Vickers, Earnest W.

The Ohio Journal of Science

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86 The Ohio Naturalist. [Vol. X, No. 4,A LIST OF THE FERNS OF MAHONING COUNTY WITHSPECIAL REFERENCE TO MILL CREEK PARK.EARNEST W. VICKERS.Lying toward the north-eastern corner of the state andbelonging to a group known as the Highland Counties of Ohio,Mahoning presents variations of soil and surface which findnatural expression in its flora.The erosions of the Mahoning River which flows up the westside of the County and again down across the north-east corner,as well as numerous smaller streams have left steep banks, glens,ledges and cliffs and in the case of Mill Creek—which gives thepark its name—at Lautermain Falls, near Youngstown, a gorgehas been cut seventy-three feet in depth.It is in these places that the rock loving ferns find congenialhabitat. There are rich wet woods—remnants of noble forests—where the sylvan groups are well represented; while swamps ofgreater or less area are scattered over the county where ferns ofthe marsh or bog flourish.In its remarkably varied character in such small compass,Mill Creek Park represents the whole county so faithfully thatthe botanist may expect, and without disappointment, to findtherein almost a complete living index to the fern flora ofMahoning County.The ferns listed below have been verified by Prof. J. H.Schaffner and are represented by specimens deposited in theState Herbarium at Columbus, Ohio.Polypodium vulgare L. Common Polypody. Commonest onrocks and ledges, its natural home, but also found on stumpsand logs.Phegopteris polypodioides Fee. Long Beech Fern. Appears tobe well distributed growing on high banks and on sandstoneledges, not so abundant as the next species which is frequentlyfound growing with it. Abundant in Mill Creek Park and alongthe Mahoning River in Berlin Township.Phegopteris hexagonoptera (Mx.) Broad Beech Fern.Common everywhere in moist shady woods.Adiantum pedatum L. Maiden-hair Fern. Everywhere andcommon.Pteris aquilina L. Common Brake. Common. Whereverfound there is a generous colony preempting the ground.Asplenium pinnatifidum Nutt. Pinnatifid Spleenwort. July18, 1909, while carefully searching the cliffs in Mill Creek Parknear Lautermain Falls, the writer discovered this rare species.This is at once the most eastern and northern station for thisFeb., 1910.] List of Ferns of Mahoning County. 87fern in the state. Originally but one block, the operation of man,first in building the now abandoned grist mill and more recentlythe high bridge across Mill Creek Gorge, has cut it up into threeapproximate stations containing in all a little over two hundredplants. The stream flows about east and west at this point andthe ferns all grow on the north side. Forked fronds and thosewith pinnules elongated beyond the middle were found.Asplenium trichomanes L. Maiden-hair Spleenwort. Foundprincipally along ledges in Mill Creek Park, although it grows insimilar locations along the Mahoning River.Asplenium platyneuron (L.) Mill Creek Park, along theMahoning and in wooded and rocky slopes.Asplenium montanum Willd. Mountain Spleenwort. So farbut one station and that quite restricted for this somewhat rareOhio fern: "Standing Rock" in the Mahoning River in Berlintownship. This curious boat-shaped sand-stone rock has beeneroded free from a jutting "bogi back" through the united actionof the river and a tributary, and stands a picturesque mass 15to 20 ft. high, 82 ft. long, 27 wide at base and 7 to 12 ft. wide attop. And in the crannies of its fractured sides from 150 to 175plants cling in flourishing condition.Thus far diligent search has failed to extend the distributioneither in the neighborhood of this rock or elsewhere in the county.Asplenium angustifolium Mx. Narrow-leaved Spleenwort.So far its title to a place in this list rests on a single sterile plantgrowing in low moist woods in Ellsworth Township. Duringseveral years of watching it has failed to put forth a fertile frond.Asplenium acrostichoides Sw. Silvery Spleenwort. Rathercommon in its distribution over the county.Asplenium filix-foemina. Lady Fern. As common in distribu-tion as in variation.Camptosorus rhizophyllus (L.) Walking Fern. Abundanton rocky walls of Mill Creek Park. Grows in similar situationsalong the Mahoning.Polystichum acrostichoides (Mx.) Christmas Fern. Foundeverywhere in the county.Aspidium thelypteris (L.) Marsh Fern. One of the com-monest ferns, found in marshy places, wet pastures, woods, etc.Aspidium noveboracense (L.) New York Fern. As delicatein design as in its exquisite shade of green. In damp woods, wetpastures, shaded ravines or on wooded banks, in which twolatter places it attains highest perfection. Often found growingwith the last mentioned and is abundant in the county.Aspidium cristatum L. Crested Fern. Of general distribu-tion though it does not form dense clumps or banks like someother ferns and so does not appear so abundant.88 The Ohio Naturalist. [Vol. X, No. 4,Aspidium marginale (L.) Marginal shield Fern. Common onledges or on steep wooded hill sides and even low wet wood lands.Aspidium spinulosum intermedium. Muhl. Common in woodsas well as in the deep ravines and on wet rocks of Mill Creek Parkand similar situations along the Mahoning. Annoyingly variousbut nothing approaching specific types has yet been found.Cystopteris fagilis (L). Fragile Bladder Fern. As commonin all situations as it is various in form. In low woods as well ason cliffs and rocks.Dicksonia punctilobula (Mx.) Hayscented Fern, BoulderFern. This graceful delicate green fern may be consideredquite common in this county, attaining perfection in richshady woods as well as on wet shaded rocks and cliffs, in whichlast location like the Bladder Fern its fronds become muchelongated and elegantly tapered.Onoclea sensibilis L. Sensitive Fern. Common in woods,thickets and pastures everywhere. Some seasons there appearsa riot of that sportive so-called variety obtusilobata appearing toillustrate the evolution or intermarriage of sterile and fertilefronds. When they abound one season you search for them thefollowing year in vain.Osmunda regalis L. Flowering Fern. Found to some extentin wet woods and swamps.Osmunda cinnamomea L. Cinnamon Fern. In swamps andwet pastures, though not common as in the tamarack bogs ofsome places in this corner of the state; a bog of this kind inBoardman Township having been destroyed.Osmunda claytoniana L. Not abundant, though it may befound generally distributed.Ophioglossum vulgatum (L). Adder's Tongue. For thisplant the writer has two stations in the county viz: JacksonTownship, June 9, 1900, where it has not been rediscovered, andEllsworth Township, June 13, 1909. This plant being so readilyoverlooked is doubtless more common than would seem.Botrychium obliquum Muhl. Grape Fern and var. dissectum.Their common form grows everywhere in woods and pasture andspring together as if from a common root.Botrychium virginianum (L). More abundant than the last.The size attained depending upon the moist richness of the woodswhere heavy shade is a factor.With the exception of Asplenium angustifolium, Aspleniummontanum, and Ophioglossum vulgatum, I have found all of theabove in Mill Creek Park, and probably two of the three will yetbe found there.Date of Publication, February 15, 1910.

A List of the Ferns of Mahoning County with Special Reference to Mill Creek Park

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A List of the Ferns of Mahoning County with Special Reference to Mill Creek Park

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