Abandoned Limestone Quarry, Centre County 10/14/11

Above is a small sideoats grama grassland, which covers a couple hundred square feet on the top of an old quarry sidewall.  I recently did some brush clearing at this grassland within its exsisting footprint.  Encroaching brush species found hear were mostly native species like fragrant sumac, black haw and a little american bittersweet.  A small bush honeysuckle can be seen in the left foreground, when I get around to treating the cut stumps with triclopyr, sprouts like this can be eliminated without cutting.

Here is a nearby  little bluestem grassland showing its dormant redish hues.

Walking the prairies this time of year, is a great time to get a sense of the phytogeography of many of the prairie species.  Even compared to the summer months with a variety of forbs blooming, a image of this site would be a greenish haze of leaves, stems and culms.  But now the color contrast between species has increased.  The red cedars remain as green as before, the little bluestem turns pink and the sunflowers turn almost black. The small red leaves in the center of the shot belong to fragrant sumac and the yellow green shrubs seen throughout reveal the presence of the exotic bush honeysuckles.

After walking this area today, I came away with the relization that little bluestem is mixed throughout the brushy areas to a surprising extent.  This means with the right managment a couple more acres of grassland could be reclaimed quite rapidly, even with out overseeding the site.

Probably Lonicera dioica

While recently clearing some of the red cedar woods of exotic shrubs, I found three new sprouts of what appear to be suppressed Lonicera dioica growing beneath the exotic honeysuckle canopy.  This brings up the grand total of known native honeysuckle sprouts to six separate genets within the big hollow restoration area.  Other stems were spotted in the grassland area below these sprouts, as well as another sprout occurring in the upper section of cedar woods. While the photo used above is not the most informative or convincing, it is at present the only photo I have.  For the six years I've been visiting this site it was not until this year that I noticed any of these sprouts.  I'm guessing I may get to see some flowering individuals in the grassland area next year, but  it may take these woodland individuals a year or two to flower.

The reason I'm assuming these sprouts will turn out to be L. dioica is because I've seen L. dioica blooming nearby (within big hollow) and the non-flowering sprouts of this specimen have a strong resemblance to those I'm seeing within the restoration area. 

According to my main botanical reference, Gleason and Cronquist 2nd Edition (1991), L. dioica's reported habitat includes, "Moist woods and thickets, occasionally on dunes or in swamps."  Going by this description it may seem that the L. dioica may not occur in such xeric habitats as the Big Hollow prairies, but as we have seen with Platenthera lacera, dryland forms of plants do occur on these xeric habitats. 

Edge of the cedar woods where native honey suckle sprouts were seen.

A xeric limestone prairie, Mifflin Co.

This was the first time I have seen Phragmites australis growing in a dry soil situation.  More precisely, it was invading a dry soil habitat from areas of poor drainage that probably hold standing water occasionally. 

The dominant grass cover at this site was an annual Sporobolus species, probably S. vaginiflorus.  No particularly rare plants were noticed, with the exception of a few scattered clumps of sideoats grama. This is not really surprising as it was the first time I've ever visited this site, more field surveys at different times during the growing season may uncover rare species.  Even so it was very satisfying to wander this grassy cedar glade labyrinth.  I'd estimate that it was several acres in size, which is large by contemporary Pennsylvania standards.


The blue flowered plant is Lobeilia siphilitica a wetland plant, surrounded by horsetail.  While the upper layer of soil hear was sandy and appeared well drained,  there must be a hard pan layer below it to provide water saturated soil conditions for these wetland plants.  Apparently the eastern red cedars tolerate varied soil conditions.

Eragrostis spectabilis (purple lovegrass)

Clumps of purple lovegrass were scattered about on slightly higher sandy spots.

Rhus copallinum (winged sumac)

This was this first time I've seen this species of sumac.  It's a plant that's reported as common in the state, but just not the region I frequent.

Euphorbia dentata (toothed spurge)

Managment results

Above is an area that was infested with waste high black raspberry brambles and oriental bittersweet sprouts.  Exotic shrubs and a couple small trees were cut and treated in this area a few years previous.  But the impenetrable briars made the recruitment of prairies species very difficult even though the overstory of shrubs were removed.  So last winter I treated the brambles and vines with an oil soluble triclopyr solution containing 8% active ingredient.  The results were great.  Nearly all the treated plants were killed with a single treatment and there was no noticeable damage to non target vegetation.  I used a sponge stick applicator (read about sponge/paint herbicide sticks here) to apply the herbicide directly to the stems of the target plants.  In the photo you will notice some black raspberry sprouts that I had missed last year.  This just means I'll need to make another pass through this coming dormant season to reduce the existing briar cover by another 90%.

The stump on the left was a white pine seedling that was cut last year.  Most pines do not resprout when cut, so no herbicide was necessary.  The black cherry on the right was treated with the same solution as the brambles, using a sponge on a stick as an applicator.

Here's a representative shot of the treated area.  Many of the grass like plants in the shot are 1st year sideoats grama seedlings.  A few individuals have even managed to put up a few inflorescences.  This was the only plant I seeded last winter at this site, so everything else you can see was what was existing in the seed bank. The thistle rosettes are all Cirsium discolor, a native thistle that large butterflies and other pollinators will go nuts for in July and August. 

Centre Co. Glade No. 1&2 cont.

Above is a fairly representative picture of these glades that occur along buffalo run (which is the next hollow north of Big Hollow).  The dominant grass is little bluestem.  Poverty grass, bottlebrush and Dichanthelium acuminatum are mixed throughout.  For some reason no sideoats grama grows at either of these sites.

These beautiful orange mushrooms were abundant throughout the adjacent cedar woodlands

These strange mushrooms were growing nearby.  Unfortunately the image did not capture the almost luminescent green color of them.

Centre Co. Glade No. 1 & 2

Today I visited two prairies in Centre County.  The main reason I went was to try to see some gentians in flower.  I had seen these as dried stems for the first time last winter and was surprised to find them growing in dry soil, in areas transitioning from cedar woodland to little bluestem grassland. 

Gentiana flavida (pale gentain)

I feel fairly confident in my identification of this plant as Gentiana flavida.  The only other white flowered gentian that grows in PA is G. villosa (striped gentian).  I don't think this is G. villosa because, the interior of the corolla is not purple striped.  Also the leaves of G. flavida are reported to be yellow green and long acuminate, while G. villosa is dark green and oblanceolate.  Again the G. flavida description fits. This is an important species for me to identify with certainty as G. flavida is reported as extirpated in Pennsylvania.  For this reason I contacted a more experienced botanist, Harry Henderson, to get a second opinion.

Last winter, when I first saw these plants, a large seed crop was apparent.  This year may be different as it took me a while before I could find a flowering individual.   The deer had nipped the tops of hundreds of these plants.  It remains to be seen whether this will just delay their flowering or prevent it entirely this season.  Apart from the excessive deer herbivory, the population in the area is fairly extensive (for a uncommon plant), probably numbering around several hundred individuals.

A dissected flower showing the form of the plaits (the fringed areas) and lobes (the taller pionted parts) of the corolla.

A photo showing G. flavida's yellow-green, lance-acuminate leaves.

The Bluestem Prairie at Big Hollow

Cuscuta pentagona

I found more of this Cuscuta growing at the Bluestem Prairie.  Its probably the same as the one growing in the Nothern Disjunct Prairie.

Liatris scariosa

The Liatris at this site have responded favorably to the aspen clearing I did last fall.  Earlier this summer I was amazed by the many dozens of Liatris basal rosettes popping up everywhere.  Now there are only 6 or 7 blooming plants.  Many of the rosettes are surely building reserves for later on, but I also suspect rabbit herbivory is also taking a toll on this species.  In a garden situation I've seen rabbits keep Liatris spicata plants nipped back for the duration of the growing season, preventing flowering for the year.

I've seen these brightly colored gilled fungi in big hollow before, though I have not learned thier name.

Terrapene carolina eastern box turtles

When I first saw these turtles I assumed they were copulating.  But after watching a while I am sure they were not (yet).   As in this picture the female remained holed up in her shell.  Later on, I learned box turtles copulate with the male lying upside down on its shell and positioned behind the female. 

Solidago rigida in bloom

Big Hollow 8/16/11

Pellaea atropurpurea (purple cliffbrake)

The rock outcrops that occur at the drier of the two main prairies at big hollow support a population of purple cliffbrake.  This plant is a fern that is fairly common but restricted to limestone regions.  Many ferns species require damp, shaded habitats, but this species exploits radically different habitat, dry and sunny on almost bare rock.

Various growth stages of purple cliffbrake on rock

Monarch catapiller feeding on A. viridiflora

Today I found several monarch catapillars at Big Hollow, all of which where feeding on green milkweed plants.  I have mixed feelings about this situation.  I just wish they'd go for the common milkweed thats nearby and leave the rarer seed producing plants alone. Its predatory relationships like this that make green milkweed a well behaved native plant (ie. not weedy).

Abandoned Limestone Quarry

Below are some pictures I took from my last visit to this site located near a abandoned limestone quarry in Centre County.  This site is large by local standards with the limestone grassland and barrens habitat at this site probably adding up to a couple acres.  The most dominant grass at this site is little bluestem (by far the most abundant) with a scattering of big bluestem and indiangrass and only one small patch of sideoats grama.

The great thing about this area is the abundance of stiff goldenrod (Solidago rigida), a state listed plant, which is unusally abundant here.   The S. rigida is the large, broad leaved plant in the foreground, to the right and to the left.  Basically everywhere.
The most problematic invader here is the autumn olive (Eleagnus umbellata).  Its mixed throughout the area.  Bush honeysuckles, buckthorn and privet are present, but not as abundant.

Flowering dogwood, Cornus florida is a native flowering tree which used to be more common in eastern forests.  In the early 80's a fungal anthracnose was observed causing signicant dogwood mortality throughout the appalachains.  The disease is most problematic for trees growing in humid, forest understories.  So perhaps these dogwoods survived due to thier position in this dry sun beaten habitat.  Or maybe this represents a population of disease resistant plants.

Cirsium discolor (field thistle)

As I've started to pay a little more attention to insects when I'm out in the prairies, I've come to appreciate the beauty and utility of the field thistle in these habitats.  This time of year field thistle is the prime nectar source for large butterflies.  During this trip I saw, monarchs, giant swallowtails, fritillaries, spicebush swallowtails and bumblebees nectaring on these flowers.  While many people don't like thistles in general grouping all of them as invasive prickly weeds.  Only some Cirsiums around here are invasive, like canada thistle (C. arvense) and bull thistle (C. vulgare) which are invasive and exotic.  Field thistle and and the shorter, earlier blooming, Pasture thistle (C. pumillum), are native and are of integral importance to this habitats' charismatic insects and colorful phenology.

Asclepias verticillata (whorled milkweed) w/ fruit.

Back to Big Hollow

Below is a photo taken by Harry Henderson of the common buckeye butterfly.  Harry said when he took this photo there were a group of five buckeyes at the prairie intensely interested in the nodding onion nectar.

This was great to hear as the common buckeyes are actually not so common in the area and a group of five is indicative of some satisfactory habitat for this species.  These butterflies cannot survive the winters here in PA and some will fly south every fall to overwinter and north every summer to repopulate northern zones.  Host plants for common buckeyes includes some plants in the Scrophulariaceae and Acanthaceae plant families, as well as the genus Plantago.

Earlier in August when I was visiting the north disjunct prairie at Big Hollow I spotted some dodder (Cuscuta sp.).  Dodders are interesting pure parasitic plants that tap into host plants to suck their sap and gain all thier energy in this way.

A bushclover species was one of two host species this dodder found suitable

Early goldenrod was the other host

We are still not sure of the species, but we suspect it is an uncommon species, as the common species C. gronovii grows in riparian areas usually using jewel weed as a host.  Harry suggested that we're probably dealing with either C. corylii or C. pentagona as these are the two mostly likely to inhabit xeric sites. Both species are state listed.  While I'd prefer to make a definitive ID before posting, I would also like the blog to be true to the prairie's phenology so I will leave it at this for now and update the blog with another post on this dodder in the future.

Today I visited a XLP in Huntingdon county.  I've only been to this site once before.  Its a nice site as it has very little in the way of exotic invaders in the herb layer at least.  I also like it as the dominant prairie grasses vary from spot to spot.

Above is a area dominated by tall grasses.  Big bluestem has its inflorescence's up now and in this picture looks dominant, but if this spot does what it did last year it will be loaded with really cool and yellowish indiangrass panicles in a couple weeks.

 

In areas were the soil gets thinner Bouteloua curtipendula fills in.

Here's a giant swallowtail nectaring on Cirsium discolor.  I haven't noticed any giant swallowtails around the big hollow prairies.  This is probably due to the absence of the swallowtails local host plant prickly ash (Xanthoxylum americanum) at big hollow.

Then there was this butterfly.  I haven't learned this one yet, but apparently it likes sweat and grime.  When this species opens its wings the color is stunning.

Limestone Ledge Near Coleville.

Today I visited a limestone ledge/steep slope that supports some limestone prairie/barrens species. 

This is the main grassland area, which is small perhaps 500 square feet.  Bigbluestem is the tall grass to the left and the shorter grass to the right is sideoats grama.  The rest of this south facing slope is mostly covered with fragrant sumac, punctuated with eastern redcedars and yellow oak.  Exotic honeysuckles are prestent at this site but are fortunately not dominate.

Sideoats grama (Bouteloua curtipendula) in flower

Here is one of the best macro shots I could get of the white stigmas and red anthers of this grass.

Downy arrow-wood (Viburnum rafinesquianum)

Relief from the July drought

A good bit of rain has finally come our way and it seems big hollow did not miss out.  Below are some photos taken at big hollow from the past couple of days.

 

Asclepias viridflora, in fruit

Now is a great time to see Allium cernuum (nodding onion) in bloom

Pearl Crestent (Phyciodes tharos)

Trichostema brachiatum (blue curls) have just started blooming with in the past week or so.

 Pycnanthemum sp. (mountain mint), as always, loaded with insect pollinators

A depauperate yet still senic limestone prairie (in Centre Co.)

I visited this prairie/barrens area today for the first time ever  during the growing season with the hope of finding more PA endagered prairie plants or just some not so common species.  With the exception of one forb everything I was able to detect in fall was what I saw today.  The most important forb being Solidago rigida, (seen in the pic. above at middle left) a state listed limestone prairie plant.  The population w/in a mile radius of this area contains several acres of grassland with abundant stands of this goldenrod throughout.  This area may well be the last stronghold for this important and attractive plant in the in the region if not the state.  The dominant graminoid was poverty grass.  Other than that the only other native grasses were small amount of Little bluestem, a single (probably common) Dichanthelium sp. and some Tridens flavus- a PA native grass, which I'm not quite convinced occurred in this region historically.

A small colony of Rudbeckia trilobata was starting to bloom at this site.  Somewhat surprisingly this species is absent from big hollow prairies but mixed throughout the prairies in the Bellefonte area.  The Rudbeckia found at big hollow in great numbers is Rudbeckia hirta (see below) a very fuzzy leaved wildflower with a loosly annual to biennual lifecycle.

Rubeckia hirta (mostly left side) 7/8/11, Big Hollow