Gladys Riley

The First Preserve Anywhere for the Golden Stars, a State-Endangered Wildflower. Gladys Riley is the first preserve specifically acquired to protect golden star lilies, (Erythronium rostratum). An early spring wildflower, the golden star lily faces nearly upward and bears yellow anthers instead of chocolate brown like its more familiar cousin, the common trout lily. The best time to see it in bloom is the last week of March to the first week of April. The golden star lily has a very spotty distribution in only a few eastern central states west of the Appalachians and is rare throughout its range. It grows in significant numbers in just one place in Ohio - on the lower run of the Rocky Fork tributary of the Scioto Brush Creek Watershed – exactly where the preserve is located. Wildflowers of other species are very rich at the site, including several that are rare. The earliest begin blooming in March, but the show continues right on through mid-to late-April. 

Stately Old Forests. Gladys Riley’s hillside forest supports unusually old trees, with many fine specimens that have impressive girths, especially considering the slow growth rate on the thin soils that support them. Common species include white, black, and chestnut oaks; pignut, bitternut, and shagbark hickories, black birch, and sweetgum. Even the rare butternut or white walnut finds refuge along the Rocky Fork Creek that bisects the preserve. A signature tree of Gladys Riley is the yellow buckeye tree, the buckeye of the southern Appalachian Mountains, foothills, floodplains, and coves. Unlike the Ohio buckeye, the yellow is a true canopy tree. Many large and stately yellow buckeyes can be seen towering above you along the White Walnut Trail. 

Ferns and mosses proliferate in the sheltered coves at the base of the preserve’s steep-sided hills. One of the more interesting is Goldie’s fern, (Dryopteris goldiean), a large wood fern that thrives in high-moisture sites supported by cool seeps. By mid-summer in the preserve, Goldie’s fern can reach hip-high. 

Preserve History. Gladys Riley, the preserve’s namesake, was a well-loved school teacher in the local community of Otway until she retired in 1972. Gladys was an avid life-long lover of the outdoors. Having taught for many years in the first grade, she inspired many a schoolchild to follow a career or a vocation in natural resources. Her son sold the property to the Arc in 2005, honoring his mother and providing a more secure future for the golden star lily nationally significant botanical features and beautiful woods.  

In 2015, the Gladys Riley Golden Star Lily Preserve was expanded through the acquisition of an adjacent 118 acres purchased from a local family whose Ralstin, Hazelbaker, and Ivers ancestors were among the earliest settlers in the region. The family shared a long-time interest in nature, the environment, and education. Currently the Arc of Appalachia is pursuing a third 40-acre addition which would protect Rocky Fork’s confluence with Scioto Brush Creek downstream from the current preserve holdings.