Butterweed, Packera glabella

Crop field in Delaware County, Ohio

As you drive across Ohio's farmlands, are you seeing acres of yellow right now?  If so, you're most likely seeing what I like to call butterweed.   It looks like giant golden ragwort, if you're familiar with the genus Packera (formerly our Packeras were in the genus Senecio). This plant is native in the central and southeast U.S., but has rapidly expanded across Ohio in recent decades.  Just take a look at the range map for Ohio from USDA Plants:

It's all over central and western Ohio, but by looking at this map, you'd think it was a rarity.  It's even showing up in my front yard as a weed!  Why has this plant expanded so rapidly?  Is it taking advantage of no-till agriculture?  Is there something else to the story?  I'm not sure, but I bet that it grows in every county in Ohio's corn belt plains, and on this map, it barely registers in a few Ohio counties.

Plants get around- they move, and they can do things that we never expect.  And that's why I think they're incredibly cool.  Look out Pennsylvania, butterweed may be headed towards you!

Tom

p.s. (I bet it's probably there already)

Potato Dandelion - Krigia dandelion

Potato Dandelion basal leaves begin to emerge in early winter, but are most noticeable at this time of year. At a glance, the leaves resemble young Trout Lily leaves and can easily go unnoticed. It’s hard to predict where you might encounter this rare plant, except to say that it is most likely to be encountered in dry soils. There are very few known occurrences of the plant in Ohio, but it’s liable to grow in any soil type from sand to heavy clay and in sunlight conditions ranging from open field to thick woodland.
Photo taken March 17, 2010 in Adams County, Ohio.

As the season progresses, the leaves begin to elongate and develop lobes. The amount of sunlight received by the plant seems to influence the lobe development. As sunlight increases, the lobes tend to narrow and elongate.
Photo taken March 24, 2010 in Adams County, Ohio.

The mature leaves bear little resemblance to the late winter growth.
Photo taken May 5, 2009 in Adams County, Ohio.

In early May, a single flower will open at the top of a long stalk.
Photo taken May 5, 2009 in Adams County, Ohio.

Gray Goldenrod - Solidago nemoralis

GRAY GOLDENROD - Solidago nemoralis

Photos taken on September 9, 2009 in Adams County, Ohio.

Pasture Thistle, Cirsium pumilum

PASTURE THISTLE – Cirsium pumilum

Photo taken June 9, 2007 in Adams County, Ohio.

Elephant's Foot, Elephantopus carolinianus

ELEPHANT’S FOOT - Elephantopus carolinianus

Photo taken August 14, 2010 in Adams County, Ohio.