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Spring Ephemerals in Cherry Cove Southern Nantahala Wilderness - April 2016 |
All Text & Images: Copyright (2016) |
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Spring Ephemerals in Cherry Cove Southern Nantahala Wilderness - April 2016 |
All Text & Images: Copyright (2016) |
| This is one of the most impressive high rich cove forest areas that I have found. Situated at the foot of cliffs, with several boulder fields on the slopes, the forest floor was literally covered with early spring wildflowers. Early April: |
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Dutchman's Breeches {or Britches} (Dicentra Cucullaria) |
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Blue Cohosh (Caulophyllum thalictroides) |
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| It's hard to see individual flowers, but everything green in this image is a wildflower, fern or moss. |
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Early Meadow Rue (Thalictrum dioicum) Not the sharpest images, but with the tiny dangling stamens fluttering in the strong breeze, it's amazing that I got any usable images of these flowers. |
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| Cutleaf Toothwort (Cardamine Concatenata, or Dentaria laciniata) After the Dutchman's Breeches, Toothworts were the most common flower at this spot. |
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| Another cliff area of this rich cove forest |
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| Emerging Mayapple, or Mandrake (Podophyllum peltatum) |
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| Dimpled Trout Lily (Erythronium umbilicatum) After a month of blooming, Trout Lily flowers here were few and far between. |
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| Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) While these were mostly past bloom around our cabin, they were just emerging at the higher elevations. |
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| I'd be curious to know if this flower maintained any pink color after it fully opened. |
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| Trillium cuneatum These were almost as prolific at high elevation as they were down by our cabin. |
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| Ramps (Allium tricoccum) |
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| Turk's Cap Lily (Lilium superbum) |
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| Late April: |
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| Pink Lady's Slippers (Cypripedium acaule) By the Big Spring |
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| Lady's Slippers |
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| Sessile Bellwort, or Wild Oats (Uvularia sessilifolia) |
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| Cliff face with cool rock & moss patterns |
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| White Trillium, aka white wake-robin or large-flowered trillium (Trillium grandiflorum) |
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| Showy Orchis (Galearis spectabilis) |
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| Fern fiddleheads |
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More Lady's Slippers There were so many growing here that I labeled the spot "Lady's Slipper Central" on my hiking app. |
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| Blue Cohosh (Caulophyllum thalictroides) |
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| Waterleaf leaves (Hydrophyllum sp.) |
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| White Baneberry, aka Doll's Eyes (Actaea pachypoda) |
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Vasey's Trillium, aka sweet wakerobin or sweet beth (Trillium vaseyi) |
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Yellow Mandarin, aka Yellow Fairybells (Prosartes lanuginosa, syn. Disporum lanuginosum) |
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| The lilies (Lilium superbum) are coming along |
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| Bear Corn, aka cancer-root (Conopholis americana) |