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Assorted Botanical Finds - 2023-4 Rabun County, GA June 2023 |
All Text & Images: Copyright (2023) |
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Assorted Botanical Finds - 2023-4 Rabun County, GA June 2023 |
All Text & Images: Copyright (2023) |
| Rabun County, GA - Early June 2023 1 - I made a quick stop by the Dickenson Creek Botanical Area to see if the Whorled Milkweed was in bloom. I forgot that it blooms in July, not June. But I saw a few other interesting flowers and managed to find an unrecorded population of a rare plant while I was here. |
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| Fire Pink (Silene virginica) It occurred to me that surprisingly this was the first time I'd seen this species this year. |
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| Vasevine, aka Leatherflower (Clematis viorna) |
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| A pair of Clematis viorna |
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| I always like to find these bell-shaped flowers. While not rare, you don't see them every day... |
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| Whorled Loosestrife (Lysimachia quadrifolia) |
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| Whorled Loosestrife |
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| Whorled Milkweed (Asclepias verticillata) As mentioned, I was too early to catch it in bloom. |
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| Small Spreading Pogonia (Cleistesiopsis bifaria) This was the find of the day! This orchid has only been recorded at a handful of sites in Georgia. |
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| Cleistesiopsis bifaria in bud I found 6 plants in flower, 1 in bud, and 7 vegetative. |
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| A pair of Cleistesiopsis bifaria. |
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| One more nice Cleistesiopsis bifaria flower. I was very surprised to find this species here, as the site has been surveyed by a number of botanists over the years. I guess I was at the right place at the right time. |
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| 2 - Malaxis unifolia (the Green Adder's Mouth) is a species that isn't rare, but is seldom seen around here. I've only seen this orchid at a couple of locations. This site near Tallulah Gorge has seen hard times in recent years, including dry years when the diminutive plants shriveled up, and years with only 1-2 plants found. This year was an exception; I found 30 plants blooming. |
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| Green Adder's Mouth (Malaxis unifolia) |
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| Green Adder's Mouth - looking straight down from above. |
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| Green Adder's Mouth - close-up |
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| Green Adder's Mouth - another one looking down from above. |
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| You can see that the tiny flowers bloom from the bottom up |
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| I came across some Fairy Wands (Chamaelirium luteum) but they were all bloomed out except this one. Notice how leggy and sparsely flowered this plant growing in the woods is, compared to ones I have posted that were growing in the sun, like the one below. |
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| Fairy Wand (Chamaelirium luteum) growing in the sun at another site. |