A Natural History of the Central Appalachians

Chapter 06: Plants of Special Interest

CHAPTER 06 THERE IS LITTLE QUESTION that vascular plants dominate the landscape of the Central Appalachians. As discussed in some detail in preceding chapters, assemblages of species change both over time and from place to place. Some localities support highly diverse assemblages, but in other localities few species are present. Vascular plants such as trees can be large enough to be easily noticed, but this is not true of some less conspicuous examples, especially many of the so-called “lower” plants and fungi, although members of these groups are often extraordinarily common and some are of considerable ecological significance. In this chapter emphasis will be placed on vascular plants of special interest for one reason or another. In some instances—but not all—there is an obvious human connection. The plants to be considered are vernal plants (the “spring wildflowers”), medicinal plants, a special and distinctive type of wild onion, foods derived from “wild” plants, poisonous plants that can be dangerous, some species of very rare plants that may be in danger of extinction, and nonnative invasive plants that pose a problem in some areas of the Central Appalachians. VERNAL FLORA Spring is a special time of year in the forests of the Central Appalachians. As first mentioned in chapter 3, numerous spring wildflowers appear during a short period in the spring (the vernal season), when the forest floor has warmed enough for plant growth to resume but before leaves are fully developed on the trees. On some moist slopes the flowers carpet the forest floor with their colorful display. Virtually all the spring wildflowers are perennials and sprout from some underground part that overwinters in the soil. A few species produce their flowers very early in the spring, well in advance of most other members of the vernal flora. Skunk cabbage is usually the first harbinger of spring, sometimes flowering as early as late February, but the flowers are not at all showy and the plant itself is limited to areas of swampy PLANTS OF SPECIAL INTEREST FIGURE 47 (below) Flowers of liverleaf, among the first flowers to appear each spring in the Central Appalachians. ground not likely to receive many human visitors so early in the year (fig. 46). The pale blue flowers of liverleaf are among the next to appear: this species does occur in the same habitats as numerous other spring wildflowers that can be found a few weeks later (fig. 47). Along many moist roadsides throughout the region, the bright yellow flowers of coltsfoot make their first appearance about the same time as liverleaf, but this plant is not native to the Central Appalachians, having been introduced from Europe but now firmly established throughout most of eastern North America. As March gives way to April, increasing numbers of flowering plants become evident. Yellow trout lily, with mottled leaves and bright yellow flowers, and bloodroot, with large white flowers that quickly lose their petals, are among the more conspicuous. A closer look at the forest floor will almost invariably reveal as well one of two species of spring beauty abundant in the forests of the Central Appalachians. Virginia spring beauty has narrow leaves, while the otherwise almost identical Carolina spring beauty has leaves that are wider. Both species are characterized by small white flowers (usually no more than half an inch across) that have each petal finely marked with thin pink lines. Great chickweed, characterized by a stem so weak that the plant is more or less recumbent and white flowers with five petals so deeply notched that they appear to be twice that number, is usually present in moist forests. So are the two most common species of toothwort, cutleaf toothwort and two-leaf toothwort, with cross-shaped white flowers (fig. 48). The spring display approaches its peak by mid- to late April, although the timing can vary because the flowering time for a species becomes later in the season with increasing elevation and as one moves northward within the Central Appalachians. Other common spring wildflowers that appear at this time include mealy bellwort, mandarin, false Solomon ’s seal, common Solomon’s seal, and several species of trillium, including large-flowered trillium, ill-scented trillium, and painted 99 06 PLANTS OF SPECIAL INTEREST 100 FIGURE 47 (top) Flowers of liverleaf, among the first flowers to appear each spring in the Central...