Passion for plants leads Ohio botanists to new discoveries
Most of us have a favorite pastime, such as playing golf, cooking, bicycling or wildlife watching. But searching for new or rare plant species? An unconventional hobby perhaps, but it is a year-round passion for some here in the Buckeye State.
To the uninitiated, it might be difficult to believe that much of anything remains undiscovered in Ohio’s natural world. Yet professional and amateur botanists know better, which has many of them scouring the nooks and crannies of Ohio’s forests and fields in search of new and unique plant life.
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 Prairie gentian in Adams County was one of the best finds of 2004. |
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| The yellow-edged frost lichen, more common west of the Mississippi River, is a new species for Ohio |
During 2004, these dedicated plant lovers proved to be busy botanists, yielding a bountiful crop of discoveries. Those finds included a new plant and new lichen species for Ohio, as well as the rediscovery of a plant thought to have disappeared from our state more than a century ago.
Indeed, due to the state’s geographic location in the Midwest, Ohio is known for high numbers of rare plants, according to Rick Gardner, a botanist with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR). Influences from the north, south, east and west all converge on the Buckeye State, providing a wealth of different habitats. As a result, many an Ohio plant is at the edge of its range.
As if to prove this “edge-of-range” point, last year’s new plant find frightful sedge is more common to the Show-Me state of Missouri. Nonetheless, this grass-like plant was found growing in a dry field at Crane Hollow State Nature Preserve in Hocking County by botanist Tony Reznicek and others.
Not to be outdone, Ohio’s newest lichen species yellow-edged frost lichen is most often found in locations west of the Mississippi River. Lichens are unique because they are part fungi and part algae, growing on the surfaces of trees and rocks. This new lichen was discovered in Adams County by naturalist Mark Zloba of the Cincinnati Museum Center.
Much farther north in Portage County, botanist Jim Bissell of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History and a group of interns invested their time exploring Crystal Lake Preserve. Along the shallow edges of this glacier-made lake, they rediscovered Torrey’s bulrush, which had gone unseen in Ohio for more than a century!
Since 1976, ODNR’s Division of Natural Areas & Preserves has maintained the Ohio Natural Heritage Database a vital collection of data that includes records for more than 13,000 locations of the state’s rare plants and animals. This information leads to a better understanding of plant distribution and frequency, more research opportunities, as well as habitat protection. In fact, annual rare plant finds, as those in 2004, have been the basis for creating several of Ohio’s 127 state nature preserves.
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Least grape fern was thought to have disappeared from Ohio.
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One of last year’s biggest plant rediscoveries was that of the dime-sized
least grape fern, found in northwestern Ohio. ODNR’s Jim McCormac and a band of determined plant detectives traveled to the Oak Openings region where this diminutive fern was last observed 20 years ago. After many long hours of searching, their efforts were rewarded by the discovery of no less than eight least grape ferns.
Located west of Toledo, the Oak Openings is one of the most botanically-rich regions in Ohio. Plant hunters in 2004 supported this fact by recording numerous rare plant species, six of which are endangered. This included the northern appressed club-moss, which is globally threatened, meaning there are less than 20 known populations worldwide.
While botanists study habitat and plant characteristics to help in their plant discovery efforts, occasionally these finds are simply “dumb luck,” says Gardner. “Sometimes people are out just scouting around and they come across something in a field that looks different or out of place and it turns out to be something really good.
Asked whether there is a “Holy Grail” among rare plants, Gardner rattled off several, including three-leaved false Solomon’s-seal, American twinflower and kitten-tails. He has a personal passion for finding wild orchids, some of which haven’t been spotted in Ohio for more than 100 years. Specifically, he mentions the tall northern green orchid and Hooker’s orchid, both of which have small greenish-yellow blooms.
Many of our most common wildflowers and plant species will be on display this spring, providing a welcome splash of color in every corner of Ohio. Enjoy these spectacular blooms at one of the many state nature preserves. And who knows, you might just spy a rare plant species yourself! For more information about Ohio’s rare plants and its state nature preserves, visit ohiodnr.com.
| Best Rare Plant Finds of 2004 |
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Plant name
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Listed
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Location found
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Spathulate-leaved sundew
Drosera intermedia
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Endangered
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Oak Openings
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Tall grass-like beak-rush
Rhynchospora recognita
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Endangered
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Oak Openings
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Twisted yellow-eyed grass
Xyris torta
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Endangered
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Oak Openings
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Northern appressed club-moss
Lycopodiella subappressa
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Endangered
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Oak Openings
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Small purple fringed orchid
Platanthera psycodes
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Endangered
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Oak Openings
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Dotted horsemint
Monarda punctata
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Endangered
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Oak Openings
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Blue toadflax
Linaria canadensis
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Endangered
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Oak Openings
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Dotted horsemint
Monarda punctata
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Endangered
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Oak Openings
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Gattinger’s foxglove
Agalinis gattingeri
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Endangered
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Oak Openings
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Least grape fern
Botrychium simplex
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Endangered
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Oak Openings
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Three-bird’s orchid
Triphora trianthophora
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Threatened
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Wood County
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Inland rush
Juncus interior
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Endangered
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Defiance County
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Yellow vetchling
Lathyrus ochroleucus
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Threatened
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Defiance County
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Few-flowered spike-rush
Eleocharis quinqueflora
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Endangered
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Springville Marsh
State Nature Preserve
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Torrey’s bulrush
Schoenoplectus torreyi
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Previously presumed
extirpated
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Crystal Lake Preserve
Portage County
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White-buttons
Eriocaulon aquaticum
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Endangered
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Crystal Lake Preserve
Portage County
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Small bur-reed
Sparganium emersum
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Endangered
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Crystal Lake Preserve
Portage County
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Northern wood-reed
Cinna latifolia
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Previously presumed
extirpated
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Gorge Metropark
Summit County
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Wapato
Sagittaria cuneata
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Endangered
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Magee Marsh Wildlife Area
Ottawa County
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Spreading rock cress
Arabis patens
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Endangered
(globally rare)
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Franklin County
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Prairie gentian
Gentiana puberulenta
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Endangered
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Ka-ma-ma Prairie
Adams County
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Carolina leaf-flower
Phyllanthus caroliniensis
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Endangered
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Adams County
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Screw-stem
Bartonia paniculata
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Endangered
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Stonelick Lake State Park
Clermont County
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Screw-stem
Bartonia paniculata
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Endangered
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Indian Creek Wildlife Area
Brown County
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Long-flowered alum-root
Heuchera longiflora
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Endangered
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Scioto County
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Long-flowered alum-root
Heuchera longiflora
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Endangered
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Adams County
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Yellow-edged frost lichen
Physconia enteroxantha
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New species
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Adams County
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Frightful sedge
Carex molestiformis
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New Species
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Crane Hollow
State Nature Preserve
Hocking Hills region
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Yellow fringed orchid
Platanthera ciliaris
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Threatened
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Hocking County
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Tubercled nut-rush
Scleria oligantha
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Endangered
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Wayne National Forest
Lawrence County
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Tubercled nut-rush
Scleria oligantha
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Endangered
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Wayne National Forest
Lawrence County
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Featherbells
Stenanthium gramineum
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Threatened
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Athens County
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