ECWA Trail Stewards Tutorial Page

VINES TO LET GROW

Apios americana (groundnut) A small vine with brown-purplish flowers. Could be confused with wisteria, but is much less aggressive and has only 5-7 leaflets per leaf.

Clematis virginiana (virgin’s bower) A vine with lovely sprays of white flowers in the fall. The native species has dentated leaves (teeth along the margins). An exotic species, also with white flowers but which can spread aggressively underground where established in backyards (such as my own), has been found along the trail and is best discouraged—pulled or, when not growing in the midst of desired species, sprayed.

Mikania scandens (climbing hempweed) bunches of small white flowers

Passiflora incarnata (passion flower) This was introduced along the trail, rescued from a railroad right of way where it was getting heavily sprayed. Could possibly prove too aggressive once established, but is thus far compatible. Another species, P. lutea, is less robust and grows naturally along the trail.

VINES TO PULL OR CUT

Most vines are incompatible with the trail because they quickly grow out onto the pavement. If the offending shoots are coming from thickets well off the trail, just lift it up and cut it back as far as you can, maybe 6 feet away from the trail, so that it won’t grow right back out again.

Lonicera japonica (Japanese honeysuckle)—kids like the honey in the blossoms, but the vine smothers other plants and grows out onto trail; usually easy to pull.

Wisteria sinensis (Chinese wisteria) dramatic, fragrant blooms in spring, but smothers other plants and eventually weakens trees; the bane of backyards and wild areas; Wisteria frutescens—a native, less aggressive species—has been planted in the Reserve.

Rhus toxicodendron (poison ivy) native, but with obvious drawbacks; bright red color in fall, birds like the seeds, which are produced when the vine climbs trees;

Parthenocissus quinquefolia (virginia creeper) native, but grows out over trail; bright red color in autumn.

Vitis sp. (wild grape) some of these bear delicious grapes, others don’t; next to a trail, they will constantly creep out onto the asphalt and over other plants.

Campsis radicans (trumpet creeper) Orange tubular flowers when growing on a tree. Too aggressive for next to a trail. Cut back, or remove.

Convolvulaceae (morning glory family) various sorts along the trail, including bindweeds and wild potato vine; lovely flowers, but can be aggressive; a judgement call

Exotic virgin’s bower (see above)

SHORTER WILDFLOWERS

Impatiens capensis (jewelweed, touch-me-not) Our native impatiens; summer-long flowers visited by hummingbirds; spring-loaded seeds (try touching a swollen seed pod). This is proving too much of a good thing, and now needs to be thinned out.

Urtica gracilis (slender nettle) Not as many stinging hairs as stinging nettle; no flowers to speak of, but attractive shape; a similar plant called false nettle is also present

Verbena urticifolia (white vervain) small white flowers in June; leaves nettle-like, as the scientific name implies

Lobelia cardinalis (cardinal flower) One of the most ornamental native sunflowers, with a spire of red, tubular flowers used by hummingbirds; found periodically along the creek; perennial but often short-lived

Ludwigia alternifolia (seedbox) grows along the floodplain, blooming in July with four yellow petals.

Polygonums (smartweeds) These need to be watched, and pulled out if they look like they’re taking over; Polygonum persicaria (lady’s thumb) is a common exotic example of this genus

Commelina communis (Asiatic dayflower) attractive blue-flowering plant of ditches and along the trail, but tends to take over; best to pull; a look-alike native, spiderwort, has not been seen along the creek

TALLER WILDFLOWERS THAT SPREAD UNDERGROUND

Helianthus tuberosus (Jerusalem artichoke) Neither from Jerusalem nor an artichoke; actually a native sunflower with edible tubers; Jerusalem sounds like girasol, which means “turns towards the sun;” found here and there all along Ellerbe Creek; original population is being propagated to sunny areas along the trail; tends to spread underground and send up hundreds of new plants too dense to make strong stalks; needs to be thinned, or removed when growing near other desirable plants.

Solidago sp. (goldenrods) Goldenrods come in all sizes and growth habits. None are allergenic, contrary to popular belief. Three species grow naturally along the floodplain trail, all tall, all proving to be aggressive spreaders that are now typically removed. Lower growing species have been introduced from nearby prairie habitats, and should prove more compatible with the trail and other plants.

TALLER WILDFLOWERS THAT GROW IN ROSETTES

Rudbeckia laciniata (green-headed coneflower) Showy yellow flowers with green centers; pedals reflexed back like a badminton birdie; tall and tends to tip over, but great when kept some distance from the trail; has evergreen rosettes of leaves through winter.

Hibiscus moscheutos (rose mallow) The one hibiscus native to the Ellerbe Creek watershed; graces swamps, ditches and floodplains; blooms reward morning walkers, seem to close up in afternoon; its sturdy stems tend not to hang over, so can be left closer to trail; Texas star hibiscus (H. coccineus, red flower) is also planted along the trail.

Cassia hebecarpa (wild senna) A yellow-flowering legume discovered growing along Ellerbe Creek; perennial root, annual stem; has been propagated to Indian Trail Park and elsewhere.

Eupatorium fistulosum (hollow joe-pye-weed, queen of the meadow) Ellerbe Creek’s one native joe-pye-weed; stem tall, hollow and spotted; leaves in whorls; many small purple flowers form a rounded disk—a banquet for pollinators of all sorts; other species of joe-pye-weed can be bought, and were planted in the wetland gardens in Indian Trail Park; for authenticity, we’re sticking to E. fistulosum for the trail;

Eupatorium serotinum (late flowering thoroughwort) Attractive clouds of white flowers in late summer. Common in floodplains, and also freeway embankments. Related species planted in the reserve include boneset (E. perfoliatum), hyssop-leaved thoroughwort (E. hyssopifolium), and round-leaved thoroughwort (E. rotundifolium).

Desmodium sp. (tick trefoils) One tall species grows naturally along the trail. Several other species from prairie rescues are also in the reserve. Seeds stick to pant legs.

Phytolacca americana (poke salad, inkberry) Called pokeweed up north. Grows each year from perennial root; inedible berries once used for dyes; it was encouraged the first year of trail management, but sprouts so densely from seed that it is best removed except when growing well away from the trail. One trail user—older, African American, comes to harvest it for food in the spring (requires special preparation to remove toxins).

Oenothera biennis (common evening primrose) Yellow flower; too tall and sprawling for close to trail.

Bidens sp. (tickseed sunflower) Doesn’t grow in rosettes or spread underground, but pops up everywhere from seed; big show of yellow flowers in late summer; annual; needs to be weeded out where shading out other desired species, or when too close to trail; one of the few native wildflowers used by NC Dept. of Transportation in their NC Wildflower roadside plantings. Offers a banquet of seeds to birds, one month after flowering.

PULL WHEREVER FOUND

Erigeron canadensis (horseweed) Tall, skinny, ubiquitous plant that goes to seed in late summer; native, but gives trail a weedy appearance; best pulled before seeds mature

Ambrosia artemisifolia (common ragweed) pollen is cause of hayfever; leaf similar in appearance to tick-seed sunflower, but with a more bluish green tint

Ambrosia trifida (great ragweed) very tall; three-lobed leaves; hayfever also? 

Rumex crispus (curled dock) a non-native, pull before it goes to seed

Lespedeza cuneata (Chinese bushclover, Sericea lespedeza) a legume used by the Dept. of Transportation to control erosion; effective, but also highly invasive, forming dense, exclusionary stands; a real problem for those restoring habitats like prairies and savannahs; present along the trail; it has white flowers in mid-summer; similar looking natives have pink flowers and are less robust

GROUND CREEPERS TO PULL

Duchesnea indica (Indian strawberry) inedible berry, introduced from India, looks like the native wild strawberry, but with a yellow flower; aggressive weedy groundcover typical of lawns and along trail; sends out runners; pull before it spreads

Glechoma hederacea (creeping Charlie, ground ivy, gill over the ground) evergreen non-native; survives in turf, from where it creeps into wetland gardens in Indian Trail Park, and thrives along trail; pull if just a small patch; large patches can be sprayed when other plants are dormant.

Rumex acetosella (sheep sorrel) less than a foot when blooming in spring; tiny brown blooms hug stem; small arrow-shaped leaves with spreading lobes and acrid taste; spreads underground; often in drier soils. Pull in spring when ground is soft and before seeds mature.

RUSHES AND SEDGES

These are grasslike plants, little known to the general public but of great variety and often ornamental in their shapes and textures. While most native grasses are slow to start growing in the spring and mature in late summer, sedges and rushes show new leaves in early spring, grow quickly into lush mounds, develop their distinctive seed structures and start to look disheveled by mid-summer. Sedges have edges, rushes are round—a saying that refers to the cross-section of their stems. Grasses have joints along the stem. Below are the more common species to be found in Ellerbe Creek’s floodplain.

Juncus effusus (soft rush) green seed structures halfway up stem; a dark green, vase-like plant that contrasts well with light green sedges; usually found living a rough life in ditches, but very attractive along the trail; one neighbor grows it in her front yard as a specimen plant; evergreen; soils from moist to submerged;

Juncus dichotimus (forked rush) common; one foot high with terminal seed structure; a miniature version of soft rush; good for the trail edge

Scirpus cyperinus (woolgrass) should be called woolsedge, because it’s a sedge (note triangular stem—“sedges have edges”); blooms in July, with seedheads eventually turning a wooly brown; can survive in standing water or regular garden soil; occurring here and there in the watershed, it’s being transplanted along the trail and in wetland gardens.

Carex lurida (yellow-green sedge) make lush clumps in spring, then sprawl as the weather heats up; thumb-sized seed heads; a sturdy and common sedge that contrasts well with the more vertical soft-rush

Carex crinita (fringed sedge) A beautiful, very sturdy sedge that grows in floodplains of Ellerbe Creek, but has yet to be introduced to the Reserve or along the trail. All thing in time.

Scirpus atrovirens (dark green bulrush) Hope I have the name right on this one; its grows miniature plants on top of the stalks as part of the seedheads; in fall, these plantlets can be plucked off and pushed into bare ground—a very convenient means of propogation; one trail steward calls it “atom plant”, because the seedheads look like molecular models

Cyperus aesculentis (nutsedge) This is a pesky sedge that infests gardens and is a serious agricultural pest as well. It blooms later than the native sedges, is easy to pull but spreads underground and keeps popping up, forming clones of many individuals.

GRASSES TO LET GROW

Dichanthelium clandestinum (Deertongue grass) a bunch grass with attractive broad leaves, grows to 3 feet, shade tolerant

Sorghastrum nutans (Indian grass) a component of Midwest prairies, common in the NC piedmont; grows naturally in roadside prairie remnants and in floodplains; beautiful gold anthers in fall; to six feet, so best kept some distance from trail

Tripsacum dactyloides (Eastern gama grass) large, common in ditches and floodplains; believed by some to be an ancestor of corn

Erianthus sp. (sugar cane plume grass) the tallest native grass in the watershed; found along roadsides, usually in mesic but not swampy locations

Glyceria striata (manna grass) graceful, early season, to three feet; grows with rushes and sedges in the floodplain

Elymus virginicus (Virginia rye) an early season grass found in floodplains and roadside prairie remnants; sun or shade

Elymus (formerly Hystrix) patula (bottlebrush grass) early season, shade tolerant, often found growing under walnut trees

Cinna arundinaria (wood reed) to five feet, upright; one of the shade-tolerant floodplain grasses to be encouraged

Chasmanthium latifolium (river oats) found here and there along Ellerbe Creek; used as an ornamental up north; can seed aggressively into bare areas

Chasmanthium laxum (slender woodoats) smaller than above, common in headwaters; mesic to dry soils, shade or sun

Andropogon gerardii (big bluestem) the main component of Midwestern prairies; found infrequently along Durham roadsides; rescued plants put in Reserve

Andropogon sp. (other bluestems, including A. ternarius, A. gyrans and Schizachirum scoparium) found in remnant roadside prairies; some rescued from threatened sites and relocated to Reserve

Anthoxanthum odoratum (Sweet vernal grass)

Foxtails

GRASSES TO PULL

Microstegium virminium (Japanese stilt-grass, bamboo grass, packing grass) N.C.’s #1 terrestrial plant pest; an ultra-invasive annual grass from Asia, originally introduced as packing material for porcelain; ubiquitous in lawns and floodplains, shade or sun, wet or dry; can survive in closely cropped lawns or climb to six feet high; dies in November, giving a blotchy appearance to lawns or forming a brown sea in low areas; pull or spray before it goes to seed in late September and repeat yearly until seed reservoir in soil is exhausted; a major test of perseverance

Sorghum halapense (Johnson grass) a weedy non-native common along roadsides and fields; flowers in July, grows to 6 feet

Holcus linatus (velvet grass) pretty, grayish green foliage, but seeds too aggressively; pull in spring before seeds mature

Festuca sp. (fescue) common exotic bunch grass found in lawns and old fields; escapes to natural areas

Cynodon dactylon (bermuda grass) low-growing; the ultimate pest, the bane of schoolground garden projects; ultra aggressive in sunny locations; very hard to pull; generally needs to be sprayed with low-toxicity herbicide

(Corn straw) a rank annual grass; pull before seeds mature

COMPATIBLE SHRUBS

Below are the native shrubs common to the banks and floodplains of Ellerbe Creek.

 Cephalanthus occidentalis (buttonbush) white flowers in June; button-like seedheads in fall; floodplains and swamps; easily propagated by pushing live cuttings into moist ground in late winter; a large shrub that can be easily kept small—it blooms even if cut to ground in the spring and is therefor ideal as a low-growing, controllable shrub next to floodplain trails

Cornus amomum (silky dogwood) related to flowering dogwood, but more shrublike; small disks of white flowers in late spring; berries for birds; easily propogated like buttonbush

Sambucus canadensis (elderberry) large disks of white flowers in late spring; berries good for making jelly, but usually eaten by birds before ripe; propogated as with buttonbush, above; best kept six feet back from trail, but can be trimmed

Amorpha fruticosa (lead plant) a legume with purplish spires in late spring; found sporadically along the creek and tributaries like Pearl Mill Creek

Viburnum rafinesquianum (arrowwood) not typical of floodplain, but frequently nearby on drier soils; berries for birds; small white disks of flowers in spring; shade tolerant; other Viburnum species also, but less common

Euonymus americana (hearts-a-bustin’) the native euonymus, with ornamental seed structures; also more typical of adjoining, drier ground; loved by deer

EXOTIC SHRUBS TO BE PULLED OR CUT

Ligustrum sinense (Chinese privet) planted worldwide for hedges, and thus a worldwide weed of floodplains; can form dense stands in low, wooded areas; commonly seen growing on creekbanks; young plants easily pulled in spring

Ligustrum japonicum (Japanese privet) larger, glossy leaves than above; also in floodplains, as well as some uplands; remove or spray

Rosa multiflora (multiflora rose) see below

(Russian olive or autumn olive) infests the Museum of Life and Science woods; birds spread seed; spray, dig up, or cut to ground

Baccharis halimifolia (groundsel bush) white-flowering shrub, late fall, formerly a coastal species, but now exploding along freeways, e.g. 147, and showing up everywhere in the Triangle

TO PULL, DIG OUT, or SPRAY: THORNY SHRUBS, BRAMBLES

Rosa multiflora (multiflora rose) Showy white blooms in spring, but too sprawling, thorny and aggressive for trailside; displaces native species. If you want, wait until after it blooms to dig it out. (the one native floodplain rose, Rosa palustris, is a smaller shrub that blooms later with pink blossoms)

Rubus argutus (common blackberry) A native with white blooms in spring, edible berries, but too aggressive and thorny for trailside. Another species has pinkish flowers somewhat later in the spring, and can send out runners as long as 30 feet—a major grab of real estate. A mainland species of blackberry has been introduced into Hawaii, where it has become an invasive pest.