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Beech Flats - April 2018 Southern Nantahala Wilderness Area |
All Text & Images: Copyright (2018) |
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Beech Flats - April 2018 Southern Nantahala Wilderness Area |
All Text & Images: Copyright (2018) |
| Jess Riddle and I made an exploration up through Beech Flats and into the northern slopes of High Cove Ridge. It was a combination of botanizing and searching for a Native American petroglyph rock. While we didn't find the petroglyphs, we did come across some other interesting finds. |
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| Wood Betony, aka Lousewort (Pedicularis canadensis) |
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| Showy Orchis (Galearis spectabilis) |
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| Trillium grandiflorum, pink with age |
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| Large-flowered Bellwort (Uvularia grandiflora) |
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| Bishop's Cap, aka Miterwort (Mitella diphylla) |
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| Bishop's Cap flowers |
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| Trillium erectum |
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| Pear-shaped Puffballs (Lycoperdon pyriforme) on fallen tree. |
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| Spotted Mandarin, aka Nodding Mandarin or Spotted Fairy Bells (Prosartes maculata) |
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| An unusual pure white Mandarin, with no spots/speckles... |
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| We found a few morels (Morchella sp.). Most were dried out like this, but found a few to bring home for the next morning's breakfast. |
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| We came across one of the mysterious rock pile complexes that one occasionally finds in these Southern Appalachians. The origins of these piles are controversial. This was likely from a farmer's land clearing, although the ground surface is still covered with good sized rocks, leaving little room for crop cultivation. |
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Rock Mound Piles: |
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| Click here to see the subsequent discovery of the Native American petroglyph rock. |