On Saturday I went to see some old friends and to get there I had to take a short hike down this rail trail in Westmoreland. It was a warm and beautiful spring day and I don’t think I’ve ever heard so many birds singing. The dark dot at the end of the trail is where we’re going. It looks like a tunnel in this photo but it isn’t.
The forest here is made up of nearly all hardwood trees; mostly beech, maple and oak, and there are some old, large examples here. The fallen tree shown in this photo doesn’t look like much because I was so far away from it, but it’s one of the biggest trees I’ve ever seen.
For every fallen tree there is a new one coming along to replace it and the oaks were just unfurling their new leaves when I was here.
Here we are already. This is the dark spot that looked like a tunnel at the end of the trail in that first photo. For a short time there are ledges on either side of the trail made by the railroad blasting their way through the bedrock 150 years ago, and some remarkable plants grow here.
Almost every crevice has some type of plant or tree growing out of it.
And these are the old friends that I came here to see; the wild columbines (Aquilegia canadensis.) They like to grow on partially shaded rocky slopes so this area is perfect for them. How they got here is anyone’s guess but their numbers have been steadily increasing since I first found them. Though I’ve spent 50 years walking through these woods this is the only place I’ve ever seen them.
They are beautiful things; well worth the hike. Each red and yellow blossom is about an inch and a half long and dances in the slightest breeze at the end of a long stalk. The Aquilegia part of the scientific name comes from the Latin Aquila, which means “eagle” and refers to the spurred petals that Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus thought resembled an eagle’s talons. Some think they resemble pigeons around a dish and the name Columbine comes from the Latin Columbinus, which means “pertaining to doves or pigeons.” It is said that Native American men rubbed the crushed seeds on themselves to be more attractive to women. Whether they did it for color or scent, I don’t know.
Wild columbine flowers have 5 petals and 5 sepals. Each petal is yellow with a rounded tip, and forms a long, funnel shaped nectar spur that shades to red. The oval sepals are also red, and the anthers are bright yellow. When they grow on ledges some of them are up overhead, so you can see the nodding flowers in a way you never could if they were growing at ground level. From this viewpoint you can see the 5 funnel shaped holes that are the start of the nectar spurs. Long tongued insects and hummingbirds probe these holes for nectar. Some say that these holes look like dovecotes, which is another reference to birds. We’re so very lucky to have such beautiful things in these woods.
Columbines like sandy, well-drained soil on the poor side that has limestone in it, so seeing them is a good indication of what type of soil is in the area. Some of the stone faces here are covered by grayish white deposits of something I’m assuming is limestone leaching out of the stone. At first I thought there were lichens covering the stone but the powdery deposits rub off easily with a finger and I’ve never seen a lichen do that.
You can tell that there are pockets of somewhat deep soil on the ledges because Jack in the pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum) also grows here. They have a root that forms a corm, which is a kind of flattened bulb much like those found on gladiolus plants, and they need a few inches of soil to grow well.
At the base of the ledges purple trillium (Trillium erectum) and many other plants grow. It is near the end of its brief time with us and this one was just about done blooming. If pollinated a three part seed capsule will form.
It’s easy when photographing flowers and other ground dwellers to become so absorbed in the subject at hand that you don’t pay attention to your surroundings and just kneel or lie wherever you need to be to get the best photo. That wouldn’t be wise here because poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans) also lives here and I’ve ended up with itchy knees by kneeling on leafless vines in the early spring. Luckily I’m not very sensitive to it and the rash usually just stays on my knees without spreading, but I’ve known people who had to be hospitalized because of it, so I try to always watch for it.
When the railroad had to blast through a hillside they used the stone to fill in low spots, but if they had too much they simply piled the excess in the woods. Local people often took the stone to build with and this landowner built a stone wall with it. You can tell exactly where the stone came from because there isn’t a rounded edge on a single one. Our natural stones are almost always rounded.
There are reminders of the railroad all along this trail. I’m guessing that a signal box once stood on this concrete pad, because an old road once crossed the tracks up ahead.
Whatever the signal was it took 6 stout wires to control it.
I flipped this tie plate over to see if there was any writing on it. I’ve seen them with a maker’s name and date but this one didn’t have a mark on it.
One of the biggest beech trees I’ve seen fell last year and shattered some oaks as big as watermelons when it did. Last summer I heard a tree fall in the woods close to where I was but not close enough to see. I’ll never forget the sound it made as it crashed its way to the forest floor. This beech fell right across the rail trail and I’m glad I wasn’t nearby when it happened. I see a startling number of fallen trees; usually at least one each year in every location that I visit regularly, and often many more.
I was going to take you on a climb up a new (to me) hill for this post but there were high wind gusts forecast for Sunday so I stayed out of the woods for most of the day and visited meadows instead. I’m very grateful that I got to see such a rare sight and I hope you enjoyed seeing the wild columbines as well. For me this walk has become an annual spring rite and I always look forward to it.
Gratitude turns anything into enough, puts past to rest, brings tranquility to our hopes of tomorrow, and blesses today with harmony and bliss. ~ Joseph Rain
Thanks for coming by.
We have lots of Wild aquilegias here but they are all purple, yours are stunning. Your rail trail wanderings have made me want to revisit the one in Hamble near me.
Yes, I like them and look forward to seeing them each spring.
Any trail is a good one!
That was a wonderful walk, Allen…and I especially enjoyed that Columbine…how strikingly different.
Thank you Scott. Yes, there aren’t many flowers that can be confused with columbine and the wild ones are amazingly beautiful.
Columbines are one of the few wildflowers that you highlight here that grow in abundance here in Michigan, they are one of my favorites also. Loved the other things that you found as well!
Thanks Jerry and welcome back! I hope you had a great vacation and maybe got to see some of those columbines.
I should have seen some, since I was surrounded by limestone quarries, but I didn’t.
Too bad, but the quarries sound interesting!
I was going to say the same thing. We commonly see the same variety here, even in urban yards and alleys at times. Lovely post, as usual!
Thank you. You’re lucky you can see them so easily. They’re rarely seen here.
Beautiful woods. The wild columbine and the purple trillium are fantastic sight.
Thank you. I think they’re two of our most beautiful wildflowers, and there really isn’t another like columbine.
I LOVE Wild Columbine. It’s not very long lived for me, though. I wonder if that’s because the soil here is too rich for its liking. Fortunately, it does self-seed so I always have some plants.
You’d be shocked if you could see how thin the soil is that they’re growing in is. I say soil but it’s really just pulverized stone with a tiny bit of decayed leaves thrown in.
I just looked up soil conditions for them and found this: “Rich garden soil encourages rank vegetative growth and weak stems and shortens the plants lifespan, while plants in thin, sandy soils maintain a tight, compact habit and can live for many years.”
The columbines were so bright! and you managed to get great shots considering the wind. The rail trail is one of my favorite of you posts, always something new to see.
Thanks Martha. There are actually several rail trails the I visit but they all have interesting things to see along the way and I’m glad we have them.
Poison ivy – I remember it well from back east. I don’t see much of that in my immediate area. It was more of a problem to me when I was young, but developed some immunity to it as I got older. I wouldn’t want to test that now, though.
The columbines and trillium are beautiful, as are the woods in general. Looks like a very pleasant rail trail hike.
No, poison ivy is nothing to fool with. You can get it even from the leafless vines in spring and that’s usually when I get it, kneeling on it to take photos.
It was a pleasant hike. You couldn’t have asked for a more spring like day.
Those columbines are exquisite! We have just yellow ones here and they are very plain compared to yours!
Thanks Montucky! Yes, the red and yellow together make these very showy. I think they’re worthy of any garden, but I’d rather find them in the woods.
Beautiful columbines! I love this graceful native. I’ve almost always seen it in the wild on rocky ledges like you mentioned, in maple deciduous forest.
Thank you Eliza. Just down the trail about 2 miles or so are more ledges very similar to these and there isn’t a single columbine to be found there, so I’m thinking that maybe they’re a little fussy about where they grow.These are the only plants I’ve found.
I know only of two spots where I live in western MA.
The columbines are definitely worth the trek! Such bright colours and a delicate flower. The foroest looks lovely in all it’s spring finery.
Thank you Clare. That was a perfect spring day.
Yes, I had hoped to find wild columbines for years and then one day, there they were. They were worth the wait and I’m happy that I finally found them.
I am too.
I can see why the columbines are old friends.
I only see them once or twice a year but I’ve known them for a while now.
I discovered a little clump of columbine about ten years ago along my favorite rail trail, and I had to look through a field guide to learn what it was. Such striking colors! Now, that area has several columbine plants. I look forward to their blooms every year. Thanks for the lovely photographs.
You’re welcome, and thank you Ellen. Columbines aren’t something we see much of in this part of the state so I was real happy to find them. Apparently if they like where the are the spread fairly quickly. I’m glad that you found some too and glad you go back to see them. They’re beautiful things!
Okay: this has to be one of my favourites, Allen. I followed you on that tour and enjoyed the wild columbines, jack in the pulpit, purple trillium, and the walk on the trail through the woods. Thank you!!
You’re welcome Cynthia, and thank you. I hope you can get out and see things like these for yourself too!
The close-ups of the columbine are stunning!
Thanks! It was windy that day so getting them was tricky.
I was lucky to find some wild columbines last year. They are so beautiful. I never used to be sensitive to poison ivy, but I sure am now!
I’m glad you found some. They should be blossoming right now.
When I turned 50 I suddenly became allergic to just about everything but poison ivy still doesn’t seem to spread when I get it.
What a beautiful hike and what a lovely flower at the end, such colours and shapes, they take my breath away.
Thank you Susan. Wild columbines are beautiful things. It isn’t often we see such brightly colored wildflowers.