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Mandarin Cove I and II Southern Nantahala Wilderness - April 2018 |
All Text & Images: Copyright (2018) |
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Mandarin Cove I and II Southern Nantahala Wilderness - April 2018 |
All Text & Images: Copyright (2018) |
| On an April trek up to Mandarin Cove, I made a detour and discovered a nearby rich cove environment which also was covered with Mandarin plants. Although it contained just Yellows, with no Spotteds, I called the area "Mandarin Cove II" for my own reference. Mid April, 2018: The forest floor was covered with new herbal growth, but the flowers were just opening... |
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| An early bloomer below, Trout Lilies were still in flower at higher elevations. |
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| Slender Toothwort (Cardamine augustata) |
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| Blue Cohosh (Caulophyllum thalictroides) As mentioned in the 2017 Mandarin Cove album, this is a good indicator species for a rich cove forest environment... |
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| Another early bloomer, the Bloodroots were still flowering up on the mountainside. |
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| The Spring Beauties (Claytonia caroliniana) were just opening their buds. |
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| A large boulder at the head of the cove... |
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| A pair of Trillium Cuneatum, our most common by far of the early Trilliums |
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Dutchman's Breeches (Dicentra cucullaria), above and below |
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| Squirrel Corn (Dicentra canadensis), a similar related species |
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| Smooth Rockcress (Boechera laevigata) |
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| Smooth Rockcress, flower detail |
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| Emerging Fern fronds |
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| The steep slopes and cliffs above the head of the cove were the habitat of the two Dicentra species I also looked for Columbine, but didn't see any. |
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| Trillium Cuneatum |
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| Trillium cuneatum - yellow form |
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| Yellow Mandarin, aka Yellow Fairy Bells (Prosartes lanuginosa) |
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| Spotted Mandarin, aka Nodding Mandarin or Spotted Fairy Bells (Prosartes maculata) After exploring the vicinity of Mandarin Cove II, I only had time to swing by the original Cove for a few quick shots of these. |
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| Late April: |
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| Showy Orchis (Galearis spectabilis) |
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| A pair of red Trillium Erectum and an unknown species |
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| Common red form of Trillium erectum |
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| Cream-flowered Trillium, species unknown To me, it looks more like a Trillium simile than the cream versions of T. erectum. |
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| Red Trillium, with recurved petals |
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| Another cream-colored Trillium |
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| Trillium erectum |
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| I came across a steep wet ledge-cliff with a shallow covering of soil, containing a number of Columbine plants. They were a little past their prime, but it was still a treat to see them. |
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| Eastern Red Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) |
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| Showy Orchis |
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| Yellow Mandarin (Prosartes lanuginosa) was blooming, but Spotted Mandarin was on the way out... |
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| Coming down the mountain heading for home, I stumbled across some recently hatched wild turkey eggs. |
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Shortly afterwards, I encountered a rare flat area, that looked like it would have been a good spot for a home place. Sure enough, I spotted what appeared to be the ruins of a field stone chimney. The old 1903 USGS Topo map shows a building near this spot, which is now within the Wilderness Area. |
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| Stacked field stone, now collapsed... |
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