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Tubmill Run Wildflowers Week 3 - April 6, 2026

The third week (week of April 6, 2026) at Tubmill Run Trolley Trail brought with it a lot more plants. I mentioned it in my week 3 West Leechburg post as well, but now that things are really starting to grow, I'm going to continuously question what it is I'm looking at. I'll focus on things that I think are neat or that will be a flower.

This is a great week for the dwarf ginseng, northern spicebush, and cutleaf toothwort. It'll be the last week for the yellow trout lilies. New arrivals included violets, Solomon's seal, and trilliums, though most of these won't be blooming until later on.

Another note for Tubmill Run: After this week, the trail will be cleared by People's Gas earth day volunteers. This should be the last week for crawling over and under logs and skirting through privet.


Yellow trout lily (Erythronium americanum)


The Yellow trout lilies were still blooming this week. There weren't as many as last week and I think this will be the last week for them. I always enjoy seeing them no matter how many I see, so it'll be sad when they are done for the year.

Spring beauties (Claytonia)




There are still lots of the pinks, purples, and whites of the spring beauties, and like last week, they are showing no signs of stopping. I've included three pictures of them, so maybe they're growing on me a little.

Cutleaf toothwort (Cardamine concatenata)



Just like last week, there is a substantial amount of cutleaf toothwort along the trail in various stages of bloom. I think Tubmill has one of the highest concentrations of cutleaf toothwort I've seen.

Again, I continue to find a few other types of cresses peppered throughout the property. I haven't included any pictures, but I've been seeing some sort of yellow cress around both here and at West Leechburg. If I started to include all of these, I'd take all year trying to identify them.

Garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata)


Garlic mustard is starting to pop up and bud at places along the trail. I put it here next to the cutleaf toothwort because of their similar blooms. Next week will be their week.

Skunk cabbage (Symplocarpos foetidus)

I realized I've been skipping out on skunk cabbage pictures for Tubmill. Oh well. None this week either. I'm done reporting on skunk cabbage after this week as well. It's still somehow getting larger, but it just looks like normal skunk cabbage now. I think everyone is familiar enough with it.

Northern spicebush (Lindera benzoin)


I think this is the best week for the spicebush. I don't think I got any great pictures of it though. It's hard to get the phone to focus on one flower. Spicebush is a pollinator superstar. There are a handful of butterflies that use the shrub as a host species.

Dwarf ginseng (Panax trifolius)


The dwarf ginseng is blooming beautifully this week. This plant lasts a while so it should be really pretty next week as well. This tiny plant and flower is one of my favorites, and I love how many that you see at Tubmill Run once you're looking for them.

Mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum)


The mayapples have appeared everywhere. The understory here throughout the woods is dominated by mayapples. They are still little growing umbrellas, but in a few weeks they should be blooming.

Kidneyleaf buttercup (Ranunculus abortivus)


After my discovery of the Kidneyleaf buttercup last week, I've been noticing it everywhere. It is pretty wild how a plant can be everywhere, you know you've seen it before, but you've never really registered it. This is one of the cool benefits I've received from slowing down and looking intently at nature in the same place week after week. This plant is peppered in throughout the trail in various locations. It is also present at the West Leechburg property.

Trilliums



The trilliums at Tubmill are behind the ones at the West Leechburg Native Plant Preserve. At Tubmill this week, only the leaves have mostly popped up but a few of the purple/red (Trillium erectum) are flowering. Like West Leechburg, I have only seen the purple/red and white/large (Trillium grandiflorum) at Tubmill. The next 2 weeks should be really good for the trillium.

Solomon's seal (Polygonatum)


Solomon's seal is popping up all over Tubmill. This time, I'm sure it's Solomon's seal because of the buds. Solomon's seal has multiple flowers but bellwort only has one. At West Leechburg, I was seeing the plants start to sprout but wasn't sure if I was seeing Solomon's seal or bellwort for a while until the buds formed. There are still a lot of them without buds, but my thought is that they're all Solomon's seal since the ones just sprouting are next to ones with buds.

Violets (Viola)



Violets have taken over at Tubmill Run. Like the spring beauties, these have always been so basic and uninteresting to me. Of course, there are many different species and even some that are rare and beautiful, but they are all just violets to me. I'm not good with violet species, maybe I'd like them more if I was. Regardless, there are white, yellow, and purple colored violets here.



Other Interesting Finds:

Waterfall


I think last week I forgot the waterfall. Here is what should be my weekly waterfall picture. The People's Gas volunteers will also trim some of the rhododendron for a slightly better view.

Northern dusky salamander (Desmognathus fuscus)




Some salamanders are really hard for me to ID. I found this guy hiding under a log in one of the seep areas. Duskies all have a little white line from the eye to the jaw, but his was hard to see. They also vary with coloration, making them challenging for me. PA Herps is the best resource for amphibian and reptile ID in PA. Once I can confirm the ID, I report them on PARS to help compile statewide scientific data.

Scary elf

The scary elf was still present, but I avoided him again. I don't have another picture. The real question is whether he'll survive the trail clearing at the end of this week.


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 3 - April 6, 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. PA Herps. (n.d.). Northern Dusky Salamander. Retrieved April 19, 2026, from https://www.paherps.com/herps/salamanders/ndusky_salamander/

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