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Corundum Knob Vicinity Clay County, NC August 2019 |
All Text & Images: Copyright (2019) |
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Corundum Knob Vicinity Clay County, NC August 2019 |
All Text & Images: Copyright (2019) |
| August 6th - A search for Crisped Bunchflower Two weeks prior to this visit, I had seen Crisped Bunchflower blooming for the first time on a mountainside in Rabun County, GA. I had observed that those plants were growing with a larger population of Appalachian Bunchflower. Deciding to use the A.B. as an indicator species, I went looking for some preferred A.B. environments, hoping to find more of the Crisped Bunchflower. |
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| Heading out on a FS road, I noticed lots of Baneberry, aka Doll's Eyes, in fruit. |
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| Turk's Cap Lily (Lilium superbum) |
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| A number of Turk's Caps grew along the old road, but there were just a few remaining flowers. |
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| The Yellow Jewelweed (Impatiens pallida) here was a very pale color. |
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| I think this is Nipplewort (Lapsana communis), an introduced species. |
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| Downy Rattlesnake Plantain orchids (Goodyera pubescens) |
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| Heading out on a finger ridge, I came across lots of something in the Lily family. |
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| I was coming across lots of Veratrum parviflorum, so I began to look closer. I soon began seeing the strap-like basal leaves of what I hoped was Crisped Bunchflower. |
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| After some searching, I came across two plants in flower - Crisped Bunchflower (Melanthium hybridum) |
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| Single flower detail |
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| A branch of flowers This plant has been classified in recent years as Melanthium hybridum, Veratrum hybridum, Leimanthium hybridum, Melanthium racemosum and Melanthium latifolium, among others. |
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| Not far away, I found another group with six more flowering plants. This one was next to a tree, making for a convenient backdrop. |
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| Thelephora vialis |
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| Huge Ganoderma tsugae on a hemlock, phone for scale. |
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| There are a number of spring heads in the area... |
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| Scarlet Beebalm (Monarda didyma) |
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| Another pale Jewelweed |
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| I found a single Carolina Lily (Lilium michauxii) |
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| Buffalo Nut (Pyrularia pubera) |
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| Southern Harebell (Campanula divaricata) |
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| A view from Corundum Knob |