Don Croner’s Wanders on the Great Allegheny Passage | Flora |Goldenrods

There are at least seventy-five species of goldenrods (genus Solidago) native to North America. You are likely to encounter four goldenrods of the genus Solidago, plus another of the genus Euthamia, along the GAP. The goldenrod season opens in July with the appropriately named early goldenrod (Solidago juncea). Usually three to four feet tall, it has showy plumes of golden-yellow flowers, unlikely to be mistaken for any other plant. Fairly common on the GAP, is seems for some reason to be even more common along roads that cross the GAP, in some places thickly lining roads for hundreds of yards. 

Early Goldenrod

Early Goldenrod

Towards the end of July and into the middle of August the flat-topped goldenrod  (Euthamia graminifolia) makes its appearance. Although called a goldenrod, it belongs to the genus Euthamia, unlike other goldenrods. Three to four feet tall, its flowers consist of florets arrayed in a  flat circle, rather than in a plume like most other goldenrods. 

Throughout August the wrinkled-leaf goldenrod flowers. Although its showy plumes are not unlike early goldenrod, its leaves have a distinctive wrinkled look, and the leaves and stems tend to be a darker green than other goldenrods. 

Wrinkled-leaf Goldenrod

Wrinkled-leaf Goldenrod

The signature plant of Autumn, the aptly-named tall goldenrod (Solidago altissima), flowers from the beginning of September to well into October. It can get up to six or seven feet tall and is extravagantly adorned with flamboyant plumes of yellow flowers. It grows in profusion along the GAP and often entirely covers adjacent meadows. This is one plant you cannot miss if you travel on the GAP after the first of September. 

Meadow full of Tall Goldenrod

Tall Goldenrod

Tall Goldenrod

Less obvious is the woodland goldenrod (Solidago caesia). Unlike most other goldenrods,  usually found in open, sunny areas, woodland goldenrod prefers, as the name implies, the shady floor of hardwood forests. It’s the smallest goldenrod, often two feet tall or less, seldom exceeding three, and its delicately flowered plumes are modest compared to its more flamboyantly showy cousins. 

Woodland Goldenrod

Woodland Goldenrod

Woodland Goldenrod

Don Croner’s Wanders on the Great Allegheny Passage Bike Trail (GAP) | Tick Season

Tick Season is upon us. I recently saw three ticks on the GAP between Deal and Sand Patch. 

For those who may be concerned about these pesky little critters I have cobbled together a report on ticks on the Great Allegheny Passage Bike Trail. See: Tick & Lyme Risk Field Dashboard · Somerset County, PA

As can be seen from from one of the graphs, June is the peak of tick season in Somerset County.

Don Croner’s Wanders on the Great Allegheny Passage Bike Trail (GAP) | Flora | Ramps

Traditionally Ramps season was said to peak on Mother’s Day. Due to our Changing Climate, however, they seem to have peaked about ten days ago.

Ramps

Ramps

Ramps at their peak

Ramp bulbs

Ramp leaves

The appearance of the flower stem is usually a sign that the plant is near the end of its edible stage

Spaghetti and Ramps. A dish to set before a king.

Don Croner’s Wanders on the Great Allegheny Passage Bike Trail (GAP) | Flora | Yellow Violets

At least five yellow violets occur along the GAP. The three most common are the Early Yellow Voilet (Viola rotundifolia), the Spear-leaf Violet (Viola hastata), and the Downy-yellow Violet (Viola pubescens). First of all, why are there yellow violets? Shouldn't violets be violet or at least blue, like the Common Blue Violet found along the GAP? Actually the word violet names a lineage, not a color. All true violets belong to the genus Viola, a worldwide group of roughly 525 to 600 species. The famous Swedish biologist Carolus Linnaeus (1707–1778) first named the purple-flowered species of Europe, but the genus Voila turned out to be far larger than its namesake: as botanists catalogued relatives across the Americas and Asia they kept finding plants with the same floral architecture — five petals and a spurred lower lip, in colors of white, cream, multicolor, and yellow. The genus name stuck; the color palette diversified. Yellow, in particular, is not an accident. It reads well in the dim light of a deciduous understory, where early-spring pollinators—small mining bees, bee flies, the occasional mason bee—are doing most of the work. The dark purple lines on the lower petal of yellow violets are nectar guides, painted to steer those visitors in. On the GAP, this is why Viola hastata, V. rotundifolia, and V. pubescens, are fully legitimate violets despite their yellow petals. Same family tree, same fritillary host role, same spring woodland habit — just wearing the understory’s preferred color.

Early Yellow Voilet. 04.04.26

Early Yellow Voilet. 04.04.26

Early Yellow Voilet. 04.04.26

Early Yellow Voilet. 04.04.26

The Spear-leaf Violet has spearhead-shaped leaves. 04.13.26

 Spear-leaf Violet. 04.12.26

 Spear-leaf Violet. 04.14.26

 Spear-leaf Violet. The dark purple lines on the lower petal are nectar guides for the benefit of pollinators. 04.13.26

Downy-yellow Violet. 04.16.26

Downy-yellow Violet. 04.16.26

Don Croner’s Wanders on the Great Allegheny Passage Bike Trail (GAP) | Flora | Philadelphia Fleabane

Several fleabanes occur along the GAP. The first to appear is Philadelphia Fleabane (Erigeron philadelphicus), a native biennial or short-lived perennial in the Asteraceae (composite) family. It usually flowers in early May and is quite conspicuous along the margins of the GAP. It’s known as a “pioneer” species—one of the first colonizers of disturbed bare ground— and thus was right at home along the old railroad right-of-way that now serves as the GAP. The species name literally means “of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,” attesting to its status as a native plant of Pennsylvania. The genus name Erigeron comes from the Greek eri ("early") and geron ("old man")— referencing both its early bloom time and its downy, white-bearded seed heads. Each flower head bears 100–150 extremely narrow ray florets, usually white but occasionally ranging to pinkish-purple. Philadelphia Fleabane has one of the richer ethnobotanical records in the composite family. The Cherokee, Houma, Catawba, Blackfoot, Ojibwa, Meskwaki, and Iroquois all used the roots, either chewed or in decoctions to treat colds and coughs and in an infusion to reduce fevers. It seems to have fallen into disfavor as a medicinal plant, however. Now considered an ornamental by some, it is sometimes found as a component in commercially available mixtures of wildflower seeds.

Philadelphia Fleabane. 05.14.26

Philadelphia Fleabane. 05.14.26

Philadelphia Fleabane. 05.14.26

Don Croner’s Wanders on the Great Allegheny Passage Bike Trail (GAP) | Flora | Trout Lily | Red Trillium | Hawthorne | Goldenrod | Ramps

Two signature Spring wildflowers of the Alleghenies are now on display: Trout Lily and Red Trillium.

Trout Lily, so-named because it leaves resemble a trout’s belly

:

Trout Lily

Trout Lily

Red Trillium

Red Trillium

A Spring Medley: Left, Blue Cohost (not yet in bloom); then Ramps; then Red Trillium, and on the right Spring Beauties

The Hawthorne Tree is also in bloom

Young Tall Goldenrod. It will not bloom until September.

And of course Ramps are still collectible.

Don Croner’s Wanders on the Great Allegheny Passage Bike Trail (GAP) | Flora | Yellow Voilets

At least five yellow violets occur along the GAP. The three most common are the Early Yellow Voilet (Viola rotundifolia), the Spear-leaf Violet (Viola hastata), and the Downy-yellow Violet (Viola pubescens). First of all, why are there yellow violets? Shouldn't violets be violet or at least blue, like the Common Blue Violet found along the GAP? Actually the word violet names a lineage, not a color. All true violets belong to the genus Viola, a worldwide group of roughly 525 to 600 species. The famous Swedish biologist Carolus Linnaeus (1707–1778) first named the purple-flowered species of Europe, but the genus Voila turned out to be far larger than its namesake: as botanists catalogued relatives across the Americas and Asia they kept finding plants with the same floral architecture — five petals and a spurred lower lip, in colors of white, cream, multicolor, and yellow. The genus name stuck; the color palette diversified. Yellow, in particular, is not an accident. It reads well in the dim light of a deciduous understory, where early-spring pollinators—small mining bees, bee flies, the occasional mason bee—are doing most of the work. The dark purple lines on the lower petal of yellow violets are nectar guides, painted to steer those visitors in. On the GAP, this is why Viola hastata, V. rotundifolia, and V. pubescens, are fully legitimate violets despite their yellow petals. Same family tree, same fritillary host role, same spring woodland habit—just wearing the understory’s preferred color.

Early Yellow Voilet. 04.04.26

Early Yellow Voilet. 04.04.26

Early Yellow Voilet. 04.04.26

Early Yellow Voilet. 04.04.26

The Spear-leaf Violet has spearhead-shaped leaves. 04.13.26

 Spear-leaf Violet. 04.12.26

 Spear-leaf Violet. 04.14.26

 Spear-leaf Violet. The dark purple lines on the lower petal are nectar
guides for pollinators to home in on. 04.13.26

Downy-yellow Violet. 04.16.26

Downy-yellow Violet. 04.16.26