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Welcome to Quail Hollow State Park: At Quail Hollow we provide the visiting public with three different types of activities. They are: public recreation, cultural history, and nature appreciation. Whether you fish in our stocked pond, tour the historic forty room manor house, or attend a program by one of our naturalists, we have something to offer everyone.
Take the time to enjoy and explore Quail Hollow and the other 73 Ohio State Parks.
Poison Ivy?:
A plant that may appear similar to poison ivy and is prevelant along many walkways and trails at the park is actually goutweed, a non-native plant that looks very similar to poison ivy. Goutweed will not cause you to itch if you touch it. Goutweed has leaves similar in shape and size to poison ivy, but leaves of goutweed do not all come in "threes" as on poison ivy.
While goutweed grows as a ground cover as does poison ivy, you will not see it climbing trees nor forming the hairy root vines like its itchy companion. While they grow in the same areas, often right next to each other, goutweed is more noticeable in winter and early spring months as it holds onto it's green leaves much longer than poison ivy. It often appears as a green carpet along many of Quail Hollow's trails.
Clean Up Crew: Especially after a wind storm, it isn't difficult to discover the variety of spiral patterns that decorate many of the trees that have fallen. These trees have died while standing and insects have taken over. The patterns you see can be interpreted if you look closely. The very center of the spiral is where a female insect has deposited a row of eggs. When the eggs hatch, the tiny insects eat their way out. This creates the "arms" of the spiral. You can see that the arms get larger or thicker as the insects grow. At a certain point the insects are ready to exit the tree. This is where the spiral arm stops. What we can't see is the exit hole, perpendicular to the path already made.
If you spot an area that seems torn up, this may be where a woodpecker has found the tiny insects and has eaten them before they were able to work their way out.
Either way, woodpeckers destroying the tree in the process of getting to the insects, or the insects destroying the tree as they eat their way out, is all a part of nature's "clean up crew". The tree is now on its way to becoming part of the soil which will provide nutrients to new generations of forest.
All throughout Ohio, hundreds of individuals are giving a part of their free time to help make Ohio State Parks the number one park system in the United States. All of these volunteers are part of the “Volunteer-In-Parks” (VIP) system. The VIP system groups all of these volunteers together with a common goal, to assist each park’s staff by helping them beautify maintain and promote their park.
Many years ago some of the VIPs at Quail Hollow State Park banded together to form the Quail Hollow Volunteer Association. This nonprofit organization raises funds and organizes special events specifically for Quail Hollow. You do not need to be a member of the Quail Hollow Volunteer Association to volunteer your time at the park.
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