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Mandarin Coves and Adjacent Cliffs Southern Nantahala Wilderness - Late April 2020 |
All Text & Images: Copyright (2020) |
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Mandarin Coves and Adjacent Cliffs Southern Nantahala Wilderness - Late April 2020 |
All Text & Images: Copyright (2020) |
| My first trip of 2020 up to the Mandarin Coves was later than prior years, so I missed some of the early bloomers... |
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| Flame Azalea (Rhododendron calendulaceum) I saw a large shrub where a fallen branch had just knocked off several flower clusters. This was one of them... |
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| Catesby's Trillium (Trillium catesbaei) |
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| Mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum) flower |
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| Large-flowered Bellwort (Uvularia grandiflora) |
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| Cliff Saxifrage, aka Michaux's Saxifrage (Micranthes petiolaris) Typical form: 3 upper petals clawed and with 2 yellow spots, the 2 lower petals cuneate and not spotted. |
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| Micranthes petiolaris - variation? Atypical variation: each petal distinctly clawed and with 2 yellow spots. |
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| Eastern Red Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis). |
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| These were prolific on the wet cliffs above the cove. |
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| Most were going to seed, but there were still some fresh flowers... |
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| Spotted Mandarin, aka Spotted Fairy Bells (Prosartes maculata) These were on their way out, and the Yellow Mandarins were quickly blooming to replace them... |
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| Yellow Mandarin, aka Yellow Fairy Bells (Prosartes lanuginosa) |
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| Eastern Green Violet (Cubelium concolor) This was a new species for me, and I found lots of it growing here. |
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| Tiny flowers of the Cubelium concolor (syn. Hybanthus concolor) |
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| A closer view; the tiny flowers were just opening. |
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Showy Orchis (Galearis spectabilis) |
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| The Trillium erectums were pretty much on their way out... |
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Flowers of the Umbrella Leaf (Diphylleia cymosa) |
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| A big, fat (although past its prime) Morel (Morchella sp.). |