Scouting for Spring wildflowers around upstate Greenville County, South Carolina — 2016-04-14

Lots of stuff to show you in this blog entry, so lean back and enjoy.

Knowing it would be about time for the Spring bloom on Persimmon Ridge Road in upstate Greenville County, I packed my camera equipment and headed off to the location about 40 minutes away. I fully expected to see some Violets and maybe a few other species, so this was more of a scouting party than anything else — you never know what to expect this time of year. In some years, plants get a slow start with cooler weather and the occasional late frost. This year has been mild, but plants don’t always get the memo, so I was prepared for almost anything.

As I turned off of Hwy. 11/276 onto Persimmon Ridge Road and began the climb to the Blue Ridge Escarpment, I noticed that the road crew had been busy — very busy. The roadside had been mowed within an inch of its life! Now, this is not always bad since mowing gives Spring ephemerals a chance to get more sunlight and get a good foot hold. However, this was quite drastic. It was mowed all the way to the ground for about 10 feet (3 meters) from the edge of the road.

The road bed is gravel, and it gets huge ruts and potholes during the season with FWD vehicles doing wheelies and also from weather erosion on the steeper parts of the gravel road. It had been graded several months ago, and new gravel had been spread. The ruts and potholes are not problems for me because I have a pickup truck with fairly high suspension, but the smoother road bed was welcome. The road crew had also improved the ditches on both sides of the road to facilitate drainage, so perhaps erosion won’t be so much of a problem this year.

I mention all of this to set the scene for a really nice wildflower experience. I wasn’t on the road for very long when I spotted some blue on the exposed roadside embankment. This splash of blue was the blooming of one of our native Irises, Iris verna or Dwarf Iris:

Newly opened Dwarf Iris

Here are a few more of the Dwarf Iris that managed to come up this year along the roadside:

Driving up the road just a short distance, I saw some more color on the roadside. These were one of my favorite Bellworts, Uvularia puberula or Mountain Bellwort. The creamy yellow flowers of this beauty always cause me to slam on the brakes when I see it:

Scattered up and down the embankment were dozens of brightly colored Violets, Viola hastata or Halberd-leaf Violet, so named because of its halberd shaped leaf:

For the next mile or so, there were numbers of another Violet, Viola pedata or Birdfoot Violet dotting the roadside margins. It got its common name for the shape of its leaf — like a bird’s foot:

This seems to be the day for Violets, because at the edge of the woods, I spot another one, Viola rostrata or Spurred Violet — its prominent spur providing its common name:

These were at the entrance to Eva Chandler Heritage Preserve. Wondering what else I would find up there, I proceeded down the foot path toward the bald. Just at my feet, along the edge of the path, I spotted a tiny little white Violet — yes, another Violet! This one is Viola pallens or Smooth White Violet:

Sticking to our theme, I found one more Violet, Viola sororia or Common Wood Violet just coming into bloom:

Farther on down the path, I noticed a small patch of Pedicularis canadensis or Canadian Lousewort. It is called Lousewort because it was once believed that these plants, when ingested, were responsible for lice infestations in live stock:

Within eyesight, I found several patches of Anemone quinquefolia or Wood Anemone, sporting their paper-white flowers:

By this time, I was near the small stream that feeds the cataract on the granitic bald at the end of the trail. This is always a good place to find the 2-foot (30 cm) tall Xanthorhiza simplicissima or Yellowroot. If you were to expose the roots of this stream-side plant, it would be obvious how it got its common name. Not wanting to dig one up, here is a link to a good image of the yellow roots:

Bordering the creek, were numerous clumps of a common Bluet, Houstonia caerulea or Azure Bluet:

Farther on down the path were several drifts of a common wildflower which blooms in the Spring and early summer — Erigeron pulchellus or Robin’s Plantain. On sunny, country roadsides, it can form large populations, looking a lot like white daisy-like flowers edged with lavender:

Overhead, I saw the lovely pink flowers of one of our sweet-smelling native Azaleas, Rhododendron periclymenoides or Pinxter Azalea:

At this point, I have reached the end of the trail, and I am on the granitic bald. To the edge, bordering the woods, I see large patches of tiny white flowers. This is Minuarta uniflora or Piedmont Sandwort waving in the breeze. Just last week, I saw it blooming on a flat rock outcrop in Pickens County. This plant loves to be growing on the surface of rocky balds in shallow, sandy depressions or in mossy areas:

It was time to head back to the truck. But first, I wanted to check on the status of a population of Cypripedium acaule or Pink Lady’s-slipper Orchids which grow nearby. Normally, they are known to bloom on Mother’s Day or sometime in early to mid-May. However, for the past few years, they have been blooming a good bit earlier — like late April. I arrived at the spot and here is what I found:

There were quite a few plants in this stage of bud although many more were like those in the following image:

I also spotted several Goodyera pubescens or Downy Rattlesnake Plantain Orchid plants poking out from the forest floor litter. Hopefully they are mature enough this year to bloom:

I had gotten an early enough start to the day for me to check out a few other nearby locations. One of these is a roadside cove just off of Highway 276, on the Blue Ridge Escarpment. I have seen quite a few different species of wildflowers blooming in this area, but I thought it might be a bit early for most of them. Time to check it out — nothing ventured; nothing gained. In short order, I reached the spot and pulled off onto the roadside shoulder. From this vantage point, I could not see any blooming wildflowers, so I gathered my camera gear and headed down the hill. Almost at once, I am in a huge patch of Iris cristata or Dwarf crested Iris. Apparently it is early for these to be in full bloom, but the population is so large that there are a few early bloomers:

This species is different than the Dwarf Iris I had photographed earlier in the day, in that it has crested ridges on the petals rather than just the smooth, yellow patch. I am still looking for the white, alba version of this species, and today I came close — but no cigar:

There were two other wildflower species growing in and among the Dwarf Crested Iris. These were Thalictrum thalictroides or Rue Anemone. It’s a common wildflower in the rich, mountain coves of the Southern Appalachian Mountains:

and another Bellwort, Uvularia perfoliata or Perfoliate Bellwort. This one has the characteristic of having the stem seemingly pierce the leaf. In fact, the species Uvularia grandiflora or Large-flower Bellwort also exhibits this characteristic. Perfoliate Bellwort also exhibits a granular texture on the inside of the petals, unlike other Bellwort species in the Southeast. I think you will be able to see the “pierced” leaf and the granular texture on the inside of the petals on the following images:

As I finished up photographing wildflowers at this site, I realized that I still had enough time to visit another location in Greenville County — a special road cut north of the small town of Marietta. This site is on Highway 288, and the road cuts through an area of rock type with a higher pH (basic rock type) than most of the other rock types in the area which are acidic in nature. This provides a good habitat for some different wildflower species. One of these is Aesculus sylvatica or Painted Buckeye. It is quite common in the basic soils of the Southern Appalachian Mountains. What I like about this species is the variation in the color of the flowers from yellow to a peachy-red. Here are a few examples of this variable flower color:

What I was really looking for at this site was Trillium catesbaei or Catesby’s Trillium. I didn’t know if this gorgeous, pink Trillium would be in bloom this early in the month. However, I did manage to find two of them in full bloom, with others still in tight bud:

Another fairly common species found in this habitat is Calycanthus floridus or Eastern Sweetshrub. It gets the name, Sweetshrub from the fragrance that is emitted from crushed flowers — sort of sweet and spicy at the same time:

Wow! What a great day for wildflowers! I can’t remember such a day filled with so many different blooming species. I probably didn’t even scratch the surface, since I visited only three locations in upstate South Carolina. The following weeks will bring even more color and variety with several species of orchids and more Trillium species and other Spring ephemerals. Stay tuned to this spot…

–Jim