Violet Walk
When
What
Where
Who
Description
As follow-up to his lecture on native violets, Mike Hough will lead a walk at Upper Buttermilk Park, where several species can be found. Mike will focus on identifying common violets of the Finger Lakes and other spring wildflowers. If time allows we may travel to another site nearby. Meet at CCE at 1:00 pm to carpool to the site. Parking fees may be in effect at the park, but you can meet the group at the parking lot for Upper Buttermilk (next to the playground) by 1:20pm.
Report
What a wonderful spot for an early spring walk! Lush, lovely - so many great ephemerals, ferns, and of course, violets. We saw at least 7 species of Viola and one hybrid violet within a relatively short walk. The photo is of the Viola rostrata hybrid, by Mike Hough.
Particularly interesting or prominent species are listed to the right. The list below covers all the plants "well identified" on the walk. Listings with just a genus, no specific epithet (e.g. Genus sp.) should be taken as indicative of the environment only. We did not take the time to key these plants completely, important features were not visible, etc. but there was general agreement on the genus.
Plants seen at Upper Buttermilk State Park, 5/17/2016 – Mike Hough, walk leader
Scientific Name |
Common Name |
Notes |
Acer pensylvanicum |
striped maple, moosewood |
|
Adiantum pedatum |
maidenhair fern |
|
Alliaria petiolata |
garlic mustard |
not native, in flower |
Allium tricoccum |
wild leeks, ramps |
leaves |
Anemone acutiloba |
sharp-lobed hepatica |
in flower |
Anemone quinquefolia |
Wood anemone |
|
Antennaria plantaginifolia |
pussytoes |
in flower |
Aquilegia canadensis |
wild columbine |
|
Arisaema triphyllum |
Jack-in-the-pulpit |
opening |
Asarum canadense |
wild ginger |
in flower |
Asplenium trichomanes |
maidenhair spleenwort |
|
Caltha palustris |
marsh marigold |
in flower |
Cardamine concatenata |
cut-leaved toothwort |
buds |
Cardamine diphylla |
two-leaved toothwort |
in flower |
Cardamine douglassii |
purple cress |
in flower |
Cardamine hirsuta |
hairy bitter-cress |
not native, in flower |
Cardamine maxima |
hybrid of cut-leaved & two-leaved toothwort |
in flower |
Carpinus caroliniana |
musclewood, American hornbeam |
|
Caulophyllum giganteum |
blue cohosh |
in flower |
Climacium americanum |
tree moss |
with sporophytes |
Cystopteris cf. fragilis |
fragile fern |
|
Dicentra canadense |
squirrel corn |
in flower |
Dicentra cucullaria |
Dutchman’s breeches |
in flower |
Draba verna |
whitlow-grass |
in flower |
Dryopteris mariginalis |
marginal wood fern |
|
Equisetum hyemale ssp. affine |
common scouring rush |
|
Erythronium americanum |
trout lily |
in flower |
Eurybia divaricata |
white wood aster |
not in flower |
Geranium maculatum |
wild geranium |
in flower |
Geum fragarioides |
barren wild strawberry |
|
Glechoma hederacea |
gill-over-the-ground, creeping Charlie |
not native, in flower |
Heracleum maximum |
cow parsnip |
leaves |
Hydrophyllum canadense |
Canada waterleaf |
leaves, nearly palmate |
Hydrophyllum virginianum |
Virginia waterleaf |
leaves, pinnate |
Impatiens capensis |
jewelweed, touch-me-not |
seedlings |
Lamium purpureum |
purple dead-nettle |
not native, in flower |
Laportea canadensis |
wood nettle |
leaves |
Lindera benzoin |
spicebush |
not in bloom (past?) |
Liriodendron tulipifera |
tulip tree |
|
Luzula acuminata |
wood rush |
in flower |
Maianthemum canadense |
Canada mayflower |
|
Maianthemum racemosum |
false Solomon’s-seal |
leaves, buds |
Mertensia virginica |
Virginia bluebells |
in flower |
Micranthes virginiensis |
early saxifrage |
Saxifraga virginiensis |
Mitchella repens |
partridgeberry |
leaves, last year's fruit |
Mitella diphylla |
miterwort, bishop’s cap |
in flower |
Myosotis stricta |
forget-me-not |
in flower |
Osmorhiza claytonii |
sweet cicely, Clayton's sweetroot |
in flower |
Phlox divaricata |
woodland phlox |
in flower |
Phlox subulata |
moss phlox |
in flower |
Podophyllum peltatum |
Mayapple |
leaves |
Polygaloides paucifolia |
gay-wings, fringed polygala |
in flower |
Polygonatum pubescens |
downy Solomon’s seal |
buds |
Polypodium virginianum |
rock polypody |
|
Polystichum acrostichoides |
Christmas fern |
|
Populus deltoides |
eastern cottonwood |
in flower |
Ranunculus abortivus |
kidney-leaf buttercup |
in flower |
Ranunculus hispidus |
hispid buttercup |
in flower |
Ribes americanum |
wild black currant |
native, shrub, in flower |
Ribes cynosbati |
prickly gooseberry |
native, shrub, in flower |
Sanguinaria canadensis |
bloodroot |
leaf, past bloom |
Solidago caesia |
blue-stemmed goldenrod, wreath goldenrod |
not in flower |
Solidago flexicaulis |
zig-zag goldenrod |
not in flower |
Stellaria media |
common chickweed |
not native, in flower |
Symplocarpus foetidus |
skunk cabbage |
leaves, past anthesis |
Taenidia integerrima |
yellow pimpernel |
coming into bloom |
Thalictrum dioicum |
early meadow rue |
in flower |
Thalictrum thalictroides |
rue anemone |
in flower |
Tiarella cordifolia |
foamflower |
in flower |
Trilium erectum |
red trillium |
in flower |
Trillium grandiflorum |
large-flowered white trillium |
in flower |
Tsuga candensis |
eastern hemlock |
|
Tussilago farfara |
coltsfoot |
not native, in flower |
Uvularia grandiflora |
large-flowered bellwort |
in flower |
Uvularia perfoliata |
perfoliate bellwort |
in flower |
Uvularia sessilifolia |
sessile-leaved bellwort, wild-oats |
in flower |
Veronica filiformis |
slender speedwell |
not native, in flower |
Viola canadensis |
Canada violet |
in flower |
Viola labradorica |
American dog violet |
in flower |
Viola pallens |
northern white violet |
in flower |
Viola pubescens var. scabriuscula |
smooth yellow violet |
in flower |
Viola rostrata |
long-spurred violet |
in flower |
Viola rostrata hybrid (1) |
see note below |
in flower |
Viola sororia |
common blue violet |
in flower |
Viola striata |
creamy violet, striped violet |
in flower |
- 1. Stemmed purple violet, long spur but shorter than V. rostrata, bearded. Most likely a hybrid. Probably either V. labradorica x V. rostrata (Viola xmalteana, Malt's violet) or V. rostrata x V. striata (Viola xbrauniae, Lucy Braun's violet)