On Saturday, May 25th, I got to spend two hours with a group of Fantastic Foragers in the Hubbard Valley Park in Seville, Ohio exploring some of the amazing plants in the woods and along the margins surrounding them.

The next exploration will be a Prairie Prowl on June 8th, where we will be learning about the different kinds of plants that can be found in undisturbed open fields in Ohio. You can learn more about this event and register to participate (space is limited) by going to the Fantastic Foragers calendar page at this link.

During our exploration of Hubbard Valley, we found numerous edible and medicinal plants and a few mushrooms as well. While most of these plants are native to the old-growth woods in this park, there were a few introduced species and some invasive ones as well. It is fascinating to see how quickly the dominant plant species change in matter of only a few weeks as the leaves on the trees unfold and begin to provide shade to the understory.

Hubbard Valley Park consists of a fairly large old growth woods (forest). These old growth forests are described as naturally regenerated forests of native tree species where the ecological processes have not been significantly disturbed by human intervention. The term "Climax Forest" has also been used to describe this habitat, because the natural process of ecological change have reached a point where the flora (plants) and fauna (animals) remain steady over a long period of time.

What is fascinating about climax forests is how their appearance changes during the normal seasonal changes. In the very early spring, while snow may still be on the ground in some areas, the predominant plants are called "ephemerals", which means that they only appear for a short period of time before the tree leaves open up. They thrive in the soil that has been enriched by decaying organic matter (dead tree leaves), and that is still very wet from the melting winter snows, but they require the sunlight that is blocked by the taller trees during the late spring and summer. Some of the ephemerals that can be found in great numbers in Hubbard Valley Park are; white trillium, red trillium, sessile trillium, wild leeks, skunk cabbage, Dutchman's breeches, trout lilies, wild ginger, violets of various forms and colors, Solomon's seal, jack in the pulpit, wild geraniums, and with many others.

During our walkabout, we saw that most of the ephemerals have started to disappear because of the shade created by the opening of the tree leaves. They are now getting replaced with some of the more shade-tolerant plants of the area. We found Virginia creeper, Sweet Cicely, Rattlesnake root, False Solomon’s Seal , Motherwort, Jewelweed, Waterleaf, Dame's rocket, Cleavers, Fleabane, Jump seed, Pokeweed, Mayapple, Enchanter’s nightshade , and Violets. With the temperatures rising, mushrooms have begun to form their fruiting bodies, with an interesting collection of shapes and colors. Golden oyster mushrooms stand out in brightly-colored, expansive colonies exploding from the dull browns of the rotting logs on which they live.

The margins along the edges of the woods are home to numerous plants that seek protection from the wind and yet need more sun than the woods has to offer. It is there that we find many shrubs, small trees, vines, and large biennials that need more sun than can be found in the deep woods. Cherry trees, dogwoods, viburnums, black locust trees, blackberries, grapes, and burdocks are common in this area.