''On Nature's Trail'' was a television show produced by the Maryland Center for Public Broadcasting in 1978. The show featured Elmer and

Jean Worthley Jean Reese Worthley (February 23, 1925 – April 9, 2017) was an American naturalist. She hosted Maryland Public Television, Maryland Public Broadcasting's children's television series ''Hodgepodge Lodge'' and co-hosted ''On Nature's Trail''. Sh ...

observing and discussing plants growing at different locations in

Baltimore County, Maryland Baltimore County ( , locally: or ) is the third-most populous county in the U.S. state of Maryland. The county is part of the Central Maryland region of the state. Baltimore County partly surrounds but does not include the independent cit ...

. Observations were made at the same locations during the spring, summer and fall.

Episodes

*1. Swamp in Spring (arrowwood, calamus, cinnamon fern, poison sumac,

red maple ''Acer rubrum'', the red maple, also known as swamp maple, water maple, or soft maple, is one of the most common and widespread deciduous trees of eastern and central North America. The U.S. Forest Service recognizes it as the most abundant nati ...

, silky dogwood, skunk cabbage, smooth alder,

sphagnum moss ''Sphagnum'' is a genus of approximately 380 accepted species of mosses, commonly known as sphagnum moss, also bog moss and quacker moss (although that term is also sometimes used for peat). Accumulations of ''Sphagnum'' can store water, since ...

, spicebush, swamp highbush blueberry, Turk's-cap lily, tussock sedge) *2. Serpentine Barren in Spring (beard grass, bird's-foot violet, blue-eyed grass, bluets, British soldiers (lichen), broom moss,

cinquefoil ''Potentilla'' is a genus containing over 500 species of annual, biennial and perennial herbaceous flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae. Potentillas may also be called cinquefoils in English, but they have also been called five fin ...

, cushion moss, ebony spleenwort, field chickweed, gray shield lichen, holy grass, Indian grass, lyre-leaved rockcress, pixie cups (lichen), purple ceratodon (moss), reindeer lichen, sagittate-leaved violet, urn fungus,

Virginia pine ''Pinus virginiana'', the Virginia pine, scrub pine, Jersey pine, possum pine, is a medium-sized tree, often found on poorer soils from Long Island in southern New York (state), New York south through the Appalachian Mountains to western Tennesse ...

, wrinkled shield lichen) *3. Stream in Spring (''Carex crinita'' (sedge), Christmas fern, cinnamon fern, false hellebore, false Solomon's seal, golden saxifrage, Indian cucumber,

lady fern ''Athyrium'' (lady-fern) is a genus of about 180 species of terrestrial ferns, with a cosmopolitan distribution. It is placed in the family Athyriaceae, in the order Polypodiales. Its genus name is from Greek '' a-'' ('without') and Latinized ...

liverwort Liverworts are a group of non-vascular land plants forming the division Marchantiophyta (). They may also be referred to as hepatics. Like mosses and hornworts, they have a gametophyte-dominant life cycle, in which cells of the plant carry ...

, May apple, rattlesnake fern, shining club moss, silvery spleenwort, skunk cabbage, royal fern,

stinging nettle ''Urtica dioica'', often known as common nettle, burn nettle, stinging nettle (although not all plants of this species sting) or nettle leaf, or just a nettle or stinger, is a herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the family Urticaceae. Or ...

, tulip tree flower) *4. Woods in Spring (

beech Beech (genus ''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to subtropical (accessory forest element) and temperate (as dominant element of Mesophyte, mesophytic forests) Eurasia and North America. There are 14 accepted ...

, chestnut oak, fungus on laurel leaf, hay-scented fern, lion's-foot, maple-leaved viburnum, mountain laurel, partridge berry,

polypody ''Polypodium'' is a genus of ferns in the family Polypodiaceae, subfamily Polypodioideae, according to the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I). The genus is widely distributed throughout the world, with the highest s ...

fern, red-backed salamander,

trailing arbutus ''Epigaea repens'', the mayflower, trailing arbutus, or ground laurel, is a low, spreading shrub in the family Ericaceae. It is found from Newfoundland to Florida, west to Kentucky and the Northwest Territories. Description The plant is a slow-g ...

Virginia creeper ''Parthenocissus quinquefolia'', commonly known as Virginia creeper, woodbine, five-leaved ivy, or five-finger, is a species of flowering vine in the grape family Vitaceae. The species is native to eastern and central North America, with its r ...

, wild azalea, wild sarsaparilla,

Wissahickon schist The Wissahickon Formation is a mapped bedrock unit in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. It is named for the Wissahickon gorge in Fairmount Park, Philadelphia. In Maryland formations, the term "Wissahickon" is no longer used. Rocks in this ...

, witch hazel) *5. Woodsy Stream in Spring ( black gum, common elder or

elderberry ''Sambucus'' is a genus of between 20 and 30 species of flowering plants in the family Adoxaceae. The various species are commonly referred to as elder, with the flowers as elderflower, and the fruit as elderberry. Description Elders are most ...

, cross vine, deer's tongue panic grass, fragile or brittle fern,

green ash Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combi ...

, hairy cap moss, Higan cherry, hill Senecio, hispid buttercup, hog peanut, Jack-in-the-pulpit, jewel weed,

, oak daedalia,

, wild lily-of-the-valley, wool sower gall) *6. Pasture Field in Spring ( bulbous buttercup, common speedwell, daisy, field hawkweed, horse nettle, Kentucky bluegrass, multiflora rose, pasture thistle,

puffball Puffballs are a type of fungus featuring a ball-shaped fruit body that (when mature) bursts on contact or impact, releasing a cloud of dust-like spores into the surrounding area. Puffballs belong to the division Basidiomycota and encompass sever ...

, pussytoes, spittlebug, sweet vernal grass, wild strawberry,

yarrow ''Achillea millefolium'', commonly known as yarrow () or common yarrow, is a flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. Growing to tall, it is characterized by small whitish flowers, a tall stem of fernlike leaves, and a pungent odor. The plan ...

) *7. Railroad Track in Spring (bouncing bet, butter-and-eggs, common

horsetail ''Equisetum'' (; horsetail) is the only living genus in Equisetaceae, a family of vascular plants that reproduce by spores rather than seeds. ''Equisetum'' is a "living fossil", the only living genus of the entire subclass Equisetidae, which ...

, common milkweed,

dock The word dock () in American English refers to one or a group of human-made structures that are involved in the handling of boats or ships (usually on or near a shore). In British English, the term is not used the same way as in American Engl ...

, downy brome grass, evening lychnis, milk snake, mullein, pennycress, peppergrass, reed canary grass, spiderwort, spreading dogbane, Venus' looking-glass, viper's bugloss, wintercress, yellow sweet clover) *8. Roadside in Spring ( asparagus beetle, bagworm, bedstraw, black medick, black willow,

box elder ''Acer negundo'', also known as the box elder, boxelder maple, Manitoba maple or ash-leaved maple, is a species of maple native to North America from Canada to Honduras. It is a fast-growing, short-lived tree with opposite, ash-like compound l ...

, coltsfoot, common ragweed,

dandelion ''Taraxacum'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, which consists of species commonly known as dandelions. The scientific and hobby study of the genus is known as taraxacology. The genus has a near-cosmopolitan distribu ...

dodder ''Cuscuta'' (), commonly known as dodder or amarbel, is a genus of over 201 species of yellow, orange, or red (rarely green) parasitic plants. Formerly treated as the only genus in the family Cuscutaceae, it now is accepted as belonging in the ...

, giant ragweed, Japanese honeysuckle, northern weasel, perfoliate tearthumb,

poison ivy Poison ivy is a type of allergenic plant in the genus '' Toxicodendron'' native to Asia and North America. Formerly considered a single species, '' Toxicodendron radicans'', poison ivies are now generally treated as a complex of three separate s ...

, rough bluegrass, sheep fescue,

, white mulberry, wild asparagus, wild lettuce, wild yam) *9. Pond in Summer (

alder Alders are trees of the genus ''Alnus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The genus includes about 35 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, a few reaching a large size, distributed throughout the north temperate zone with a few species ex ...

ants Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period. More than 13,800 of an estimated total of ...

, bur reed, cardinal flower, cattail,

duckweed Lemnoideae is a subfamily of flowering aquatic plants, known as duckweeds, water lentils, or water lenses. They float on or just beneath the surface of still or slow-moving bodies of fresh water and wetlands. Also known as bayroot, they arose fr ...

, green frogs, heal-all, meadow beauty, pickerel weed, pink lotus, rattlebox,

sedges The Cyperaceae () are a family of graminoid (grass-like), monocotyledonous flowering plants known as sedges. The family is large; botanists have described some 5,500 known species in about 90 generathe largest being the "true sedges" (genu ...

, spreading goldenrod, swamp milkweed, water clover (fern),

water lily Water lily or water lilies may refer to: Plants * Members of the family Nymphaeaceae Nymphaeaceae () is a family of flowering plants, commonly called water lilies. They live as rhizomatous aquatic herbs in temperate climate, temperate ...

, water plantain, wooly aphids, yellow iris) *10. Hedgerow in Summer ( black gum, black oak, black sweet cherry, black wild raspberry,

flowering dogwood ''Cornus florida'', the flowering dogwood, is a species of flowering tree in the family Cornaceae native to eastern North America and northern Mexico. An endemic population once spanned from southernmost coastal Maine south to northern Florida ...

, greenbrier, Japanese honeysuckle, multiflora rose, pignut hickory, pin oak, red sweet cherry, sassafras, slippery elm, staghorn sumac, wax cherry, white mulberry, yellow sweet cherry, yellow wild raspberry) *11. Old Field in Summer (

agrimony ''Agrimonia'' (from the Greek ), commonly known as agrimony, is a genus of 12–15 species of perennial plant, perennial herbaceous flowering plants in the family Rosaceae, native to the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, with one sp ...

, black cherry, Canada goldenrod, clammy everlasting, dogbane, early goldenrod, horse nettle, orchard grass, pennyroyal,

, purple-top, Queen Anne's lace, white mulberry, wild lettuce,

) *12. Swamp in Summer (arrow-leaved tearthumb, blue vervain, broad-leaved arrowhead, cinnamon fern,

, ironweed, joe pye weed, marsh harebell, poison sumac, rice cut grass, skunk cabbage,

sphagnum ''Sphagnum'' is a genus of approximately 380 accepted species of mosses, commonly known as sphagnum moss, also bog moss and quacker moss (although that term is also sometimes used for peat). Accumulations of ''Sphagnum'' can store water, since ...

, St. Johnswort, Turk's-cap lily, winterberry holly) *13. Serpentine Barren in Summer ( blackjack oak, blazing star, blue-eyed grass, British soldiers (lichen), field chickweed, flameflower, gerardia, gray goldenrod, Indian grass, lyre-leaved rockcress,

monarch butterfly The monarch butterfly or simply monarch (''Danaus plexippus'') is a milkweed butterfly (subfamily Danainae) in the family Nymphalidae. Other common names, depending on region, include milkweed, common tiger, wanderer, and black-veined brown. I ...

, orangeweed, partridge pea, pixie cup, post oak, reindeer lichen, Sabatia, slender knotweed, slender ladies' tresses, sundrops, three-awn grass, turkey-foot beard grass,

, whorled milkwort, yellow flax) *14. Fire Ecology (

box turtle Box turtle is the common name for several species of Testudines, turtle. It may refer to those of the Genus (biology), genus ''Cuora'' or ''Pyxidea mouhotii, Pyxidea'', which are the Asian people, Asian box turtles, or more commonly to species of ...

Canada thistle ''Cirsium arvense'' is a perennial species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, native throughout Europe and western Asia, northern Africa and widely introduced elsewhere.Joint Nature Conservation Committee''Cirsium arvense'' The standa ...

, carpetweed,

catnip ''Nepeta cataria'', commonly known as catnip and catmint, is a species of the genus ''Nepeta'' in the mint family, native plant, native to southern and eastern Europe, northern parts of the Middle East, and Central Asia. It is widely naturalis ...

, field basil,

hawkweed ''Hieracium'' (), known by the common name hawkweed and classically as (from ancient Greek ἱέραξ, 'hawk'), is a genus of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, and closely related to dandelion (''Taraxacum''), chicory (''Cichorium''), ...

, heal-all, late goldenrod, orchard grass, purpletop grass, spoon moss, tall goldenrod, three-seeded mercury,

timothy-grass Timothy (''Phleum pratense'') is an abundant perennial grass native to most of Europe except for the Mediterranean region. It is also known as timothy-grass, meadow cat's-tail or common cat's tail. It is a member of the genus '' Phleum'', cons ...

) *15. Woods in Summer (

American chestnut The American chestnut (''Castanea dentata'') is a large, fast-growing deciduous tree of the Fagaceae, beech family native to eastern North America. As is true of all species in the genus ''Chestnut, Castanea'', the American chestnut produces Bur ...

, black gum, chestnut oak, Christmas fern,

cicada The cicadas () are a superfamily, the Cicadoidea, of insects in the order Hemiptera (true bugs). They are in the suborder Auchenorrhyncha, along with smaller jumping bugs such as leafhoppers and froghoppers. The superfamily is divided into two ...

s, hay-scented fern, Indian cucumber, marginal shield fern, mountain laurel, New York fern, partridgeberry, pinxter flower,

fern, rattlesnake orchid, shadbush,

slime mold Slime mold or slime mould is an informal name given to a polyphyletic assemblage of unrelated eukaryotic organisms in the Stramenopiles, Rhizaria, Discoba, Amoebozoa and Holomycota clades. Most are near-microscopic; those in the Myxogastria ...

, spiny-bellied spider, spotted wintergreen, tickle grass,

, witch hazel) *16. Multiflora Rose Hedge ( bittersweet, bobwhite, bush honeysuckle,

catbird Several unrelated groups of songbirds are called catbirds because of their wailing calls, which resemble a cat's meowing. The genus name ''Ailuroedus'' likewise is from the Greek for 'cat-singer' or 'cat-voiced'. Australasian catbirds are ...

, coral honeysuckle, fox grape, Franklinia, golden garden spider, horse nettle, Japanese honeysuckle, Japanese silverberry, mocking bird, multiflora rose, nimblewill, perfoliate tearthumb, ragweed,

thistle Thistle is the common name of a group of flowering plants characterized by leaves with sharp spikes on the margins, mostly in the family Asteraceae. Prickles can also occur all over the planton the stem and on the flat parts of the leaves. T ...

, virgin's bower) *17. Vacant Lot (''

Ailanthus altissima ''Ailanthus altissima'' ( ), commonly known as tree of heaven or ailanthus tree, is a deciduous tree in the quassia family. It is native to northeast and central China, and Taiwan. Unlike other members of the genus ''Ailanthus'', it is found ...

'', barnyard grass, bird's nest fungi, chicory, climbing false buckwheat, cocklebur, common ragweed, evening primrose, Faber's bristlegrass, forking panic grass, hedge bindweed, Indian mallow, Jimson weed, Korean lespedezea, lamb's quarters, Queen Anne's lace, wild lettuce, yellow goat's beard, yellow wood-sorrel) *18. Pond in Fall ( bluejay, boneset, bur-reed, cardinal flower,

goldenrod Goldenrod is a common name for many species of flowering plants in the sunflower family, Asteraceae, commonly in reference to the genus ''Solidago''. Several genera, such as ''Euthamia'', were formerly included in a broader concept of the genu ...

, ironweed, joe-pye weed, meadow-beauty, nodding ladies' tresses, purple-stemmed aster,

, rush,

sedge The Cyperaceae () are a family of graminoid (grass-like), monocotyledonous flowering plants known as wikt:sedge, sedges. The family (biology), family is large; botanists have species description, described some 5,500 known species in about 90 ...

, spreading goldenrod, wooly aphid) *19. Serpentine Barren in Fall (blackhaw, blackjack oak, bluejay, burnet, chinquapin oak, fringed gentian, golden garden spider, inchworm, Indian grass, longhorn grasshopper, new Belgian aster, ninebark, post oak, scrub pine, small-flowered white aster, spike moss,

sycamore Sycamore is a name which has been applied to several types of trees, but with somewhat similar leaf forms. The name derives from the Ancient Greek () meaning . Species of otherwise unrelated trees known as sycamore: * ''Acer pseudoplatanus'', a ...

, ten-petaled sunflower, turkey vulture,

yellowjacket Yellowjacket or yellowjacket is the common name in North America for predatory social wasps of the genus, genera ''Vespula'' and ''Dolichovespula''. Members of these genera are known simply as "wasps" in other English-speaking countries. Most of ...

) *20. Old Orchard (

apple An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...

blackberry BlackBerry is a discontinued brand of handheld devices and related mobile services, originally developed and maintained by the Canadian company Research In Motion (RIM, later known as BlackBerry Limited) until 2016. The first BlackBerry device ...

, Chinese chestnut, deer's tongue panic grass, early goldenrod, fox grape meadow mushroom, Norway maple, orchard grass, Perilla,

, pokeweed, riverbank grape, sensitive fern, smooth sumac,

, white avens, wood nymph butterfly) *21. Swamp in Fall (

American holly ''Ilex opaca'', the American holly, is a species of holly, native to the eastern and south-central United States, from coastal Massachusetts south to central Florida, and west to southeastern Missouri and eastern Texas. Description ''Ilex opaca ...

, arrowwood, cinnamon fern,

crayfish Crayfish are freshwater crustaceans belonging to the infraorder Astacidea, which also contains lobsters. Taxonomically, they are members of the superfamilies Astacoidea and Parastacoidea. They breathe through feather-like gills. Some spe ...

, fern-leaf moss, holly leaf miner, holly leaf spot, joe-pye weed, mnium moss, pilose aster, poison sumac,

, silky dogwood, skunk cabbage, smooth alder, song sparrow,

, spreading goldenrod, swamp highbush blueberry, Turk's-cap lily, tussock sedge, winterberry holly) *22. Stream in Fall (Christmas fern, clearweed, enchanter's nightshade, false Solomon's seal, fringed loosestrife, hog peanut, horse balm,

jewelweed ''Impatiens'' is a genus of more than 1,000 species of flowering plants, widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere and the tropics. Together with the genus '' Hydrocera'' (one species), ''Impatiens'' make up the family Balsaminace ...

, pileated woodpecker, shining club moss, tick trefoil, tulip tree, turtlehead, Virginia knotweed) *23. Railroad in Fall (ball goldenrod gall, bouncing bet, butter-and-eggs, common blue violet, common milkweed, great Solomon's seal,

jumping spider Jumping spiders are a group of spiders that constitute the family (biology), family Salticidae. , this family contained over 600 species description, described genus, genera and over 6,000 described species, making it the largest family of spide ...

, pennycress, spindle goldenrod gall, spreading dogbane, swamp rose,

swamp white oak ''Quercus bicolor'', the swamp white oak, is a North American species of medium-sized trees in the beech family. It is a common element of America's north central and northeastern mixed forests. It can survive in a variety of habitats. It forms ...

, tick trefoil, wintercress, wooly bear caterpillar) *24. Roadside in Fall ( bagworm, barnyard grass, bedstraw, black-eyed Susan, black willow,

, clearweed, coltsfoot, common milkweed, forked panic grass, giant ragweed,

, perfoliate tearthumb,

, purple-stemmed aster, rough bluegrass, swamp milkweed, white aster, white mulberry, wild asparagus, wild lettuce, wild yam) *25. Woods in Fall (Christmas fern, greenbrier,

huckleberry Huckleberry is a name used in North America for several plants in the family Ericaceae, in two closely related genera: ''Vaccinium'' and ''Gaylussacia''. Nomenclature The name 'huckleberry' is a North American variation of the English dialectal ...

, marginal wood fern, mountain laurel, New York fern, partridge berry, pileated woodpecker,

, rattlesnake plantain,

, spotted wintergreen, wild lily-of-the-valley) *26. Stone Wall (

black walnut ''Juglans nigra'', the eastern American black walnut, is a species of deciduous tree in the walnut family, Juglandaceae, native to central and eastern North America, growing mostly in riparian zones. Black walnut is susceptible to thousand can ...

Boston ivy ''Parthenocissus tricuspidata'' is a species of flowering plant in the grape family (Vitaceae) native to eastern Asia (Korea, Japan, and northern and eastern China), where it thrives in floodplain bushes, riverside woodland and moist mountain mi ...

chipmunk Chipmunks are small, striped rodents of subtribe Tamiina. Chipmunks are found in North America, with the exception of the Siberian chipmunk which is found primarily in Asia. Taxonomy and systematics Chipmunks are classified as four genera: '' ...

, ebony spleenwort,

English ivy ''Hedera helix'', the common ivy, European ivy, King's Choice ivy, or just ivy, is a species of flowering plant in the family Araliaceae. It is native to most of Europe and parts of western Asia. Ivy is a clinging evergreen vine that grows on t ...

, gray squirrel,

, nimblewill)

Pamphlet

An accompanying pamphlet was designed and illustrated by Stephen Doyle. Sketches of some of the plants seen on these weekly walks are included in this booklet.

Recordings

Several episodes have been digitized and are available in the digital collections at the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

References

{{Reflist Natural history of Maryland 1978 American television series debuts 1978 American television series endings Nature educational television series