We are already on to week 5 (week of April 20, 2026) at Tubmill Run Trolley Trail. The burst of spring ephemeral blooms is ending, and the forest is green with plants and tree leaves.
The spring beauties are finally done blooming, and so are the toothworts. I also didn't see anymore dwarf ginseng. I'm going to guess this was the last week to see trillium and violets, at least any nice looking ones. I'm not sure about how long the Jack-in-the-pulpit will last since new ones popped up this week too. I'm hoping that the Solomon's seal will look good again next week. The mayapples will probably have their best week next week too, as I'm assuming the majority of them will begin to bloom then. New this week are firepink, wild geranium, the beginning of Solomon's seal blooms, and a few blooming mayapples.
While not new to blooming, new to my posts are woodland stonecrop, a native sedum (yes, like the succulent) in PA (1,2). I've seen them before but paid little attention believing it to be a small patch of some sort of invasive or nonnative plant until I researched them in-depth this week.
Spring beauties (Claytonia)
It is finally the end for the spring beauties at Tubmill. All that are left of them are some plants with seeds and some wilted flowers.
Garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata)
The garlic mustard is still thriving this week. More plants have started to flower all over the trail. For those of you controlling invasives or who wish to, now would be the best time to start pulling before they go to seed!
Mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum)
The buds are still growing on the mayapples, but I did manage to spot two blooms! I think next week will be perfect and really great for them judging by the development of the buds on the majority of the plants I've seen. None were flowering at West Leechburg yet this week, at least that I could see. Like yellow trout lily, only the plants with two leaves (or umbrellas) are capable of flowering (3). Also like yellow trout lily, you have to really commit to get the great shot of the flower because in this case, they are underneath big umbrella-like leaves.
Kidneyleaf buttercup (Ranunculus abortivus)
Well, I'm still tired of these, as I mentioned last week, BUT they are fruiting now. You can see the little "fruit" sticking up without the flower petals.
Trilliums
The purple/red (Trillium erectum) are nearing the end of their bloom. All I saw were browning, wilting, and shriveling blooms. There were no new flowers visible from the trail. I did not see the lone white/large (Trillium grandiflorum) or any of his friends this week. It is odd that this little ravine side is without the white, but surrounding hillsides and even the opposite side of the ravine have them. This will likely be the last week to see blooming trillium here at Tubmill.
Solomon's seal (Polygonatum)
Finally after a few weeks of buds, the Solomon's seal is beginning to bloom. About half of the buds on all of the plants seem to be starting. They don't really ever open up completely like most flowers, but those that have started still don't seem to be fully blooming. I've been really impatient with these, but maybe next week will be the best week for the blooms.
Violets (Viola)
All of the yellow colored violets have disappeared, but the purple ones are still hanging around. I expect them all to die off soon, as they are looking rather scrappy.
Jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum)
I found another spot, close to the other and also in a ditch, with new blooming Jack-in-the-pulpits. The old ones were still there but starting to turn black. Maybe more will continue to pop up. I don't expect the ones from last week to be around much longer.
Chickweed (Stellaria)
The chickweeds are still blooming, but there doesn't appear to be any more than there were last week. I still don't know what kind they are.
Wild blue phlox (Phlox divaricata)
More wild blue phlox have appeared at Tubmill. There's a few patches on both sides of the trail in the middle section near one of the seeps.
Firepink (Silene virginica)
The firepinks have appeared! This is another one of my absolute favorite wildflowers! The ones at Tubmill are a bit hard to notice, unless you know where to look. Lucky for you (and for me because I love them), I know where to look. There are a few patches of them right on top of the cut hillside where the trolley path turns. If you are too busy looking down for flowers, you will miss them. Hummingbirds are the main pollinator of firepink (3). You can see in the close up photo how something like a hummingbird with a long beak would only be able to reach the nectar.
Wild geranium (Geranium maculatum)
Wild geranium is beginning to pop up in a few places. I only saw one or two throughout the trail. More might appear next week since this was only the first week I have seen them.
Woodland stonecrop (Sedum ternatum)
I've seen, but I haven't discussed the presence of sedum plants near the beginning of the trail. I've seen these before here over the years and previous weeks. Last week they started blooming. I have always assumed this was some sort of nonnative succulent that was planted here years ago. Apparently there are a few native sedums in PA (1,2)! This is super neat! After closer inspection of the plant, it appears to be this native sedum. The flowers look similar to chickweed to me but substantially smaller. I don't have a great picture, but I will try for next week now that I've researched the plant more.
Other Interesting Finds:
Waterfall
The water levels are even lower than last week. The waterfall could use some more water.
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 5 - April 20, 2026 (current page)Week 6 - April 27, 2026Week 7 - May 4, 2026Week 8 - May 11, 2026Week 9 - May 18, 2026
References
- PA Enflowered. (n.d.). Sedum ternatum. Retrieved April 24, 2026, from https://www.paenflowered.org/apgii/saxifragales/crassulaceae/sedum/sedum-ternatum
- Haywood, M. J., & Monk, P. T. (2001). Wildflowers of Pennsylvania. Venture Graphics Inc.
- Gracie, C. (2012). Spring Wildflowers of the Northeast: A Natural History. Princeton University Press.
(Links active once published)
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