Orange Trail

Solitary pink “moccasin” flower on a leafless stalk; two broad basal leaves often visible. Massachusetts native orchid — illegal to pick or dig; photograph only.

Late May through mid-June (peak around Mendon Memorial Day week)

📍 Mendon Town Forest — acidic pine–oak understory along the Wigwam Hill loop and side spurs.

Evergreen-looking shrubs with smooth, oval leaves in whorls; late spring clusters of pink-and-white cup flowers. Common on Worcester County uplands — blooms slightly earlier in sunnier openings.

Late May through June along Mendon ridgelines

📍 Mendon Town Forest — sunny pockets and rocky knobs on Wigwam Hill and connecting ridges.

Terrestrial “red eft” stage: bright orange-red with darker-bordered spots — slow-moving on trails after rain. Do not handle; oils on skin can harm amphibians.

Efts common April–October; adults in pools early spring

📍 Meadow Brook corridor — kettle topography and seasonal wetlands support pool-breeding amphibians.

Overlapping orange shelves with sulfur-yellow pore surface underneath. Always confirm ID with a trusted guide — some look-alikes cause GI distress.

Typically August through October after humid Mendon summers

📍 Cormier Woods — mature oak and hemlock stands with abundant coarse woody debris.

Low creeping groundcover with thick, glossy evergreen leaves and bright red berries persisting through winter. Crush a leaf for a distinctive wintergreen (methyl salicylate) scent — unmistakable. Tiny white urn-shaped flowers appear in July.

Year-round (berries most visible October through early spring under snow)

📍 Mendon Town Forest — among the most reliable groundcover species on the Wigwam Hill and Anchor Rock trails; look between pine roots and along sandy ridgetop sections.

Single compound leaf on a long stalk, divided into three groups of five leaflets — easy to mistake for a small tree seedling. A separate leafless stalk bears spherical clusters of tiny white flowers in June, followed by dark purple berries. Roots historically used as a sassafras substitute.

Leaves emerge May; flowers June; berries ripen August

📍 Mendon Town Forest — one of the most common herbaceous plants along the Anchor Rock Trail; look for the distinctive single-leaf-with-separate-flower-stalk combination.

Large, dark, iridescent bird with a bare red-and-blue head; males display fan-shaped tails and prominent beards. Flocks scratch loudly in leaf litter. Often heard before seen; males gobble from roost trees at dawn in spring.

Year-round; gobbling and strutting displays March–May; poults visible June–July

📍 Mendon Town Forest — flocks forage in the oak understory along the Wigwam Hill trails year-round; the dawn gobbling carries clearly from ridgetop roosts.

Warbler-sized but walks on the ground like a thrush; olive-brown back, streaked breast, and orange crown stripe bordered by black. The call — a ringing, escalating “teacher-teacher-TEACHER” — carries through the forest all summer and is far more often heard than the bird is seen.

Arrives early May; sings through July; departs by September

📍 Mendon Town Forest — one of the most abundant breeding birds in the interior oak forest along Wigwam Hill; the loud, repetitive call is nearly constant on summer mornings.

High-domed shell with variable orange and yellow markings on brown or black background; hinged plastron allows it to close completely. Moves slowly; often found near berry patches. Massachusetts Species of Special Concern — do not relocate if found on a trail.

Active May through September; most often encountered after summer rain

📍 Mendon Town Forest — dry upland areas away from the wetland trails; most likely to be found in drier oak sections on summer mornings after rain.

Thin, leathery, multi-colored concentric zones — tan, brown, rust, gray — fan out like a turkey's tail. The pore surface underneath is white or cream with tiny pores (not gills) — the critical check against look-alikes. One of the most common bracket fungi in New England and a good entry point for beginning foragers.

Year-round on downed wood; fruiting bodies persist through winter

📍 Cormier Woods — abundant on downed hardwood throughout the trail system; nearly every large decaying log has at least one colony.

Large, overlapping rosette of gray-brown, fan-shaped fronds arising from a single base; white pore surface underneath. Can reach 30+ lbs. Grows reliably at the same oak's base year after year. Among the most sought-after edible fungi in Massachusetts — always confirm ID before consuming.

Late September through October; earlier fruiting in wet years

📍 Mendon Town Forest — mature oaks along the Wigwam Hill and Anchor Rock trail systems; look at the base of large-diameter oaks in late September.