Day 2 of a 4-day trip to the Atlantic Coastal Plain for orchids and carnivorous plants — 2016-05-20

I woke up on the morning of Day 2 of a 4-day adventure to the Atlantic Coastal Plain, ready to hit the road and see what the Green Swamp had to offer. The Green Swamp is a 16,000 acre (~6500 hectare) nature preserve in Brunswick County, North Carolina, owned and managed by The Nature Conservancy. This time of year, there are several rare plants in flower, including a few orchid species. The night before, I had received word that the person I had planned to meet in the area had a family emergency and would be unable to meet me. That was a bit disappointing, because he and I always have a successful photography trip where ever we go. Regardless, I finished my continental breakfast at the motel and headed out for my 30-minute drive to the preserve.

The morning was very cloudy, threatening rain, but only sprinkling a bit. When I reached my first stop at the preserve, it was raining in earnest. My camera equipment is weather resistant, so I didn’t worry much about taking it out in the weather. So, I headed down the trail which winds through the longleaf pine savannah and crossed a section of dense undergrowth (via a low boardwalk) into Shoestring Island — a beautiful opening in the woods that is dotted with longleaf pines, carpeted with savannah grasses, and bordered by dense and impenetrable pocosin.

At this time of year, there are several rare plant species in the area — some that I had hoped to find in flower. The first of these is Lysimachia asperulifolia or Rough-leaved Loosestrife. It is a plant which is federally protected and is endemic to a handful of counties in North and South Carolina. As far as I know, the largest population is found in the Green Swamp Preserve. Here is an image of the single plant I found in bloom on this trip:

Rough-leaved Loosestrife

Although I found only one plant in flower, there were several more plants nearby that were in bud:

Having bright yellow, star-shaped flowers and growing to almost 2 feet (60 cm) tall, it’s very easy to see as it rises above the lush green savannah grasses. Notice the whorl of four leaves that helps distinguish this species from other similar ones.

At this point, the rain began to lessen somewhat, and that was encouraging. I found myself in an area of Shoestring Island which also provides habitat for the native orchid, Cleistesiopsis oricamporum or Small Coastal Plain Spreading Pogonia orchid. This is one of two similar species that are found along the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plains from Louisiana, east to Florida, and north to North Carolina. It was reaching the end of its short bloom season, so I was fortunate to find a few that were still in pretty good shape:

Within just a short distance of the second one I photographed, I saw a spike of small white flowers poking above the grasses. This was one of the Ladies’-tresses orchids called Spiranthes praecox or Grass-leaved Ladies’-tresses orchid, also known as Greenvein Ladies’-tresses orchid. You might remember that I had photographed one of these in the Francis Marion National Forest the day before. See the images of that one Here. So I was not very surprised to find one currently blooming in the Green Swamp Preserve:

The other orchid species I had hoped to find was Cleistesiopsis divaricata or Large Coastal Plain Spreading Pogonia orchid. In the Carolinas, this is one is more frequently seen than the Small Coastal Plain Spreading Pogonia orchid. Besides the strong color difference, the Large Coastal Plain Spreading Pogonia orchid has flowers almost twice the size of the Small Coastal Plain Spreading Pogonia orchid. It is also about twice as tall, coming in at about 2 feet (60 cm). Neither species is considered to be a “clumping” species but are found scattered here and there in the open savannah. From quite a distance, it was easy to the light pink flowers. Here are a few shots of the dozen or so plants I photographed:

This species usually blooms a week later than the Small Coastal Plain Spreading Pogonia orchid, so I was not surprised to find a few still in tight bud:

This is also the season for Stenanthium densum or Crow Poison also known as Osceola’s Plume and Black Snakeroot. This species was formerly known as Zigadenus densus and has suffered the fate of being moved in and out of different genus classifications. Regardless, the 3-foot (1-meter) tall spikes of this species tower above the savannah grasses, and are difficult to ignore:

Hoping to seek shelter back in my truck, I took the footpath out of the savanna. But before I could get very far, I noticed the strange, curled shape of another white wildflower, Chamaelirium luteum or Fairy Wand. Some know this plant as Devil’s Bit. As the flower spike matures, it takes on a decidedly curled aspect. There were many hundred spikes of this species scattered in a large area near the exiting spot of the savannah — more than I had ever seen at this location:

As I crossed the boardwalk through the pocosin, I noticed another white wildflower — one that I had seen in the previous day in the Francis Marion National Forest — Rhododendron atlanticum or Coastal Dwarf Azalea. Even from a distance, it’s sweet, floral fragrance is readily apparent:

I finally reached the safety of my truck. Towels had been packed for just such an event, and I used several of them to dry both my camera equipment and myself. The next stop would be about 40 minutes away in the small town of Boiling Spring Lakes. There are several roadside ditches in that area which have provided many good specimens of Pogonia ophioglossoides or Rose Pogonia orchids in the past, and I was hoping that they would be in good numbers this year, as well.

After stopping briefly at the local Subway Sandwich Shop in the small town of Supply, just south of the Green Swamp Preserve, I headed east on Hwy. 17 toward Boiling Spring Lakes. My photography friends and I have been going to this spot for years, and it has not let us down. We have found both Cleistesiopsis species here as well as many Dionaea muscipula or Venus’ Fly-trap plants in the area. So, it’s a must-stop for photography.

The rain had picked back up, and I knew it would be difficult to keep from getting wet once again. As I drove slowly past the ditch where we had seen the Rose Pogonia orchids last year, I was amazed at the sight of thousands of them in full bloom! Come Hell or high water, I was not going to let this photography opportunity pass me by. I parked the truck on the roadside shoulder, gathered my equipment, and jumped into the ditch which was fortunately not yet full of water. Here are a few shots where I tried to capture the extent of the large number of flowering plants in the ditch:

Here are a few close-ups of some of these beautiful wildflowers. I’m including these especially for my photography buddy, Skip Pudney, who moved from a town near this area all the way to east Texas. I hope this brings back fond memories of some of our previous trips to Boiling Spring Lakes…:

The day was still young, and I was supposed to meet another good photographer friend, Kelvin Taylor in Jacksonville, North Carolina, where we would drive down to the Croatan National Forest to see if we could locate the spot where he had recently seen Pinguicula pumila or Dwarf Butterwort in flower. I had photographed this species in Florida a few months previous, but really wanted to see it in the Carolinas.

I arrived at the motel where my speaking engagement was scheduled that evening for a meeting of the North Carolina Native Plant Society. As I drove into the parking lot, Kelvin was just getting out of his car — great timing! Kelvin transferred his camera gear into my truck, and we headed south on Highway 24 where we would drive into the Croatan NF. I had been to this particular area the year before, but it was during the late summer when the Dwarf Butterwort was not in flower. Here is a link to that trip report.

With great anticipation, we arrived to the sandy, roadside pull-off where we would begin the short hike to the site. It was still quite overcast — great for photography, but I was afraid that the flowers would be closed because of lack of light. Some Pinguicula species’ flowers close at night, and it would be quite a disappointment for me to get there and find the flowers closed. The hike was a short one, and Kelvin was in the lead. I remember his yell of excitement as he saw hundreds of the tiny flowers in full bloom! He could not have been more excited than I was to see them. Fearing that it would start raining again, we wasted no time in setting up our camera equipment. We busied ourselves preparing the area for photography. Because the plants grow mostly hidden in the grass, we had to trim some of the grass from around the plants to get a better, more unobstructed view. Here are some images of the entire plant, with flowering stem and a close-up of the plant showing the sticky leaves that allow the plant to capture small insects:

The flowers are rather simple, but nonetheless handsome. We saw several variations in color, including white flowers with a yellow color in the center, white flowers with a pinkish-purple color in the center, and light purple flowers with a purple center:

I can’t tell you how glad I was to finally be able to photograph these in the Carolinas.

A little distance away on the edge of a wet ditch, I found a Calopogon pallidus or Pale Grass-pink orchid in perfect bloom:

About 10 feet (3 meters) from the orchid, there were several very large Dionaea muscipula or Venus’ Fly-trap plants with 1.5-inch (~4-cm) traps:

And scattered all around them in the mud were the rosettes of sticky traps of Drosera capillaris or Pink Sundew:

What a site, and what a day! I believe we were very fortunate to have both the diffused light from an overcast sky as well as some Dwarf Butterworts that ignored the lack of light and bloomed for us. This area of the Atlantic Coastal Plain is well-known for its diverse flora, but very few other areas exist where such wonderful examples of orchids and carnivorous plants can be found. Thankfully, these areas are protected for future generations to study and enjoy.

Stay tuned for days 3 and 4 of this wildflower adventure…

–Jim