A riot of Spring wildflowers in upstate Greenville County, South Carolina — 2014-04-17

Today, I paid a visit to two sites that I try not to miss during Spring time. They are both in upper Greenville County, South Carolina and are separated by about 5 miles (8 km), as the crow flies. I tried to leave the house early enough in the morning so that there would be morning light and no wind. After the sun heats up the ground, the air rises and creates convection currents, causing no end of frustration for this photographer.

So I headed to the first location which is a road cut on Hwy. 288, west of Marietta, South Carolina. This particular road cut slices through and exposes a rich deposit of basic soil. Basic soil (high in Calcium and Magnesium) provides an environment for many Spring wildflowers that are not usually found in the Carolina’s normally acidic soils. There is also a small stream that runs through the woods and under the highway. On one side of the highway there is a steep, uphill climb that goes under a power line right-of-way then enters the woods.

Just at the edge of the woods, I found several blooming plants of Trillium catesbaei or Catesby’s Trillium. This is a beautiful Trillium that can be found in a variety of pinkish-purple colors. Frequently, it will have a ruffled edge on the petals, but it can also be seen with a smooth-edged petal:

There were a handful of plants just at the edge, with more of them a few feet into the woods:

Farther into the woods, I could see a few short, shrubby plants with red flowers. As I approached the plants, I recognized them as Aesculus pavia or Red Buckeye:

Note: I’ve since been informed that they are probably Aesculus sylvatica or Painted Buckeye:

These plants never seem to get more than 10-15 feet (3-5 meters) tall, at least in our region. Fortunately, these were still rather short, so I was able to get fairly close to photograph them:

Nearby, was a plant that had yellow-green flowers:

Now, these could be color forms of the same species or different species — I just don’t know enough about the Buckeyes to know the answer. If this one is a different species, then it is probably Aesculus octandra or Common Buckeye. If you know the answer, please give me a clue in the comment section, below…

Well, apparently this one is also Aesculus sylvatica or Painted Buckeye. Just another color form. Thanks for the help, Will.

So, I mentioned that one side of the road was a steep hillside that led into the woods. The other side of the road was a very steep downhill that led to the creek. At the bottom of the hill was a very wet, marshy area that apparently provided the perfect environment for another Trillium species — Trillium rugelii or Southern nodding Trillium:

These were found last year by my photographer buddy, Alan Cressler. He had wandered over to the other side of the road and pointed down asking, “Which Trillium species are those?” I was floored, since I had been photographing wildflowers at this location for years, and I had never thought to look at the downhill side of the road. Anyway, there is some discussion as to whether these are actually Trillium flexipes or Drooping Trillium, but I have it on very good authority that these are Trillium rugelii, although they may have some features that belong to Trillium flexipes.

Not until I got home and processed the images, did I see that I managed to capture a spider in one of the shots. It was hiding among the stamens:

I believe that the spider is a Leucauge venusta or Orchard spider.

I mentioned that the area on this side of the road was rather wet, so I was not too surprised to find a couple of other wildflower species. The first one was quite obvious, since it can form rather large populations of plants, as in this shot taken in Oconee County, South Carolina:

Its leaves resemble little umbrellas or palm trees:

This Podophyllum peltatum or May apple has either a single umbrella-like leaf or a pair of leaves, with the main stem separating into two parts, each part supporting one of the two leaves. The only plant that will bloom is one with the two leaves — the flower being nestled between the two leaf stems:

Although all parts of this plant are toxic, the fruit that is produced in summer, is edible and quite tasty, I’m told.

The other species that became apparent as I squished around on the wet ground, was one that I’m always happy to find — Arisaema triphyllum or Jack-in-the-Pulpit:

Well, I was burning sunlight, so I packed up my gear and headed over to Persimmon Ridge Road. Shortly after turning onto this winding, gravel road, I spotted a large group of blue-purple flowers on the side of the road in the leaf litter:

These were fine specimens of Iris verna or Dwarf Iris. They bloom over a period of a week to ten days, so some of the flowers are fresh and some are… not so fresh.

Farther down the road, I see another small group of this Iris species, this time in full sun. When the flowers grow in a sunny area, I’ve found that they tend to have a more open-petal display:

There is another Dwarf Iris species that will be in bloom in another few weeks, so on this trip, I did not find it.

As I drove farther up Persimmon Ridge Road, I began to see large patches of a plant that I had photographed last week — Viola pedata or Bird’s-foot violet. This species is commonly found in profusion along the side of the road. The color can vary from light bluish-purple to a much darker color:

I finished up with these and walked up the road a bit. I was not prepared for what I found — a white version of Bird’s-foot violet:

I actually “yelped” when I saw them, then I immediately looked around to see if anyone had heard me. LOL! Anyway, I was very pleased to have found them. The only other photograph I had seen of them was taken by my Flickr friend, Eric Hunt.

Just next to the white Bird’s-foot violets was another white violet — a very tiny, 1/4 inch (6 mm) flower with a lance-shaped leaf. This one is Viola lanceolata or Lance-leaf violet:

Just across the road from the violets was a strange-looking plant that I’m not able to fully identify. I know it is some species of Antennaria, but I’m not sure which one. Please, reader, let me know what to call this one:

Also lining the edge of the road is a daisy-like flower that sometimes forms huge populations. It is Erigeron pulchellus or Robin’s plantain. From a distance, the flower appears to have white petals, but in fact, they are a very light lilac color. This one blooms for several weeks and puts on quite a display when it forms large drifts of flowers:

Finally, as I was about to call it a day, I drove up the road just a short distance when I saw a lovely azalea just at the edge of the woods. It is Rhododendron periclymenoides (formerly R. nudiflorum) also known as Pinxter Azalea. This was a fairly small plant, so I had no problem setting up the tripod in front of it. The only problem was the shifting breeze that had recently begun to stir:

All in all, I had a great day botanizing in the woods. A day ago, we had below-freezing temperatures, and I feared that the wildflowers would be harmed. However, if I had thought about it, I would realize that these wildflowers had been growing and blooming for eons — through warm temperatures and through freezing temperatures — and they still survived. I should have had more faith in Mother Nature…

–Jim