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Tubmill Run Wildflowers Week 2 - March 30, 2026

It's time for week two (week of March 30, 2026) at Tubmill Run Trolley Trail. Not very much was present last week, but this week will bring more plants and blooms. I think I blew through too fast last week, so this time I took more time on the trail. New arrivals included mayapples and dwarf ginseng.


Yellow trout lily (Erythronium americanum)




Finally it is time for the big yellow trout lily bloom at Tubmill! There are a handful of areas near the beginning of the trail that are covered with them. You have to step over several right in the middle of the trail as well. There were substantially more of the young leafed plants than those with two leaves and flowering or able to flower. It can take as long as 7 years in good conditions before a plant can flower, so like most of our native wildflowers, it is important to observe them without disruption (1).

Spring beauties (Claytonia)


The spring beauties multiplied along the trail this week. You can see them all in the background too in this picture along with some yellow trout lily. They do not appear to be done blooming anytime soon, so I'll expect plenty more next week.

Cutleaf toothwort (Cardamine concatenata)


Last week I didn't see cutleaf toothwort, but I saw what I think was purple/limestone bittercress. This week, I couldn't find the purple/limestone bittercress to confirm, but I found plenty of cutleaf toothworts in various stages of bloom.

Skunk cabbage (Symplocarpos foetidus)

I didn't take any pictures of the skunk cabbage at Tubmill this week. Rest assured, they are still there and thriving, unfurling larger in the seeps, ready for you to smell if you so desire.

Northern spicebush (Lindera benzoin)


I have been noticing northern spicebush everywhere lately. The weedy edge of the woods behind my parents' house is full of spicebush. It grows thick and hedge-like, thus I always assumed it was some sort of invasive shrub that I never bothered to look at. Only during the last few years when I noticed the yellow flower during the spring did I realize what was there.

Like my parents' woods, I have been walking Tubmill for years, paying little attention to any unruly shrub. The privet takes over the path at times, and I dumbly assumed that every other intrusive shrub was more privet. During my walk this week, I noticed yellow buds forming on some of the shrubs I attempted to maneuver past without landing a tick. Spicebush again!?! How cool and somehow embarrassing. Now I will appreciatively keep tabs on the Tubmill spicebush progression.

Hepatica


If you read my Week 2 report at West Leechburg, I struggle with hepatica and anemone ID, but so does the rest of the world. I also believe that sharp-lobed hepatica (Anemone acutiloba) is present at Tubmill Run. I initially thought these were more spring beauties until I noticed that they had 6 petals instead of 5.

Dwarf ginseng (Panax trifolius)


This is not the valuable ginseng most people think of, but it is a type of ginseng (2). I see these here every year. They are really small, but when you start looking for them, you see them everywhere here. They are really neat when they are fully in bloom, right now they're just starting.

Mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum)



Little mayapple umbrellas have started to poke up all over the Tubmill property. It will still be a while before they start to bloom. They'll bloom around May and then develop the "apple" later in the summer. You can see the bud on the close up picture.

Partridgeberry (Mitchella repens)


This is an evergreen ground vine with edible berries in the fall similar to winterberry (3). They get tiny flowers later in the summer and I hope to find them again to photograph.

Kidneyleaf buttercup (Ranunculus abortivus)


I had no idea what this was when I saw it. As much as I hate AI, it has resulted in reasonably accurate image searches. Before, it was laughable. I looked up this image and after further research, I'm fairly confident in it's ID because of the leaves on the stem. It is a very common native buttercup and prefers disturbed areas (4). I like that it looks like a star.


Other Interesting Finds:

Waterfall


I forgot to take a picture to document the falls the last time. I'll try to include one every week to see how flows vary. This one is harder to see than the one in West Leechburg.

Scary elf


This is obviously a dog toy someone lost. It creeped me out for some reason. Maybe the fact that it was in a tree. I normally take trash out with me, but I left this in the tree. I've seen enough weird movies to know not to touch this.

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 2 - March 30, 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

References

  1. Gracie, C. (2012). Spring Wildflowers of the Northeast: A Natural History. Princeton University Press.
  2. PA Enflowered (n.d.). Panax trifolius. Retrieved April 14, 2026, from https://www.paenflowered.org/apgii/apiales/araliaceae/panax/panax-trifolius
  3. PA Enflowered (n.d.). Mitchella repens. Retrieved April 14, 2026, from https://www.paenflowered.org/apgii/gentianales/rubiaceae/mitchella/mitchella-repens
  4. PA Enflowered (n.d.) Ranunculus abortivus. Retrieved April 15, 2026, from https://www.paenflowered.org/apgii/ranunculales/ranunculaceae/ranunculus/ranunculus-abortivus

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