Promise of things to come… — 2016-07-17

A friend of mine is planning a trip from south Florida to the Carolina mountains in ten days, so I needed to check on the status of some orchid species near the location where he will be staying. There are several orchid species in the Pisgah National Forest near Brevard, North Carolina, that are usually in bloom at the end of July or the first part of August. These are Triphora trianthophora or Three-birds orchid, Tipularia discolor or Crane-fly orchid, Platanthera ciliaris or Yellow Fringed orchid, and Spiranthes lacera var. gracilis or Slender Ladies’-tresses orchid. I didn’t expect to see any of these in flower, just in bud, but I wanted to make sure I could give him directions to the plants.

On the way up the Blue Ridge Escarpment to Brevard, I usually take U.S. Hwy. 276. When I reached the upper parts of Greenville County, South Carolina, I began to see a good bit of color along the roadside. One of these flowers was Centrosema virginiana or Spurred Butterfly Pea. It is a trailing vine which tends to twist up into the tall grasses along the edge of the road. I pulled over and parked near the flowers so that I could see them up close. As I approached the plants, I noticed a number of small, black bees visiting the flowers. I had set up my tripod and begun taking pictures when I noticed one particular flower which had a Peucetia viridans or Green Lynx spider perched on the edge of the flower. As I looked even closer, I noticed that it had captured one of those tiny, black bees:

Spurred Butterfly Pea with Green Lynx Spider

There were hundreds of these flowers in full bloom along this stretch of road. Here is another shot a couple of flowers of the Spurred Butterfly Pea; one of which is host to one of those pollinating bees:

The drive up to Brevard was refreshing, as it always is. U.S. Hwy. 276 winds its way through the southern mountains with its towering oaks, white pines, and poplars; their long limbs meeting above the highway and forming a shady arch of bright green. It’s always cooler in that environment by about 5-10 degrees (F). Even in the early morning, it was already about 75 degrees (F) or 24 degrees (C) in my hometown of Greenville, so the lower temperature was welcome.

I soon arrived in Brevard and made my way to the entrance of the Pisgah National Forest. The traffic along U.S. Hwy 276 in the Forest was quite heavy, and I attributed it to the fact that it was a bright, clear, Sunday morning. Lots of locals and tourists were flocking to the mountains to take advantage of many the numerous waterfalls and hiking trails that the Pisgah NF provides. I found the pull-off that is near a good site for Triphora trianthophora or Three-birds orchids. After gathering my gear, I headed of into the woods to see if I could locate any of the plants. It was early for them to be in flower — the earliest I had seen them in bloom was July 25 — the first week in August being the usual bloom time in the Pisgah NF.

Approaching one spot where I see the plants every year, I found a couple of plants that were already up and showing buds:

These were pretty far along, and they may actually be in bloom in another ten days to two weeks. Of course, the flowering is significantly dependent on several factors including the weather. As I continued my search, I came across a few plants that were just poking out of the thick leaf litter:

Seeing these delicate plants just coming up I decided to stop my search, fearing that I might actually be trampling some of the ones that I couldn’t see. On my way back out of the woods, I spotted a few Tipularia discolor or Crane-fly orchids already out of the ground and in bud:

I packed my camera gear and headed up the road to my next location. As I drove up the forest service road, I was pleased to see a number of brightly colored Rudbeckia hirta or Black-eyed Susan in the roadside ditch:

As it turned out, this was a great roadside site, because it provided a good environment for several other beautiful wildflowers. One of these is a flowering plant I’ve seen on numerous other occasions, Sabatia angularis or Common Rosepink. The fragrance is delightful, and the light pink flowers looked like a little bouquet in the weeds:

In addition, I saw a plant with lots of little white flowers. This is Euphorbia pubentissima or False Flowering spurge:

There were also numbers of Pycnanthemum incanum or Hoary Mountain mint plants whose crushed leaves give off a delightfully minty fragrance:

Reluctantly, I left this spot because I could hear thunder in the distance. While driving to my final location, I saw a flash of red out of the corner of my eye. It was a patch of Monarda didyma or Scarlet beebalm, wet with spray from a small waterfall:

Across the road from these bright red flowers was a large population of the frequently seen Prunella vulgaris or Common Selfheal. Up close, its flowers look like a species of native orchid that is found in the area, but Common Selfheal is not an orchid:

What was even more special was what I saw nestled in the midst of these purple flowers — a white form of Common Selfheal! I had never even heard of this white form, much less ever come across one:

The thunder was getting much louder, and it started to pour rain. I didn’t want to get drenched as I was a few days ago on a field trip with some California friends, so I quickly stowed my camera gear and hopped into the truck. The rain was quite heavy, but it didn’t last very long — just a summer thunderstorm.

I reached the final location where I hoped to see signs of two quite different orchid species — Platanthera ciliaris or Yellow Fringed orchid, and Spiranthes lacera var. gracilis or Slender Ladies’-tresses orchid. Pulling off on a sandy, roadside patch, I noticed some budding plants in the distance. These were buds of the Yellow Fringed orchid:

Although they were not in bloom, the large number of buds on these plants promises to provide some gorgeous flowers in the near future. Just above these plants along the roadside were the huge flowering shrubs of Rhododendron maximum or Rosebay Rhododendron:

In the shade, just under the branches of the Rosebay Rhododendron, was a little group of a 1-inch tall (2.5 cm) yellow-orange fungus:

The roadside grasses where Spiranthes lacera var. gracilis usually blooms were quite tall. I looked around a bit in the area, but I was afraid to walk around very much, since I’m not sure I could have seen the thin spikes of this orchid species when it was not in flower. So, I don’t have any images of this species in bud.

It was time to head back home. I had found what I came to see plus quite a few other spectacular wildflowers. I think my friend will be happy with what he finds in the Pisgah National Forest. On the way back down the mountain, I noticed a tall plant sporting a half-dozen red-orange flowers — a Lilium superbum or Turk’s-cap lily. This particular specimen was a relatively small plant. I’ve seen them up to 9 feet tall (3 meters) and sporting up to 25-30 flowers. However, I was pleased to find this one on my way back home. I took one shot of the plant from a distance:

The sun was out in force, and I figured I would not be able to get a very good close-up of the flowers because of the harsh light. So I photographed the flowers from underneath against the clear blue sky. Here is the result:

Another great day trip – this time with loads of color (except, of course, those plants that were just in bud). Even though I’ve seen many of these plants in flower in previous years, I’m still awestruck when I come across them in the wild. It’s sort of like how I’m still amazed at the color of the leaves in autumn. I suppose that makes me a kid when it comes to nature. I hope I never grow out of it…

–Jim