Happy Earth Day! Wildflowers and Orchids… 2016-04-22

This is the time of year for us folks in the Carolinas when everything botanical seems to explode with flowers. Each time I travel up Persimmon Ridge Road in upstate Greenville County, South Carolina, there is something new to see — although sometimes it’s just old friends. One friend in particular, is Bill Robertson. He is a consummate photographer, and his work appears all over the city of Greenville. One can hardly walk into a doctor’s office or hospital waiting room and fail to see one or more of his fabulous nature shots, whether it be flowers, landscapes, or waterfalls. I happened to be shooting a few of the Cypripedium acaule or Pink Lady’s-slipper orchids that had just come into bloom, when I saw him walking down Persimmon Ridge Road. I called him over to my spot, and he said that he had seen my recent blog post about the wildflowers on Persimmon Ridge Road and decided that he wanted to check it out himself. We spoke at length and decided to try to get together soon for a field trip somewhere in the area. Here is the particular orchid flower I was photographing when he showed up:

Pink Lady’s-slipper orchid

As you can easily see, the flower parts (including stem and leaves) are covered with thousands of tiny hairs. This is seen with some of the other slipper orchids as well as some of our other native orchid species. The flowers at this site had just come into full bloom. There were many of the plants still in bud, so there should be some nice flowers for the next week to ten days. Here is a pair of buds that should make a fabulous shot in a week or so:

Here are a couple of images of some of the other orchid flowers that were in the immediate area:

The one on the left is just “pinking” up and should be as pink as the one on the right in just a few days. BTW, those round, yellowish structures at the top of the pouch and just below the petals, are the sacs containing the flower’s pollen. The pollinator (usually a bumble bee species) enters the pouch through a vertical opening in the front of the pouch. As the pollinator crawls out of the pouch using the only available exit, through the circular opening opposite the pollen sac, it gets a generous dusting of pollen on its back which is then transferred to the next flower it visits. There is one opening with pollen sac on each side of the top of the pouch. I have been told that the petals, which stick out in a rather horizontal direction, will lower after the pollinator crawls out of the pouch. I have seen a flower with one petal lowered, but didn’t know that was the reason for the lowered petal. Apparently, the lowered petal shades the light from coming into the opening, thus the opposite opening will be well-lit, and the pollinator will choose the brighter one to use as an exit. What a clever way to affect pollination. This orchid species evolved with its pollinator and created an interesting method of transferring its pollen.

We finished up at the orchid patch, and said our goodbyes. Bill had arranged to meet another photographer on Persimmon Ridge Road, and I was heading up the road to some sites in the Pisgah National Forest near Brevard, North Carolina. I had seen a few sections of the road where, if I had the time, I wanted to revisit when I came back down the mountain toward home. So I soon reached Hwy. 276 and headed toward Brevard, about 30 minutes away.

Along the way, there is a curve in the road as it climbs the Blue Ridge Escarpment, where there is a nice assortment of wildflowers in season. Today, I found Amsonia tabernaemontana or Eastern Bluestar just coming into bloom. It is easy to see how it got its common name, Bluestar. We have two species of Bluestar in the Carolinas (the other is Amsonia ciliata or Fringed Bluestar), but this is the one that is most frequently seen in the mountains:

I packed up my gear and pointed the truck north. Soon, I was in Brevard. My first stop was actually in town to check on a population of Isotria verticillata or Large Whorled Pogonia orchid. I have been photographing the flowers in this population for a few years, but this year I was able to find only three plants in bloom. Three years ago, I saw hundreds of flowers in bloom at this same spot. I don’t know why the plants are in decline, but orchids sometimes do that. This species may be more dependent on its fungal ally than we suspect, and perhaps the fungus is suffering from some sort of malady. In any case, I set up my camera gear and made the best of the situation. Here are a few shot of the three flowers that were in bloom:

There was one other fabulous wildflower site that I wanted to visit before I returned to Persimmon Ridge Road. That site is in the Pisgah National Forest. I thought I might be just a bit early for Galearis spectabilis or Showy Orchis, but I wanted to check on them, anyway. After turning off onto a pothole-filled gravel road, I made my way to the orchid site. But before I reached the spot, I saw some Trillium leaves off the side of the road.

We haven’t had any measurable rain in the area for more than a week — more like ten days. There have been some rather serious forest fires in the mountains of North Carolina, and that lack of rain also created heavy dust clouds behind any vehicle that travelled these gravel roads. The dust covered everything within 10 yards (~9 meters) of the road bed, so I had to blow the dust off of the plants before photographing them. In this particular area of the Pisgah NF, there are some very strange and interesting Trillium plants. Most of the Trillium erectum or Erect Trillium also known as Stinking Benjamin because of its disagreeable fragrance, had already passed, but blooming now were what I believe are the natural hybrids between Trillium erectum and another Trillium species, probably Trillium vaseyi, or Trillium vaseyi and Trillium rugelii. Just a guess, though. I need some help here — Tom Patrick, Mark Rose, anybody? In any case, here are some images I made of these strange flowers:

Possibly Trillium erectum or Trillium simile?:

Other definite hybrid Trillium plants:

I have photographed several other color forms in previous years at this spot, and here is a link to those images. Even Fred Case in his seminal work on Trilliums called, Trilliums (bottom of page 39 and top of page 139), mentions the bewildering palate of colors that can arise from the natural hybrids of a couple of the area’s native Trillium species.

Driving up the road a bit farther, I spotted a couple of pretty wildflowers right at the edge of the road. The first was Geranium maculatum or Wild Spotted Geranium. I had to dust off the flowers before I could photograph them, because with all of the dust, the color just didn’t show through as well:

The other wildflower growing at the edge of the road was Iris cristata or Dwarf Crested Iris. Although I’ve photographed this one many times, I can never seem to get enough of its beauty:

It’s only a few inches high, but to me, there is something both delicate and sensuous about the flower.

Finally, I reached the place where I have seen Galearis spectabilis or Showy Orchis in flower in previous years. As with some of the other orchid species I’ve visited this year, these Showy Orchis plants appear to be smaller and have less flowers per plant than in previous years. I was disappointed, but perhaps I was just a bit too early in my visit to this spot. Here are a few shots of the flowering plants I found:

As I wandered around a bit, I began to see Tiarella cordifolia or Heartleaf Foamflower growing next to a small stream:

This species is widely scattered in eastern North America, and can usually be found this time of year in the flood plain next to streams. Also in the flood plain was Arisaema triphyllum or Jack-in-the-Pulpit. This one is quite variably colored from light green to medium green with darker stripes. It’s always a welcome sight:

It was time to head back home, so I gathered my gear and pointed the truck South. The climb and descent over the mountains is a fun experience unless you get behind a very slow driver. I guess I spend so much time in the mountains that I’m not as cautious as other drivers who are experiencing the tight turns for the first time. I keep telling myself that I must be more mindful of these out-of-state, lowland drivers.

Soon, I reached the turnoff for Persimmon Ridge Road. When I reached the spot where I had photographed the Pink Lady’s-slipper orchids, I parked the truck and got my camera gear. I remember Bill telling me of a couple of Trillium catesbaei or Catesby’s Trilliums he had seen on one of the trails. Thinking I might not have enough time to visit these earlier in the day, I had waited until now to photograph them. When I arrived at the place where the plants were growing, I realized that I had photographed these same plants last year and the year before. However, this year, they were larger and prettier that I had ever seen them. Here are images of the two plants that are probably growing from the same root stock:

And the flowers on these plants are huge — about 2-3 inches (5-7.5 cm) wide. Here is a shot of the plants as they were growing next to one another:

After photographing the Trillium, I got back into the truck and headed down the mountain. Before long, though, I saw some white flowers in the woods. This was Rhododendron carolinianum or Carolina Rhododendron. I thought it was early for this species, but here they were. This species of Rhododendron has flowers that are similar to the much larger Rose Bay Rhododendron that is seen so frequently in the mountains, but the flowers of Carolina Rhododendron are much smaller and in our area are mostly white instead of pink:

Across the road was the beginning of the flowering season of another common species in our area, Kalmia latifolia or Mountain Laurel. During peak bloom, the woods bordering the road are flush with dense clusters of these pink and white flowers:

And, on the roadside embankment, were clumps of Iris verna or Dwarf Iris. I thought I had seen the best of them last week, but here were some pretty nice flowers:

This has been an exciting couple of weeks for Southern Appalachian wildflowers. It happens this way each and every year, so I’m not sure why I am so amazed when I see this natural exhibition of flowers along the roadside and in the woods. I suppose it’s the same way I react to the vibrant show of fall color each year — nothing new, but always a surprise. The Spring rush is not over, and as it extends into early summer, there will be several opportunities to see familiar species as well as a few new ones. Stay tuned…

–Jim