Salt Fork State Park, Ohio

Toadshade Trillium

 

Large-flowered Trillium along Stone House Trail

Moss Pink

Golden Saxifrage

I had the pleasure of joining Jason Larson at Salt Fork State Park near Cambridge this past Friday.  Jason and I are both members of the Ohio Flora group on Facebook.  Earlier in the year somebody (may had been me now that I reflect on it) had suggested the group take some field trips together to go wildflower hunting.  Salt Fork is in Jason's former stomping grounds and he graciously offered to lead the group.  Unfortunately, I had since discovered I had to work the Saturday the trip was planned, so I met Jason the day before as he reconned which wildflowers were out and about.

I was fairly familiar with Salt Fork, having taught an Ohio University Cambridge 'Wildflowers' class for non-majors at Salt Fork, although Jason knew what was on the backroads, and some of the secret places much better than I.  I arrived in the morning and hiked the Stone House Trail and then met Jason in the afternoon.

Stone House Trail had always been a great spot to find some of the showier wildflowers, the Trilliums, Bluebells, Trout Lilies, and others.  After walking the trail, I believe the Trillium display this year was the best I had ever seen at Salt Fork.  While historically, there had always been some nice pockets of Large-flowered Trillium (the white trillium above), this year virtually the entire length of the trail was loaded with trillium.  There were also several nice pockets of Toadshade Trillium.

In the afternoon, Jason took me to some different locations throughout the park.  Jason has been working for several years on a Flora of Salt Fork State Park and is nearly ready to publish.  If I recall, he said he had over 700 species he had found at Salt Fork.  That is a lot of plants!  He took me to some of the locations for the especially rare things he had found.  Many of the sites looked no different than any other spot in the park, yet this rare little sedge opted to grow in that one little spot and not in any of the other several thousand acres!

We made one stop, looking specifically for an unusual species of violet.  We did not find the violet in bloom, but did find the Moss Pink pictured above.  At another spot, a seep on a remote hillside, we found Golden Saxifrage.  I must admit, Golden Saxifrage is one of the least attractive flowers I have ever seen.  I think sometimes we tend to over-emphasize beauty.  I don't know if it is an American thing or a human thing.  We get so enamored with the outer surface, failing to see the ugliness that lies beneath.  This little Golden Saxifrage flower, while not being much to look at, struggles just as mightily to fulfill its role as any trillium or bluebell.  It is good to take in and respect the beauty of the struggle, rather than just the pretty wrapping on the outside.

Around 4PM Jason returned me to my trusty two-wheeled steed, and I left Jason and Salt Fork for trip home, richer for the experience in many ways.  Maybe least among them, my species count had now grown to 116 for the year, 884 more to go!