Our fall foray on September 23-24, 2023, took us to Salt Fork State Park in Guernsey County, in the unglaciated Allegheny Plateau region of southwest Ohio.

Salt Fork is the largest state park in Ohio, with more than 27,000 acres. The bedrock geology of the area includes sandstone, conglomerate, coal, shale, siltstone, and limestone.

One of our collecting sites on Saturday was Hosak’s Cave, a large shelter cave formed by the erosion of coal and shale underlying thick layers of more resistant sandstones and conglomerates. Another Saturday morning site was Stone House Loop Trail, which had a variety of mesic wooded habitats with numerous sandstone slump blocks. Saturday afternoon we collected at Morgans Knob, a mesic forest that includes a small pine plantation and an open meadow at the top of the knob.

Our microscope room for Saturday night, at the Best Western Hotel in Cambridge, was well attended and powered by a great abundance of the best local pizza.

Sunday morning we concluded our collecting at the Horse Camp, which is an open area with lichen-covered trees, and along the adjacent Blue Loop Bridle Trail, primarily a hilly mesic forest.

We identified 24 lichen species, 32 mosses, 7 liverworts and 1 hornwort. Of these, 9 lichens, 19 mosses, 6 liverworts and 1 hornwort are new records for Guernsey County.

SPECIES LIST FOR SALT FORK STATE PARK
N = new county record

LICHENS

Candelaria concolor
Cladonia furcata
Cladonia macilenta
Cladonia squamosa N
Crespoa crozalsiana
Dermatocarpon luridum N
Flavoparmelia baltimorensis
Flavoparmelia caperata
Hypotrachyna minarum
Lecanora muralis N
Myelochroa aurulenta
Parmelia sulcata
Parmotrema hypotropum N
Parmotrema reticulatum N
Phaeophyscia adiastola
Phaeophyscia pusilloides N
Phaeophyscia rubropulchra
Physcia millegrana
Physcia stellaris N
Punctelia caseana N
Punctelia rudecta
Pyxine sorediata
Pyxine subcinerea N
Usnea mutabilis

MOSSES
Atrichum altecristatum N
Atrichum tenellum N
Bryoandersonia illecebra N
Claopodium rostratum
Climacium americanum
Ctenidium molluscum N
Dicranum fulvum
Dicranum polysetum N
Dicranum scoparium
Fissidens adianthoides N
Fissidens elegans N
Fissidens dubius N
Hypnum curvifolium
Isopterygium tenerum N
Jochenia pallescens N
Leucobryum glaucum
Leskea gracilescens
Leptodictyum riparium N
Orthotrichum stellatum N
Plagiothecium cavifolium
Platygyrium repens N
Pleurozium schreberi N
Pohlia wahlenbergii N
Polytrichastrum ohioense
Pseudanomodon attenuatus
Pseudotaxiphyllum sp.
Pylaisiadelpha tenuirostris
Rhynchostegium serrulatum N
Sciuro-hypnum plumosum N
Sciuro-hypnum curtum N
Sematophyllum adnatum N
Thuidium delicatulum

LIVERWORTS AND HORNWORTS
Calypogeia fissa N
Conocephalum salebrosum N
Frullania eboracensis N
Jubula hutchinsiae N
Lophocolea heterophylla N
Metzgeria sp.
Nowellia curvifolia N
Phaeoceros carolinianus N

As part of the foray, Ian Adams visited Old Washington Cemetery (Reminiscing Field #12) in Guernsey County and noted the following lichens (N = new county record):

Aspicilia cinerea N
Candelaria concolor
Flavoparmelia caperata
Gyalolechia flavovirescens N
Parmelia sulcata
Parmotrema hypotropum N
Phaeophyscia rubropulchra
Physcia americana
Physcia millegrana
Physcia stellaris N
Physconia detersa N
Punctelia rudecta
Xanthomendoza weberi N