Spring color along Persimmon Ridge Road in Greenville County, South Carolina — 2014-04-09

I suppose I haven’t paid enough attention to the spring violets as they deserve. This year, there seems to be more of them than I have seen in earlier years. One place to find beautiful specimens of them in April, is Persimmon Ridge Road in upper Greenville County, South Carolina. They can be spotted right next to that rocky, mountain road as you wind up your way from highway 11/276 to reconnect with highway 276 at its terminus. Almost any time of year is good for finding wildflowers and sometimes for finding wildlife along this road.

Persimmon Ridge Road winds its way through two of the state’s premier Heritage Preserves: Ashmore Heritage Preserve and Eva Russell Chandler Heritage Preserve — both of which offer scenic mountain views as well as mountain endemics that are a feast for the naturalist’s eyes. In its wisdom, South Carolina has preserved these natural areas for future generations so that they can be enjoyed in our own backyard. As the information in the link states:

The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources’ Heritage Trust Program was created in 1976, the first such program in the nation, to help stem the tide of habitat loss by protecting critical natural habitats and significant cultural sites. Enabling legislation directed the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR), in concert with other state agencies, to set aside a portion of the state’s rich natural and cultural heritage in a system of heritage preserves to be protected for the benefit of present and future generations.

A drive up the winding road brings sights of bare trees with just the tiniest show of green leaves beginning to pop out of their winter buds. As you round a curve, you will spot Viola rostrata or Spurred Violet massed on the ditch banks at the edge of the road. This is especially evident at the trail head leading to Eva Russell Chandler Heritage Preserve:

Even a cursory glance at these wildflowers will show you the prominent spur which juts up from behind the petals of the flower. The color of these Spurred Violets ranges from almost white to a medium blue with dark blue or purple stripes spreading out from the center of the flower:

As is evident, I could not get enough of these tiny beauties:

After finishing up with the Spurred Violets, I spotted a green, SCDNR truck just down the road. As I approached the truck, I recognized my friend, Mary Bunch. She is a wildlife biologist with the S.C. Department of Natural Resources based in Clemson, SC. She is also the manager of the upstate Heritage Preserves. It had been a while since I had spoken with her, and so we had quite an interesting conversation about the status of the plants and wildlife in the area. Working with an agency such as SCDNR has to be a tough but fulfilling job what with cutbacks in staff and funds. I admire her for her perseverance and commitment to the task. I’m also a bit jealous of her being able to be out in the woods all of the time.

We finished our conversation, and I headed up the road to try to find another violet that I had seen in previous years along the road. This one is Viola pedata or Bird’s-foot Violet. It gets its name from the shape of the leaves — they resemble a bird’s foot:

I really like the splash of orange in the center of the flower:

Another frequently seen violet in eastern North America is Viola sororia or Common Wood Violet:

But, not all of the violets along the roadside are blue. The yellow, Viola hastata or Halberd-leaf Violet, can be found here in fairly large numbers. This is a species that grows in many areas of the Carolinas. It gets its common name from the shape of the leaf — similar to the blade of the weapon known as a halberd:

There are other wildflowers next to the road besides violets. There is another bright yellow flower known as Potentilla canadensis or Common cinquefoil. It is thought by some gardeners to be a weed, but to me, it’s another lovely addition to the flora of the region.

Note: The word “cinquefoil” is derived from Old French cinc, Middle English cink, and ultimately Latin quinque – all meaning “five” –, and feuille and foil/foille which mean “leaf”. Formerly this term referred to five-leaved plants in general. In medieval times, the word “cinquefoil” was used almost exclusively in England. In France, the genus was called quintefeuille, first attested in Normandy and Brittany in the 11th century:

Nearby to the Common cinquefoil, is the Anemone quinquifolia or Wood Anemone. This is a species that is normally found farther north, but they are just beginning to bloom in the Eva Russell Chandler Heritage Preserve. The flower of this plant is very similar to that of Thalictrum thalictroides or Rue Anemone, which is a common wildflower in the mountain flatwoods. But there are striking differences in the two species: Wood Anemone always has a single flower, whereas Rue Anemone usually has several flowers. Wood Anemone has leaves that are deeply lobed and serrated on the edge, whereas Rue Anemone has leaves that are rounded and only slightly lobed.

Here is a comparison of the two species with Wood Anemone on the left and Rue Anemone on the right:

Another shot of Wood Anemone:

Nearby, I spotted a flash of bright blue. This turns out to be one of my favorites — Iris verna or Dwarf Iris. I felt fairly lucky to have found this species in good shape, since these flowers don’t generally last more than a few days:

Finally, I spotted a species that is generally not seen so well from the road. It is Hexastylis heterophylla or Variable-leaf Heartleaf also known as Wild Ginger. When walking down the trail or in the woods, what you do see is the heart-shaped, green leaves. This species is called Variable-leaf Heartleaf, because the leaves can be a solid green or they can show heavy reticulation or veining. Here is an example of both forms of leaves:

However, the main attraction of this plant has to be the flower. In order to see the flower, leaf litter must be carefully removed from around the plant’s leaves, since the flowers are not generally exposed. They open just at ground level, because they are pollinated by ants and other crawling insects such as beetles. In order to photograph the flowers of this particular plant, I had to carefully remove the leaves and prop up the strange-looking flowers with a twig, since they were at ground level:

That was a good finish to my day trip to the mountains. Seeing Mary again was special, and I am always on the lookout for friends when I’m out in the field. This time of year is an agreeable time to botanize, since the cool mornings always makes it easier to spend the day enjoying the out-of-doors and not being bothered by annoying insects or sweltering temperatures. This was indeed a fine day…

–Jim