7Ranges Pipestone Plants

Your study guide to some of the most common plants found on 7Ranges Scout Reservation for fulfilling your Pipestone plant identification requirement.

4/21/2014

1st Year CandidateIdentify in the field: any combination of 15

trees, plants, or shrubs.

2nd Year CandidateIdentify in the field: any combination of 25 trees, plants,

or shrubs.

3rd Year CandidateIdentify in the field: any combination of 35

trees, plants, or shrubs.

4th & 5th Year Candidate

Serve as or assist the Unit Naturalist or Astronomer or serve in a designated leadership capacity.

Nature walksThe Eco department offers Nature walks on Monday

and Tuesday afternoons at 2pm during summer camp for those who are interested in seeing the plants. If you attend both walks during the week,

you will earn your ENVIRONMENTAL STRIP.

Blue Spruce• Short needles• Bluish tint

White Pine• Long needles in groups of

5• Remember by spelling out

the word WHITE

Ohio Buckeye Tree

• Official State tree of Ohio• 5 leaf stems• Pod with a buckeye inside

Slippery Elm• Multiple leaves off of one

stem• Jagged edges• Feels fuzzy to the touch

Yellow Poplar“Tulip Tree”

• Tulip shaped leaves• Large white flowers

Shagbark Hickory

• Shaggy bark• Multiple leaves off of one

stem

Sugar Maple• Sap is collected for maple

syrup• Dark green leaves with

medium green undersides• U-shaped between lobes• Winged seeds

Red Maple• V-shaped between lobes• 3 large lobes, 2 small• Winged seeds• Can be tapped for syrup

but not very productive

Red Oak• Leaves are pointed• “Red Man’s Arrows”

White Oak• Leaves are rounded• “White Man’s Bullets”

Willow• Large droopy leaves• Long thin leaves off of

one stem

Sassafras• Leaves look like gloves or

mittens – thumb on left or right, 3 fingers or one finger

• Leaves smell like Root Beer

• Can use in drinks

Bird’s Foot Trefoil

• Low to the ground and in clumps

• Small yellow clover like flowers in groups of 2-6

Bramble• Bushes with thorns and

blackberries• Can be found along the

path leading up to Magic Mountain

• Berries are edible and are ripe when dark black

Bull Thistle• Flowers in clusters at end

of branches• Have bumpy surface and

end in long sharp spine• Stems 2-5’ tall

Canadian Thistle

• Often found in thick patches

• Leaves alternate and divide into spiny-tipped lobes

• Small and spineless heads

• Stems 1-4’ tall

Carpet Weed• Small soft leaves that

grow in bar spots in the dirt where there is no grass

• Likes the hot sun

Cattails• Tall stems with a long

brown puffy tail on top• Long green leaves• Found in wet areas near

eco or along the drainage ditch or down by the pond

Chicory• Large sky blue/purple

daisy-like flowers• Find it mostly beside

roads and highways• Open in the mornings and

close as the sun gets hotter

• Each flower is only open for one day

Christmas Fern• Narrow leaves coming off

of one stem• Found on hillsides

Sensitive Fern• Likes shady moist areas• Sensitive to frost and dies

back when touched by it• Lacks a true stem and is

supported by a rigid leaf stalk

CloverWHITE • Grows in large fields in

large clumps• Has small white flower• Leaves are round with

white stripe

RED• Grows in fields• Has pink flowers

Coltsfoot• Yellow flowers – same

color shape and size as a dandelion flower

• Stems are wooly and covered with bracts

• Broad heart-shaped leaves – “looks like a Colt’s foot”

Crabgrass• Grows in low lying fields

and in bare spots in lawns• Looks like crab claws

extending from the center

Crown Vetch• Bright pink flowers found

along highways and on hillsides to control erosion

• Ground cover• Invasive

Dandelion• Grows in low fields and in

lawns• Yellow flowers that turn

into round sphere looking seed pods

Dogbane• A woody stem that

exudes a milky sap• Two different species –

hemp & spreading• Pinkish white or greenish

white flowers

Feather Grass• Tall grassy plant with a

feathery tail at the top• Looks like feathers

Fleabane• Tiny daisy like flowers

with a yellow center• A wildflower that can be

seen along roadways and in fields

• Blooms all summer long

Garlic Mustard• Tall stalks with triangular

shaped leaves• One of Ohio’s worst

invasive weeds• Leaves smell like garlic

when crushed

Goldenrod• Found in fields• Dense stalks with clumps

of yellow flowers• Pollen too heavy to be

blown by the wind

Jack in the Pulpit

• May be green or striped• Bright red berries in late

summer

Jewel Weed”Touch Me Not”

• Orange-red flowers• Seed pods that

pop/explode when touched

• An antidote for poison ivy

Joe-Pye Weed• Clusters of tiny pink

flowers on long stems• Smells like vanilla when

crushed

May Apple• Large leaf grows in an

umbrella shape low to the ground

• May have small white flower

Multiflora Rose• Bushes that look like mini

rose bushes with thorns and tiny rose like flowers.

• Invasive and intertwines with other plants

• Subject of service at 7Ranges and may be pulled

• Everywhere at 7R

Oxeye Daisy• White flowers with an

orange yellow center• Typical daisy looking on a

tall stalk with low dark green leaves

Panic Grass• Tall grass with sharp sides• Can cut up your legs• Grows in clumps or fields

Poison Ivy• Groupings of 3 leaves

that are shiny• On a red vine• Can find growing up trees

or on the ground

Queen Ann’s Lace

“Wild Carrot”• The flower looks like lace• The leaves look like carrot

leaves and the root smells like carrot

• Each flower cluster is made up of a bunch of tiny flowers

Wood Sorrow“Sour-Grass”

• Has heart shaped leaves in groups of three

• Small yellow flowers• Leaves have a lemon

taste• Often confused as clover

Staghorn Sumac

• Red hairy flowers at the tips of the branches

• Hairy branches resembling deer antlers

• May be a shrub or a tree

Trillium• Ohio State wild flower• Three leaves and three

pedals

Virginia Creeper

• Can look like poison ivy when it has only 3 leaves

• When full grown, it has 5 leaves

• Grows on a vine

Yarrow• Fern like leaves• Small white flowers in

clusters• Crushed leaves rubbed on

your skin will give a numbing sensation

Study AidsThese are just some of the plants you will find at Summer

Camp. There are hundreds of them. Study the binders that will be at camp, this slide show or make yourself flash cards. All

these will help in studying for your plants ahead of time.

Do not wait till the last minute at camp to get with your Naturalist. When doing you nature walks with your Naturalist,

make sure you have studied and give yourself plenty of time. It may take a couple of walks to get them all done.

The EndPresentation created by Matthew Donze

4/21/2014