstar was blooming in force at Lynx Prairie. You can read more about this species on my Scaly Blazingstar feature.

A very common species in Ohio's prairies is Gray-Headed Coneflower, Ratidiba pinnata. Both Purple and Gray-Headed Coneflowers can be found in Ohio prairies, but in my experience the Gray-Headed Coneflower generally outnumbers the Purple. Notice the drooping yellow petals, a diagnostic feature. A taller species that can reach heights of 3-4 feet, Gray-Headed Coneflowers offered a nice contrast to the low greens of Lynx Prairie as their yellow flowers jutted up into the sky. Gray-Headed Coneflower is an inhabitant of prairies, forest edges, thickets, and railroad right-of-ways. A hardy species, Gray-Headed Coneflower can thrive in both xeric (dry) and mesic (moist) environments. This species can generally be found in the western, glaciated parts of Ohio, but has also been recorded in eastern counties like Athens County.

While Gray-Headed Coneflower is a common flower in Ohio prairies, a rare denizen of the Ohio prairies is Rattlesnake Master, Eryngium yuccifolium. This species is one that is more commonly found in the tall grass prairies of the west and south. In Ohio this species is state-listed as "Potentially Threatened" and according to ODNR has only been recorded in 6 counties here (although BONAP has more counties listed...). The flowers of Rattlesnake Master are unmistakable if you do come across one though, so there's no doubting you found one if you know what they look like. I love Rattlesnake Master and it's always a treat to come across. Chaparral Prairie SNP has the largest population in the state if you're wanting to see some for sure.

The leaves of Rattlesnake Master are an interesting aspect of the plant; they almost look like some sort of agave. Notice the small spines lining the edges. The curious name "Rattlesnake Master" comes from the plant's ability to control a rattlesnake if a human brandishes one of the flowers to the rattlesnake... Just kidding. In all seriousness, the name comes from its historical use by Native Americans to treat rattlesnake bites; however, as one might guess this treatment was ineffective.

A common flower dotting the pocket prairies at Lynx Prairie is the brilliant Rose Pink, Sabatia angularis. Rose Pink (you might also see the name as Rosepink) is a flower of prairies, rocky open woods, roadsides, glades, thickets, and fields. In Ohio this species is found predominantly in the eastern and southern portions of the state. Look for this beautiful species blooming in July to August.



Another common flower at Lynx Prairie was the small, but attention-grabbing, Common Self Heal, Prunella vulgaris. This species is by no means a prairie-only flower. In fact, this incredibly common species has been recorded in basically every single county in Ohio. You can find this flower in a variety of habitats including waste areas, edges of forests, fields, and the likes. The nativity of this species is questionable. There are different varieties of this species, and a few of those are considered native. However, other varieties are from Eurasia and have been introduced here. As a result, a close look by trained eyes can help determine if an individual is probably native or not. I, however, am not a trained eye, so I have no idea if this is a native or foreign strand. Regardless, this is a very attractive flower. Normally the ones I run across only have a few flowers on them as the others haven't bloomed yet or have fallen off. This individual had the fullest bloom I've ever seen in Common Self Heal. 

Another common flower at Chaparral Prairie SNP was the Partridge Pea, Chamaecrista fasciculate. Notice the four petals with red center. Also notice the Honey-Locust-like leaves. This species almost looks like the tiny sapling of a locust tree in my opinion. Like many prairie species, Partridge Pea benefits greatly from a prairie fire every few years. After an area is burned, this species can be found in great numbers and generally decreases in number every year after until the area is burned again. This is a species that loves disturbed areas, dry and moist prairies, roadsides, savannas, and other similar habitats. Partridge Pea has been recorded in about 30 or so counties here in Ohio. It's mainly found in the southern counties and seems to follow Ohio River tributaries (like the Scioto River) northward.

And finally we have Pale-Spiked Lobelia, Lobelia spicata. This isn't the greatest photo, I know, but it was raining and I didn't spend too much time on it. These spikes of white or pale-blue flowers were blooming all throughout the prairies at Lynx Prairie and added to the multiple colors already present. Pale-Spiked Lobelia prefers the more moist and rich soil of certain prairies, fields, and open woodlands; however, this species can also tolerate the rocky, dry conditions that make up Lynx Prairie. Pale-Spiked Lobelia is a relatively common species here in Ohio and has been recorded in a little more than half of the counties here, mostly those in the east and south.

These are only a handful of the flowers we came across while in Adams County, but to add them all would make for a massive post. There are more posts to come based around Adams County, but I also have a post on Gallagher Fen SNP in the works and a few others, so stay tuned!

Lynx Prairie

Adams County, Ohio, is a low-populated southern county that lies along the Ohio River. At first glance, Adams County has a mix of Appalachia Ohio and farmland Ohio, but a closer look reveals just how unique this county is. The Bluegrass Region of northern Kentucky just reaches across the border and into Adams Co. and a few of the other surrounding counties. This triangular-shaped region holds many plants that are more typically found in the southern US or the Appalachian Mountains. Many of these plant species are rare or uncommon here, as one would expect. Adams Co. also holds a type of rare prairie ecosystem called cedar glades which are xeric (dry) limestone prairies. This ecosystem is also known as a pocket prairie due to reasons you will soon see. This post will cover one of the best examples of cedar glades in the state, the famous Lynx Prairie.

Just warning you now, this is going to be a really long post because not only do I love this preserve, but its history, geology, and flora are simply too incredible to ignore.

Lynx Prairie is a public nature preserve that is a part of the greater Edge of Appalachia Preserve owned by The Nature Conservancy. This preserve is located right outside of the very tiny village of Lynx, OH. Since the last time I've been down, the Nature Conservancy has changed the preserve a bit. There's now a new entrance on Cline Rd. complete with their own parking lot, and a new trail that leads to the other trails from that parking lot. Previously (and you still can), one would park at a small church off Tulip Rd. and walk through the cemetery shown above. The new directions can be found on the Nature Conservancy's page for Lynx Prairie located here.

We weren't aware of the new entrance (we actually got lost and stumbled upon it by accident), so we did the usual park at the church, walk to the cemetery, and appear at the entrance pictured above. On our visit it was going between sprinkling and outright raining with short periods of nothing in between. As a result I ended up using my small Canon point-and-shoot to take many of these photos. I wasn't overly happy with the results (many were washed out), but they're better than nothing. Anyway, on to the preserve itself...

After entering, you find yourself on a small trail winding through a typical forest of the area. But wait a minute, you might ask. This is called Lynx Prairie. Where's the tall grasses? The wide open spaces? Well, these prairies are a bit different than your average prairie.

The North Prairie, my personal favorite in Lynx Prairie. Purple Coneflower, Gray-Headed Coneflower, Scaly Blazingstar, and Self-Heal are among the grasses. Look for Shooting Star, a showy wildflower, in this opening in late Spring and early Summer.

As you round a corner on the trail, the forest melts away and you suddenly find yourself in an open space; however, this still doesn't look like the prairies most people think of. Before I get into the specifics of the Lynx Prairie complex, let me go over the three broad types of prairies. There are tall grass prairies, mixed grass prairies, and short grass prairies. Tall grass prairies are normally 5-7 feet tall and occasionally reach heights approaching 10 feet. The prairies at Lynx are short grass prairies, but are not overly like the normal short grass prairies of the West.

Part of the extensive Elizabeth's Prairie, the largest at Lynx Prairie.

Lynx Prairie is made up of a system of 10 xeric limestone prairies. The prairie openings are many times small areas in a large region of forest. This characteristic has given rise to the name "pocket prairie" to describe the small openings. Some of these pocket prairies can be quite small while others are the size of an acre or so. The photo above shows one of the larger ones.

So what causes these pocket prairies to form? The answer lies in the photo above. That rock ledge is made of Peebles Dolomite, a type of sedimentary rock from the Silurian Period (443.4–419.2 million years ago). Most of the times the bedrock in Ohio is many feet underground which allows trees to take root and grow. However, in certain places of Adams Co., as in the case of Lynx Prairie, this Peebles Dolomite bedrock actually comes within 4 or so inches of the surface or even breaks the surface itself. This creates a shallow, harsh soil layer. As a result, most trees cannot take root and other short plant species take over. It's worth noting that the name "cedar glade" comes from the fact that Eastern Red Cedars can many times find a small crack in the bedrock and take root, and many times this leads to some of the only trees in the actual glades.

The photo above shows just how harsh the soil is. Pebbles are everywhere in the orange-red alkaline (pH of 8.5+) soil. This poor soil has a lack of nutrients and ends up being very dry due to the water evaporating quickly, which is why this is also called a xeric (or dry) limestone prairie. These factors make it very hard for plants to grow and thrive, and as a result many unique plants have evolved to be able to cope with such a harsh environment. It is thought these pocket prairies in Adams County are older than the last glaciation which ended about 10,000 years ago. As a result, plants have had a lot of time to evolve adaptions for this environment. Many of these plants are rare as they can only be found in cedar glades, which are rare to begin with.

While I'm on the subject of Peebles Dolomite and its effects on the prairies, I want to go over one of the more interesting plants I found growing on Annette's Rock, a good size boulder of Peebles Dolomite in one of the larger prairies. This interesting bluish-green plant is Smooth Cliffbrake, Pellaea glabella. Smooth Cliffbrake - which gains its name from its smooth, not hairy, stem - is actually a species of fern, although it doesn't overly look like a stereotypical fern. This species is epipetric, which means it grows on rocks (as you can see). Smooth Cliffbrake isn't overly a common species here, as it's only been recorded in about 20 counties. It grows on well-weathered limestone, so it is limited to exposed ledges, cliffs, boulders, and the like.

As many of you probably know, wildfires can be a good, even necessary, event for many various habitats. These pocket prairies are no different. Slowly, the woody plants of the surrounding forest begin to gain footholds on the edges and erode the bedrock; this is normal succession. Given enough time, these prairies will shrink and shrink as cedar trees do their work and the forest moves in. So, why hasn't that happened in the past 10,000 years? The simple answer is fire.

The North entrance of Elizabeth's Prairie. Look for Annette's Rock (not pictured) in this prairie. Notice the shrubs/small trees on the left boundary.

Here's the kicker; there's a lot of evidence that these fires weren't started by a random act of nature like a lightning strike. Most of the evidence points to Native Americans as the fire starters. Across the globe humans use controlled burns to help shape the land the way they want it. The Native Americans were no different. By burning the prairies, they preserved the prairies and kept the forest from eventually taking over. As some of you birders or hikers might have noticed before, there's a higher biodiversity in the edge between two habitats. This is called the Edge Effect. By preserving this boundary, Native Americans increased biodiversity and gave large mammals such as deer, elk, and bison good foraging locations. This of course helped the Native Americans as there was more game available for food. Native Americans didn't just burn prairies; there's evidence that they essentially burned every type of habitat in this region of the Midwest. Burning not only helped with hunting, but also helped with pest control, crop management, and also helped clear routes used for travel (as shrubby growth along the trails would give bears, cougars, and the like a place to hide). Nowadays The Nature Conservancy will burn the prairies every so often, as well as removing woody plants by hand.

At Lynx Prairie, the trails are set up into three loops built on each other. The trails will take you through the forest and into the prairies. The forest is very open in many places, like in the photo above. Oaks dominate most of the forest, but there are also Virginia Pines, Tuliptrees, and assorted other species.

Of course, Lynx Prairie is filled with wildflowers. The one shown above is the threatened American Bluehearts, Buchnera americana. Other wildflowers found at Lynx include Green Milkweed, Butterflyweed, Scaly Blazingstar, Shooting Star, Garden Phlox, Pale-Spiked Lobelia, Prairie Dock, Gray-Headed Coneflower, Purple Coneflower, Rattlesnake Master, Rose Pink, Self Heal, a few ladies' tresses orchids, Western Sunflower, Whorled Rosinweed, Crested Coralroot, and many, many more. I'll be covering a few of these species in my next post, so stay tuned!

There are many grasses that call Lynx Prairie home. Big Bluestem, Little Bluestem, and Indian Grass are the main species. However, the patch of grass above caught my eye. I came across this patch in a more forested part of the preserve. Upon taking a closer look I was met with a familiar sight...

At the ends of the grass were these flat, attractive spikelets. I knew I had seen these somewhere previously, and it suddenly clicked that this species grows out in the front flowerbed of my mom's house. It turns out that this is Woodoats (also known as Inland Sea Oats), Chasmanthium latifolium. Woodoat is actually a southern species of grass with its northern range lying in southwest Ohio. It's only been recorded in about 9 counties here, which makes it an uncommon/rare plant in Ohio. However, it can be locally abundant where it is found, as is the case at Lynx Prairie. It can be found in moist, shaded woodlands (as in the case of Lynx Prairie) and the likes.

As I mentioned before, there are three loops at Lynx Prairie that one can hike. This is a new, updated map of the preserve that shows the new parking area along Cline Road that was completed in 2014, as well as the new connecter path from the parking lot to the red, white, and green loops. There are a total of 1.3 miles of trails currently.

Lynx Prairie in Adams County is one of the natural gems of Ohio. Containing a system of rare cedar glades, there have been over 600 plant species recorded on the preserve, many of which are rare. This preserve is so significant that it was designated as a National Natural Landmark by the National Park Service in 1967. If you are at all interested, I highly suggest that you take a trip to this preserve. You will not regret it.