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