Wildwood Park is located in the city of Radford, in the Appalachian Mountains of southwest Virginia. This region is recognized for its extreme biological diversity, especially wildflowers and deciduous trees and shrubs. Our spring wildflowers or "spring ephemerals" contribute to our state and local economies by promoting tourism and overall aesthetic beauty in the area.
Wildflower monitoring were conducted in Wildwood Park, a wooded valley consisting of 50 acres of forests, wetlands, meadows, Connelly's Run stream, and limestone cliffs. The park has a paved bike path running through it and hiking trails on east- and west-facing slopes. The park grounds are managed by the city of Radford, VA.
Map showing the Appalachian region including States and county names. Click image to view larger.
Map of Wildwood Park. Click image to view larger and have access to Wildwood Park webpage.
Spring Ephemeral Wildflowers
Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) (Photo by N. Johnson 4/4/2018)
Springtime in Virginia is arguably the most beautiful biological phenomenon to occur. With the world-renowned variety of ephemeral wildflowers and complete floral diversity, Virginia is a haven for connoisseurs of natural beauty. These flowers not only attract permanent residents, but they are also a gleaming tourist attraction leading to millions of dollars in revenue each year both privately and publicly. Virginia's native wildflowers have a niche that they occupy in the ecosystem. They bloom and reproduce before the tree canopy has an opportunity to produce leaves and steal the valuable sunlight that the flowers need to operate.
Every ephemeral has two stages in its growth cycle, epigeous and hypogenous. The epigeous stage is the above ground stage, which usually occurs early spring to mid-summer and can be identified by new growth, bud burst, growing leaves, flowering, and fruit development. The hypogenous stage occurs underground from mid-summer to late winter. This stage is made up of mostly root growth and bud development in the later months (Matt, 2015). Having the right growing conditions is important for spring ephemerals. Weather that is too cold or too hot can be detrimental to species that complete their life cycles in a matter of a few weeks.
Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica) (Photo by C. Gleason 4/15/2018)
Cutleaf Toothwort (Cardamine concatenata) (Photo by C. Gleason 4/15/2018)
There are numerous invasive ground plants threatening the livelihood of native wildflowers. Just like any other problem, it can be nipped in the bud before it has a chance to grow. Eradicating the problem early will give better chances of the invasive problem being slowed down. Another concern to spring ephemerals is White-tailed deer. White-tailed deer prefer to forage on native wildflowers, which reduce their size and flowering status, and creates open patches for invasive species to take over.
It is also not just wildflowers that are under attack by these invasive plants. Habitat loss and fragmentation further compound the issue by limiting the reproductive success of native flora while some of these invasive species tend to thrive in minimal areas. In these cases, education about prevention and control of invasive species must be established before reintroduction of natives. Management and conservation measures should also be followed to eliminate the invasive problem and keep the native ephemerals thriving.
Masters, R.A., & R.l. Sheley. (2001). Principles and Practices for Managing Rangeland Invasive Plants. Journal of Range Management, 54(5), 502-517.
Small, C. J. & Chamberlain, J. L. (2015) Forest Diversity and Disturbance: Changing Influences and the Future of Virginia’s Forests. Virginia Journal of Science, 66(3). Url: https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/vjs/vol66/iss3/7/