Shooting Stars - White Oak Cemetery April 27, 2023

 Wildflowers in the woods at White Oak Cemetery

Photos and words by Melissa Fey

Not all wildflower woods are created equal.  The woods surrounding the White Oak Cemetery are  contain superb wildflowers.   The woods here abound with wildflowers that are not found at other Limberlost properties.  Especially with not such abundance.  The woods are just starting to bloom and will be even more beautiful in the next couple of weeks.  This is the time to visit the White Oak Property.

There is a trail that circles the perimeter of the White Oak property.  It starts from  the road where you enter the property.  The best way to hike is going west and then walking north where the trail then heads east and finally south back to the road. 

Trail on west side of woods

Trail on East side of Woods

The west side of the property has the most variety and abundance of wildflowers.

This swampy low area is just west of the parking lot.

Then you come across a wildflower meadow covered with Shooting Stars.  They are just starting to bloom, but in the next few weeks this area will be completely covered with them.  You can hardly walk thru the woods without stepping on them.  Very few woods have Shooting Stars and none that I know of have this large amount.

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Just starting to bud out 

I was surprised to see Pearly Everlasting on the path.  I had never noticed them in these woods before.  The blooms are on tall steams with few leaves.  The stems and leaves are wooly.

The woods are covered with a purple profusion of Blue Phlox.  The colors of phlox range from dark purple to almost pink with every color in between.  I used to think that this was such a common flower that I didn't give it much thought,  but I have grown to appreciate its beauty.  

The Jacob's Ladder has finally started to bloom.  Its bell shaped loose clusters of  flowers hang over the "ladder" of paired leaflets.  

 

The Common Buttercup was also blooming throughout the woods here on the west side.

All along the roadside part of the property, the Golden Ragwort was everywhere.  You will notice these 1-3 foot tall plants in many areas of the Limberlost.  

The Common Violet is also very prevalent in this woods.  On the east side of the property it covers the woodland floor with its beautiful light blue to deep violet blooms.

In a few places the Wild Geranium are just starting to bloom.  They usually sport a single or possibly a double bloom on the top of the tall plant.  The leaves look very similar to the domestic geraniums that we plant for summer blooms.

There were a handful of Rue Anemone.  This bloom is similar to the Spring Beauty but can be differentiated by the 2 or 3 flowers on slender stalks above a whorl of small 3 lobed leaves.

Spring Beauty are normally darker pink in color and have very slender leaves

The White Trout Lilies were blooming.  Hard to see the bloom since they hang down.  They grow on pairs of  leaves that are waxy in texture and often mottled.

This part of the woods was covered by Trout Lilies, but none of them were blooming 

At the north end of the woods I came across this extremely large beautiful Dandelion blooming right in the middle of the trail.  I think it is the most perfect bloom I have ever seen.

The path on the northeast portion of the trail is completly covered with May Apples.  None of them were blooming yet.  However, you could hardly walk through the group without stepping on one.

Finding Wildflowers can be easy but figuring out what they are can sometimes be a daunting task.  Many of them are similar but do have unique characteristics to help tell them apart.  I have at least a half dozen (or more) wildflower identification books.  

The Petersen Field Guide is the one I carry in my pack, it is my "go to" book.   The Petersen Field Guide Series, edited by Roger Tory Petersen, is made up of dozens of books for all the flora and fauna of the United States.  Many are specific to the region that you are looking in. This guide is handy because it lists the wildflowers by color.  Then it divides them into categories of 3-4, 5 and 7 or more petals, tubed, lobed clustered and more types of blooms.  

When identifying wildflowers it is helpful to not only notice the type of flower they have but also the type of leaves.  This book will help you figure out what you are looking at. 

This book that I picked up in Michigan is also very helpful.  What's Doin the Bloomin'? by Clayton R Oslund.  What is nice about it, is that it identifies the wildflowers by what season they bloom in.  It starts out "Spring Before Leaves" and proceeds to "Shade has come to the Forest", "Summer Heat" and "Signs of Fall".  It also has sections for other species  such as, Herbaceous and Woody Vines, Trees and Shrubs, Orchids and Plants without Flowers.  

The most complete guide that I have is Newcomb's Wildflower Guide written by Lawrence Newcomb. This one takes some getting used to, but if I cannot find a wildflower any place else, I will find it in Newcomb's.  How it works: first you identify the type of flower you are looking for, this would be irregular flowers, flowers with 5 regular parts, flowers with 7 or more regular parts, etc.  Next you have to identify what type of leaf the plant has.  Are the leaves toothed or lobed, entire or divided? Lastly, you identify the color of the flower.  Nine times out of time using this scientific method you go right to the page that the wildflower you are looking for is at.  The drawings in the front of the book help you figure out what an entire or toothed/lobed leaf are.   This book is best used in the field where you can get a really good look at the plant you are trying to identify.  Newcomb really knew what he was doing, just be patient and you will see what I mean.

I hope you have enjoyed this week's walk in the woods.  This is my absolute favorite time of the year to hike in the woods.  Before the mosquitoes make the woods too hard to bear.  Do be careful and take precautions to spray yourself good to prevent ticks from riding home with you.  I normally spray a pair  of pants and light jacket with Permethrin and wear them only when I hike in the woods.  Be mindful and read the label carefully before use.

Almost every person, from childhood, has been touched by the untamed beauty of wildflowers.

                                            -Lady Bird Johnson