Siebenthaler Fen

Last Sunday, I visited Siebenthaler Fen near Beaver Creek, Ohio. This is another one of the field trip options for the Midwest Native Plants Conference. I had a great visit with lots of great finds.

I was greeted by this friendly critter-a Northern Pearly Eye. It buzzed my head a few times, begging me to chase after it. It finally landed on a leaf and cooperated so I could snap its pic.

I also saw my first ever Baltimore Checkerspot. I was so excited and was so engrossed in studying the intricate pattern, I completely forgot to take its picture! So here is one from Wikipedia.

Delicate and lacey, the elderberry was in full bloom. It had a pleasant yet somewhat strange scent. Many insects were attracted to the flowers.

Sedges are often underappreciated and there were many to admire at Siebenthaler. This one is Carex davisii, Davis' sedge. I love the golden seedheads that gracefully dangle from the stem. I will cover more sedges in my next post.

Wild Sweetwilliam, Phlox maculata, brightened the path along the boardwalk. Maculata means "spotted" and there are tiny purple spots all along the stem.

I was excited to find one Michigan Lily blooming. How beautiful! Michigan Lily has whorled leaves surrounding the stem. I have only seen this plant one time prior.

Huge cabbage-like leaves of Skunk Cabbage was all along the boardwalk. If you crush the leaf, you will soon know why it is called skunk cabbage. This plant has an interesting flower that emerges in late Feb and early March.

Swamp Rose, Rosa palustris, was prevalent along the boardwalk. It will be in peak bloom very soon.

Sensitive Fern was a welcome find. Its name comes from the fact that it is very sensitive to frost.


The oval shaped leaves of Canada Burnet. It will have a pretty white spike of blossoms in mid-July.

Queen-of-the-prairie has a beautiful pink plume that reminds me of cotton candy. It is in the rose family and has a wonderful rose-like scent.

I am always glad to see Common Milkweed because there are always plenty of interesting bugs around. Here is a Hummingbird Clearwing Moth, Hemaris thysbe. The thysbe name comes from the deep red color on the moth and is in reference to the Greek tradgedy Pyramis and Thisbe. You can read more about it at my other blog here.

This is the Ailanthus Webworm Moth, Atteva punctella. I love its complex orange and yellow pattern. Look at the beautiful Common Milkweed blossom. I have no idea why this plant is not sold in garden stores. It smells fantastic and its round pink blossoms are just gorgeous.

Hope to see you at the Midwest Native Plants conference!