| Travels With Paul
5/26/2008
A Memorial Day hike to Tioga Falls in northern Hardin County, Ky., rewarded with a multitude of botanical treasures. This short hike (approximately 2 miles) is located about a 30-mile drive from downtown Louisville and provides an excellent glimpse of Kentucky woodland that is remarkably free from invasive exotic plants (there is a considerable invasive exotic plant population along the railroad tracks; Ailanthus altissima, Paulownia tomentosa, Lonicera japonica). The site is formally part of Fort Knox and is sometimes closed for training exercises so call ahead. For trail information and for a detailed description of this fascinating site, go to http://www.radclifftourism.org/tiogafalls.shtml.
Tioga falls is part of a spring-fed stream that cascades down Muldraugh Hill, the topographic division between the Salt and Green Valleys. The geology is primarily Devonian limestone with thin shale veins at periodic intervals. The terrain is fairly steep in spots with numerous stone outcroppings and periodic weeps that together, create a varied environment for plants, from dry to moist. Much of the site was heavily impacted by a 1974 tornado or two that removed much of the over-story and left the site open to re-growth. There are few large old trees on the site but on today’s hike, we spotted several old Quercus alba (White Oak) with trunks in excess of 45” diameter.
The mile-long hike to the falls includes a substantial elevation change with concomitant change in vegetation. The listing below provides a general overview of the plant species encountered along the hike. The list is not meant to be all inclusive.
   
Tioga Falls Heuchera americana Sedum ternatum Polygonatum biflorum
| Tioga Falls botanical listing; 5/26/2008 |
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| * denotes exotic plant species |
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| Latin Name |
Common Name |
Comments |
|
|
|
| Tree Canopy |
|
|
| Acer negundo |
box elder |
along railroad tracks, uncommon along trail |
| Acer rubrum |
red maple |
far less comon than A. saccharum |
| Acer saccharum |
sugar maple |
dominant species; maximum trunk diameter ~30" |
| Carya ovata |
shagbark hickory |
spotty, in small groves |
| Fagus grandifolia |
American beech |
common up to about 24" DBH |
| Fraxinus pennsylvanicum |
green ash |
second in dominance to A. saccharum |
| Liriodendron tulipifera |
tuliptree, yellow poplar |
more common in lower elevation areas; several 40"+ |
| Nyssa sylvatica |
black gum |
uncommon |
| Paulownia tomentosa* |
princess tree |
uncommon, along railroad tracks |
| Quercus alba |
white oak |
common at low and mid elevations |
| Quercus rubra |
red oak |
common throughout |
| Ulmus americana |
American elm |
spotty |
| Ulmus rubra |
red elm |
spotty |
|
|
|
| Woody understory |
|
|
| Ailanthus altissima* |
tree of heaven |
common along railroad tracks |
| Asimina triloba |
pawpaw |
common |
| Carpinus caroliniana |
American hornbeam |
common |
| Cercis canadensis |
eastern redbud |
uncommon |
| Hydrangea arborescens |
smooth hydrangea |
everywhere |
| Lindera benzoin |
spicebush |
common |
| Lonicera amurense* |
Amur honeysuckle |
infrequent |
| Lonicera japonica* |
Japanese honeysuckle |
along railroad tracks |
| Ostrya virginiana |
hop hornbeam |
rare, on upper slopes |
| Parthenocissus quinquefolia |
Virgina creeper |
common |
| Ptelia trifoliata |
bladdernut |
common along mid elevation trail |
| Smilax sp. |
greenbriar |
anybody's guess which one |
| Symphoricarpos orbiculatus |
indian currant |
common along trail |
| Toxicodendron radicans |
poison ivy |
everywhere |
| Viburnum rufidulum |
rusty black haw |
spotty along trail |
|
|
|
| Herbaceous understory |
|
|
| Adiantum pedatum |
maidenhair fern |
spotty, along base of outcroppings or hill bottoms |
| Antennaria plantaginifolia |
pussytoes |
uncommon, on limestone outcroppings |
| Aqueligia canadense |
columbine |
uncommon on limestone outcrops |
| Arisaema triphyllum |
jack in the pulpit |
common in moist areas |
| Asarum canadense |
wild ginger |
common |
| Campanula americana |
tall bellflower |
uncommon |
| Claytonia virginica |
spring beauty |
common |
| Delphinium tricorne |
dwarf larkspur |
low to mid-elevation sites |
| Dentaria laciniata |
cutleaf toothwort |
common |
| Desmodium nudiflorum |
naked tick trefoil |
spotty |
| Dodecatheon media |
shooting star |
spotty in moist areas |
| Eupatorium rugosum |
white snakeroot |
common |
| Eupatorium fistulosum |
Hollow Joe-pye weed |
common |
| Erythronium americanum |
trout lily |
spotty in moist areas |
| Geum canadense |
white avens |
uncommon along trail |
| Hepatica acutiloba |
sharp-lobed liver leaf |
uncommon along moist outcroppings |
| Heuchera americana |
coral bells |
on sunny outcrops |
| Hydrophyllum virginianum |
waterleaf |
low elevation, damp spots |
| Impatens capensis |
jewelweed |
common |
| Mertensia virginica |
Virginia bluebells |
common in moist areas |
| Oenothera biennis |
evening primrose |
uncommon |
| Oxalis stricta |
yellow woodsorrel |
uncommon |
| Phlox divaricata |
woodland phlox |
common |
| Phytolacca americana |
pokeweed |
common in recently disturbed areas |
| Podophyllum peltatum |
mayapple |
common |
| Polystichum acrosticoides |
Christmas fern |
common |
| Prunella vulgaris |
heal all |
uncommon |
| Sanguinaria canadense |
bloodroot |
common along trail edge |
| Scutellaraia incana |
downy scullcap |
spotty |
| Senecio aureus |
golden ragwort |
common |
| Thalictrum thalictroides |
rue anemone |
common |
| Trillium flexipes |
drooping trillium |
uncommon along lower elevations |
| Trillium nivale |
snow trillium |
uncommon along drier slopes |
| Viola sororia |
common violet |
common | |
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