#common ninebark

[vandaliatraveler]

Audra State Park, which straddles the Middle Fork River just to the east of Buckhannon, is most famous for the enormous sandstone outcroppings that jut from the river's banks and the reef-like clarity of its brisk pools and rapids. It's an ideal spot to beat the heat from an oppressive (almost summer) day. Added bonus: in early June, smooth azalea (Rhododendron arborescens), also known as sweet azalea, starts to bloom along the moist slopes and river banks of the Appalachian Mountains from Pennsylvania to Tennessee.

From top: The tiny white flowers of a partridgeberry (Mitchella repens) vine; mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia), just now reaching peak bloom in the local mountains; yellow star grass (Hypoxis hirsuta), also known as common goldstar, which loves rocky nooks along sandy river banks; tassle-rue (Trautvetteria caroliniensis), also known as Carolina bugbane and false bugbane, a buttercup with lovely, but poisonous, palmately-divided foliage; smooth azalea, a knockout rhododendron sporting pink-tinged white flowers with red stamens and lush, dark-green foliage; the brilliant red fruit of common ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius); seedbox (Ludwigia alternifolia), a wetlands-loving plant with distinctive, cube-like seeds; and finally, another trail rescue: a very attractive and docile eastern milk snake (Lampropeltis triangulum triangulum), which happens to be a personal favorite of mine from the snake-hunting days of my youth, many centuries ago.

[crippled-peeper]

Physocarpus opulifolius

Common ninebark

[vandaliatraveler]

Some folks follow the backcountry trails to the mountain laurel when it blooms in the spring. But my heart will always follow a path straight to the common ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius), a fantastically beautiful native shrub in the Rose family that blooms in synch with mountain laurel in late May/early June. The plant produces masses of white flowers with orange centers and extravagantly-protruding stamens, reminiscent of those of our native Spiraeas, to which ninebark is closely related. This fast-growing shrub with spreading, arching branches gets its name from multiple layers of exfoliating bark, most apparent and striking when the plant sheds its beautiful, orange-yellow foliage in the fall. Finally, as you can see in the photos above, ninebark is a miraculous pollinator plant, drawing in hordes of bees, butterflies, and beetles, including the ever-gorgeous (and apparently horny) goldenrod soldier beetle (Chauliognathus pensylvanicus).

Photos from the Deckers Creek Trail in Preston County.

[vandaliatraveler]

The one thing in life that never disappoints me is an expansive, tumultuous storm sky in late spring and early summer. Add a little wet heat and the crackle of electricity and everything around you suddenly seems charged with boundless energy. Big clouds. Shimmering reflections. Huge energy. Sums up the story of my bike ride on Deckers Creek Tail this past Sunday. Oh, and how about the absolute crush of June wildflowers now in bloom? They seem to grow bigger and bolder by the week. None being more fabulous than the cascading snowballs of my beloved common ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius), whose exfoliating bark results in its common name. The bees and I were most grateful for the endless procession of blooms along the trail, of course.

From top: Arrowwood viburnum (Viburnum dentatum), so named because Native Americans crafted arrow shafts from the stems of the plant; silky dogwood (Cornus amomum), also known as swamp dogwood due to its affinity for streambanks and wetlands; common ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius), whose densely-packed clusters of white flowers give way to striking red seed capsules; poke milkweed (Asclepias exaltata); whose white flowers plummet from naked stalks arising at the leaf axils; and four-plus feet of “Go ahead and make my day“ (Pantherophis alleghaniensis) warming up on one of the trail bridges.

[vandaliatraveler]

The terrible weather this weekend postponed my plans to get back up into the mountains until Monday, so I popped down to Valley Falls State Park instead to check out the arrowwood viburnum (Viburnum dentatum) and common ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius), both now at peak bloom. These beautiful riparian shrubs put on quite a show at the end of May, soon to be followed by mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia) and the stunning smooth azalea (Rhododendron arborescens), whose pure white flowers with pink-red stamens, lustrous green foliage, and large size make it my favorite azalea in the Appalachians. Other interesting stuff in bloom yesterday included yellow star grass (Hypoxis hirsuta) and American alumroot (Heuchera americana), a rock-loving saxifrage whose numerous cultivars are grown in gardens throughout the world. The Tygart Valley River, swollen by heavy rainfall from this past week, stole the show, however, with its turbulent whitewater reaching the top of the surrounding rock outcrops in places. I was amused a bit by the park staff, who pootled dutifully around the grounds in their golf cart to make sure the tourists kept their distance from the river.

[vandaliatraveler]

After wrapping up work last night, I squeezed in a late afternoon bike ride on the Deckers Creek Trail.  Not having enough time to ride the entire trail from Morgantown to Reedsville, I jumped on the connector in Masontown instead. What a gorgeous afternoon: expansive blue sky with a few high clouds on the horizon; soft, late afternoon sunlight spilling over everything; and a warm, summer breeze at my back. This is a great time of the year to get on the trail if you have any interest in native plants. Just a sampling from my ride last night (from top): spreading dogbane (Apocynum androsaemifolium), a more attractive relative of Indian hemp; common ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius), a really beautiful shrub with distinctive red fruit clusters; black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta), an old, old flame I just can’t get out of my heart; tall thimbleweed (Anemone virginiana), a stately perennial with a flare for the dramatic; whorled loosestrife (Lysimachia quadrifolia), just starting to fade out as its close relative, fringed loosestrife, begins to bloom; New Jersey tea (Ceanothus americanus), a sumptuous native shrub whose dried leaves were a popular substitute for expensive British tea leaves during the Revolutionary War; and silky dogwood (Cornus amomum), so gorgeous the way its flowering branches overspread the creek.

[untamed-mi]

6/4/26 Ervin-Stucki Preserve | Washtenaw County, MI

[faguscarolinensis]

Physocarpus opulifolius / Common Ninebark at the North Carolina Botanical Gardens at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in Chapel Hill, NC