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Mountain Seeps June-July 2019 |
All Text & Images: Copyright (2019) |
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Mountain Seeps June-July 2019 |
All Text & Images: Copyright (2019) |
| Mid June: The Calopogon were in full bloom! |
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| It was a great year at the Seeps for Grass Pink Orchids (Calopogon tuberosus). |
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| Grass Pinks |
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| Grass Pinks |
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| Grass Pinks |
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| The tiny flower of Round-leaved Sundew (Drosera rotundifolia) |
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| Wild Quinine (Parthenium integrifolium) |
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| A spurge... I believe it is Flowering Spurge (Euphorbia corollata). |
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| Vase-vine, aka Leather Flower (Clematis viorna) |
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| Wild Potato Vine (Ipomoea pandurata) |
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| Beebalm (Monarda fistulosa) |
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| July 9: We held an onsite meeting at the Seeps, with folks from several organizations, to start formulating a management plan for this area of special (botanical and zoological) concern. |
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| Downy Oak Leach (Aureolaria virginica) |
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| Another tiny Sundew bloom... |
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| We came across a small stand of Culver's Root, which I had never seen before, despite walking this same area numerous times over the past six years... |
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| Culver's Root (Veronicastrum virginicum) |
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| Culver's Root An uncommon plant in these parts; always found on calcium-rich substrates. |
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| Culver's Root - flower detail |
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| July 17: Eastern Agave, or False Aloe (Manfreda virginica) Another first sighting for me, and an unusual plant at that. A 3-6 foot stalk rises from a basal rosette of thick, succulent leaves. The flowers produce a strong aroma, described as fruity, or sweet clove. Flowering begins from the bottom and proceeds to the top of the stalk; female and male sexual parts mature at different times to prevent self-pollination. Each tiny flower opens overnight; later the same day, the anthers release the pollen. |
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| Inflorescence |
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| Anthers |
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| Another set of anthers, more fully opened... |
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| Flower detail The stigma looks almost like a tiny 3-petaled flower... |
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| Basal rosette leaves |
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| A white form of Wild Petunia (Ruellia caroliniensis) |
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| Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata ssp. pulchra) |
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| Came across what I first thought was an Orchid (perhaps Platanthera sp.), but it had already gone to seed. |
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| Plant stalk showing basal and stem leaves. I later determined this was a tall Fairywand (Chamaelirium luteum). |
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| Appalachian Bunchflower (Veratrum parviflorum) |