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Tubmill Run Wildflowers Week 1- March 23, 2026

I wasn't sure what all I would encounter so early in the season for my first hike at Tubmill Run Trolley Trail during the week of March 23rd 2026. This was my first stop of the two locations. Was it too early for flowers or for my favorite finds, snakes and salamanders? Either way, an early start was what I wanted to make sure I could see the full cycle of many of the plants.

Some quick notes about Tubmill Run Trolley Trail:

  • This was part of an old trolley route from Ford City to Ford Cliff with waste glass from PPG as the ballast.
  • It has been an informal path for decades and has been recently maintained through the help of volunteers to establish a more formal trail. There is an easement with Armstrong Trails to keep the trail available for the public.
  • The landowner has been working tirelessly to control invasive species, especially privet, both in the surrounding woods and trail. Please respect the hard work to maintain and keep this property beautiful.
As I initially thought, I did not see much sprouting or beginning to bloom at Tubmill. In a way, I was happy about this because it will allow me to see more of a full progression of the season. Here's what I did see:

Yellow trout lily (Erythronium americanum)


The Yellow trout lily leaves were all at the beginning of the trail. Only a few were flowering however. I will have to wait for next week to see if they bloom. A lot of these just sprout right in the middle of the trail.

Spring beauties (Claytonia)



There are more spring beauties here than I've seen anywhere else. This is a reliable place for them. I'm not that into them though, because I don't really feel like they are very special. But when you really stop to look at them closely, they're just as pretty as any other flower. I guess the novelty of these has never really been there for me. I think people mostly like them because they're a good indicator that spring has finally arrived. I do appreciate how there are always so many colors. The noticeable colors this week were pinks and whites.

Cresses (Cardamine)



I know Cutleaf toothwort (Cardamine concatenata) is present here, but I didn't see any yet. I did find a cress plant similar to cutleaf toothwort I believe to be Purple/Limestone bittercress (Cardamine douglassii). I'll have to wait to see if I find it again to get a better look at it while it is fully flowering.

Skunk cabbage (Symplocarpos foetidus)


Ah, skunk cabbage, everyone's favorite smelling plant! There are a few seeps and old drainage from the field above the woods that seep down to the trail. These areas were peppered with skunk cabbage, though they are also overgrown with invasives so they can only be admired from afar. The spathes (leaf-like covers) were covering up the flowers and the little leaves had just started unfurling.

Other Interesting Finds:

Eastern gartersnake (Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis)





The best moment of the day was my first snake of the year! Actually, this was the highlight of the day because it was too early for most flowers. A beautiful gartersnake was sunning himself just near the start of the trail off to the side. I was able to catch him. My first snake sighting was also my first caught snake of the year! What luck! He was the calmest garter I've ever encountered and was very comfortable letting me hold him for a while for a photoshoot and some appreciation before setting him free. My guess is that he had just emerged from his winter slumber and was still thawing out some.

Glass


As mentioned earlier, waste glass from PPG was used as ballast for the trolley tracks. The trail is full of interesting slag in a variety of colors: black, green, blue, clear, etc.

Spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula)


I found and destroyed these spotted lanternfly eggs on some bark on the ground. I actually have never seen their eggs before. This was a new experience. Squishing each egg until it popped was pretty unpleasant to say the least. It had that same sensation as squishing a big juicy bug. Ew.

Genesee beer can


Okay, hear me out: this is actually pretty cool. A Google search indicates that this appears to be from the 50's from the logo and the rust indicating it was made from steel instead of aluminum. Alright, maybe I'm the only one that finds it neat. One man's trash is a Maria's treasure.


If you liked this post, here's the background for the wildflower project and all posts for the Tubmill Run location:

(Links active once published)
Week 1 - March 23, 2026 (current page)
Week 5 - April 20, 2026
Week 6 - April 27, 2026
Week 7 - May 4, 2026
Week 8 - May 11, 2026
Week 9 - May 18, 2026

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