winter hikes Archives - GoatKeepers Press

Killing frost takes down most plants in the Ozarks. There are some that stay small huddled close to the ground. And there are four winter ferns.

With the warm weather this year in the Ozarks, some of the other ferns are still green. They are not true winter ferns as a harsh winter makes them vanish.

Over the summer Christmas fern gets fairly big resembling a Boston fern. It will grow as a house plant. Over the winter, the fronds darken and hug the ground, but stay green giving it its name.

Christmas Fern

The name says it. This fern is still green at Christmas. It stays green all winter. The green is darker and the fronds more ragged than over the summer.

This is a bigger fern. I have grown it in a pot where it is much like any of the commercial ferns.

Ebony Spleenwort is a delicate looking fern with its dark rachis and green leaflets. The winter has been warmer, to it still has the tall fronds. Most winters only the little fronds curl around just above the ground.

Ebony Spleenwort

Unlike the Christmas fern, ebony spleenwort has upright fronds looking a lot like green feathers against the rocks. Especially over the winter there are many smaller fronds spreading across the ground.

It is easy to identify as the rachis or main stem is a smooth purple stalk lined by alternate leaflets with little thumbs. Christmas fern has the thumbs too, but the rachis is much bigger, green and a bit hairy.

Walking fern doesn’t look like a fern with its long leaves. But, in the spring, the new leaves unroll from fiddleheads and older leaves have sori under them. Over the winter the leaves darken and hug the rocks is likes to grow on.

Walking Fern

Ferns are supposed to have these fronds. This is one fern that doesn’t. It snuggles into the moss on big rocks with its leaves wide at the top and tapering to the end.

Although walking ferns do produce spores like other ferns, it has a faster way of spreading. The long tapering tips of the leaves wedge into the moss and grow into new ferns. The fern walks across the rocks using its leaves.

Cut Leaf Grapefern

Not all winter ferns are green. This one is purple. All summer its single leaf is green. When frost comes, it turns a brownish purple for the winter.

There are two varieties of cut leaf grapefern. One has wide leaflets. The other is lacy. Both turn color.

Winter ferns are much easier to spot now as the competition is asleep for the season. Once spring arrives, taller plants will hide these ferns.

More about these is in “Exploring the Ozark Hills.“

Wildflowers are gone. Most trees are bare. Is there anything to see on a nature walk? Perhaps winter seeds can provide a guessing game.

Elephant foot sends up flower stalks almost two feet. The pink flowers are interesting to look at. Then winter comes. The stalks turn dry and brown, but are recognizable.

What Is This?

A bare stalk sticks up with a crown of pointy seeds on the top. There are no leaves or flowers to give a clue to which flowers produced these seeds.

Thinking back, I know what this is. There were big leaves and pink flowers with petals like fingers in little boats on top of stems.

This is elephant’s foot in winter. There are lots of these stalks so there might be lots of plants next year.

Buckbrush spreads underground. It’s flowers are small bells. Then the red berries show up. These are supposed to be good wild bird fruits. They are not considered edible by people, just something colorful to see in early winter.

Looking For Clues to Winter Seeds

One good clue is remembering what flowers I saw in this place last summer. This narrows the list of possibles a lot as spring ephemerals and plants not found here are eliminated.

Leaves might be a clue. Sometimes a few green ones are left. Usually there are some dead, brown ones. It takes care to uncurl a dry leaf.

The shape of the seed head is another clue. Monarda flowers leave behind a ball with pockets where the seeds were. These are called beebalm and horsemint commonly.

Fruit is another clue. The persimmon trees often have a few persimmons still hanging on. These are shriveled and dry, but definitely persimmons.

Buckbrush has long stems lined with clusters of red berries. These dry and shrivel and turn dark after a time. I read that lots of birds like them, but I think they are a last choice on the menu.

Tall goldenrod seed heads look like little, fuzzy hats perched on top of brown stems.

Why Bother?

Cold winter walks can be more about exercise than looking at plants. The faster the walk, the sooner the return to warmth.

Overwintering bees and caterpillars or pupae value these winter seeds and stalks. They hide inside them or under those fallen leaves to survive the cold. That’s fine for them.

For me, I like having an idea where to look for various wildflowers next year. Those winter seeds give me clues.

There is much to look at during an Ozark winter. Some of it is in “Exploring the Ozark Hills“.