By Chuck Tague

    On May 22 I was privileged to co-lead a Wissahickon Nature Club outing to the Butler Freeport Trail in Butler County, Pennsylvania.  Since at least 1993, Esther Allen and I have led a spring walk along this abandoned railway that’s been converted to a hiking/biking trail.  It follows Little Buffalo Creek through fields, ravines, floodplains and hemlock forests.  The diversity of plants and animals amazes me, and the other nature enthusiasts, nearly as much as Esther’s knowledge of all things in nature.  Esther is ninety-one years old and at the end of our two- mile trek she’s still looking for plants along the trail.

    I compiled a list of sightings.  My rough draft on our four-hour walk includes 145 plants and fungi plus 30 bird species and 22 invertebrates.  I’m sure others have sightings I’ve overlooked. (Check the plant and invert list and a gallery of photos.)

    Two plants of note are Wild Chervil, “Anthryscus sylvestris” and Allegheny Vine “Adlumia fungosa”.  When we started the Wissahickon outings, there was a thicket of puzzling white flowers near Sarver Road.  The plants resembled Poison Hemlock but lacked spots on the stems.  We now know the plants are Wild Chervil, an introduced species from Europe.  Each year the Wild Chervil spreads farther down the trail and deeper into the adjoining forests.

    The Allegheny Vine is a native twining biennial that Esther only finds along the Butler Freeport Trail.  It’s in the same family as Dutchman’s-breeches and has a similar, finely divided foliage.  The flowers, small pink or white bells, were not yet open.  I plan to return in mid June.

    Look for the Allegheny Vine on a steep, open slope on the north side of the trail, just before the second bridge.  The delicate vines are growing around the up-turned roots of a fallen hemlock.  There is a second station in the ditch nearby.

Directions to the Butler Freeport Trail: From Pittsburgh, take Route 28 north to Exit 17 (PA356/Butler/Freeport).  At the end of the ramp, head west or north on PA 356.  After roughly 3.5 miles, turn right onto Sarver Road (SR2018) at a traffic light.  Continue a little over .5 miles, traveling down a hill.  After crossing a creek and passing the Sarver-Buffalo Township

Fire Hall on the left, turn left

into the bike trail parking area.

   Across the road from the fire hall, the trail follows Little Buffalo Creek downstream to Bear Creek Road.  It’s about two miles (1.96 miles) to the next trailhead, a good spot to leave a shuttle vehicle.  Esther says this section of the trail is more shaded and better for spring wildflowers.

    If you take the trail upstream to Winfield Road, it is a bit longer (2.8 miles) and more open, the better choice for summer wildflowers.