Lost Habitats

LOST HABITATS

By

Frank W. Porter

Porterbrook Native Plants

You are driving down the highway at 70 mph, when suddenly you see a glimpse of something bright red growing on the bank beside the road. Too late! By the time you turn your head it is already out of sight. We are such a fast-paced society, always in a hurry to be somewhere. That bright red flower was Silene virginiana, otherwise known as Fire Pink.


The land we know as Appalachia once possessed rich soils, clear and swift streams, and boundless forests. One early explorer described “timber trees above five foot over, whose trunks are a hundred foot in cleare timber.” As other plant enthusiasts ventured into this region, they all “beheld with rapture and astonishment, a world of mountains piled upon mountains.” The botanical treasures of this vast Garden of Eden, as it came to be known, attracted the attention of botanists, scholars, and the newly emerging occupation of plant collectors.


Yet, the landscape today is only a vestige of what once existed. What did these mountains, valleys, meadows, and streams look like before the “discovery” of the New World? What botanical wonders were found hidden on the mountain slopes and in the deep valleys? Many of the species discovered in what is today West Virginia were endemic to the region. On the slopes of Kate’s Mountain, in July of 1892, John Kunkel Small discovered a new clover, which he later named Trifolium virginicum (Kate’s Mountain Clover). This marvelous plant is now extinct on Kate’s Mountain because of development and loss of habitat. Several other new endemic species grew in these amazing shale barrens. These included a new ragwort, Senecio antennarifolius , two new species of Phlox, Phlox buckleyi and Phlox brittonii; a large-flowered evening primrose, Oenothera argillicola; and a beautiful leatherflower, Clematis albicoma.


Many of these shale barrens are now protected by both state and federal agencies. Other shale barrens are not so fortunate. Without some means of protection, these rare and precious species will meet the same fate as Kate’s Mountain Clover.


It may come as a surprise, but vast prairies once existed in southern Ohio. Early settlers observed barrens, oak openings, meadows, and prairies where tall grasses dominated the landscape. These grasses were Little Bluestem, Big Bluestem, Indian Grass, Dropseed grass, and tall, smooth panic-grass. Some of the early settlers testified that as they rode through these prairies on horseback, they could grasp a handful on each side of the horse and tie them together over their heads. Among the many wildflowers were sunflowers, asters, blazing stars, flowering spurge, purple and yellow coneflowers, Sullivant’s milkweed, purple ironweed, and prairie dock.


The introduction of the steel plow heralded the destruction of these vast grasslands. The need for farmland, the establishment of settlements, and the construction of roads hastened their disappearance. We will never again be privileged to sit atop a horse and see such a wonder of nature. But we can still experience the thrill of emerging from a deeply wooded area and walking into a remnant prairie.


The Edge of Appalachia Preserve System in Adams County, Ohio is a band of unique nature sanctuaries stretching north from the Ohio River for twelve miles along Ohio Bush Creek. Nearly 13,000 acres, which contain the largest list of rare plants and animals in Ohio, are now protected. Other natural areas are also protected in Ohio and West Virginia.


So the next time you are flying down the highway at 70 mph, slow down and take the opportunity to visit one of these unique preserves and natural areas. It will take you back to an earlier time and place, and allow you to see a glimpse of our once “Garden of Eden.”



This article was first published by the Marietta Register