{"id":9131,"date":"2018-10-05T10:02:19","date_gmt":"2018-10-05T14:02:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jfowlerphotography.com\/?p=9131"},"modified":"2018-10-05T10:02:19","modified_gmt":"2018-10-05T14:02:19","slug":"fringed-gentian-in-northeast-georgia-blue-blue-blue-2018-10-04","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jfowlerphotography.net\/?p=9131","title":{"rendered":"Fringed Gentian in Northeast Georgia – Blue, Blue, Blue!– 2018-10-04"},"content":{"rendered":"

Because of its intensely vibrant blue (some would say “electric blue”) color, this beautiful Gentian<\/strong> species has evoked an emotional response from a number of writers\/poets over the years. Here are two poems that come to mind:<\/p>\n

Fringed Gentian<\/strong>
\nBy EMILY DICKINSON<\/p>\n

God made a little gentian;
\nIt tried to be a rose
\nAnd failed, and all the summer laughed.
\nBut just before the snows
\nThere came a purple creature
\nThat ravished all the hill;
\nAnd summer hid her forehead,
\nAnd mockery was still.
\nThe frosts were her condition;
\nThe Tyrian would not come
\nUntil the North evoked it.
\n“Creator! shall I bloom?”<\/p>\n

To the Fringed Gentian<\/strong>
\nBy WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT<\/p>\n

Thou blossom bright with autumn dew,
\nAnd colored with the heaven\u2019s own blue,
\nThat openest when the quiet light
\nSucceeds the keen and frosty night.<\/p>\n

Thou comest not when violets lean
\nO\u2019er wandering brooks and springs unseen,
\nOr columbines, in purple dressed,
\nNod o\u2019er the ground-bird\u2019s hidden nest.<\/p>\n

Thou waitest late and com\u2019st alone,
\nWhen woods are bare and birds are flown,
\nAnd frosts and shortening days portend
\nThe aged year is near his end.<\/p>\n

Then doth thy sweet and quiet eye
\nLook through its fringes to the sky,
\nBlue-blue-as if that sky let fall
\nA flower from its cerulean wall.<\/p>\n

I would that thus, when I shall see
\nThe hour of death draw near to me,
\nHope, blossoming within my heart,
\nMay look to heaven as I depart.<\/p>\n

For the past few years, I’ve set aside some time in early October to make the trip to northeast Georgia to see and photograph a large population of Gentianopsis crinita<\/em> or Greater Fringed Gentian<\/strong>. This population, on private property, is the largest in Georgia, and it is possibly the southern-most population of this Gentian<\/strong> species in North America. There are only a couple of populations in North Carolina and a couple in Virginia — this is a northern plant. For me, it was important to visit the site this year, because I understand that the property is up for development. In fact, I did see a “For Sale” sign at the edge of the property, but it was mostly covered up by the weedy growth that makes up the preponderance of vegetation in the gently sloping, mountain meadow.<\/p>\n

\"Greater<\/a>Greater Fringed Gentian<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

I picked a “bluebird” day with lots of bright sunshine, because it really seems to bring out the color and texture of the flowers more so than by using a fill flash to illuminate them. Normally, I would prefer a generally overcast day with diffused light, which works well with most wildflowers. Another good reason to wish for a sunny day is because the flowers are diurnal, opening up on sunny days, while remaining tightly closed on cloudy days and during the night. <\/p>\n

When I arrived at the site after a 2.5-hour drive from my home in South Carolina, I could see that the field was in good shape even though it had not been bush-hogged in a couple of years. Greater Fringed Gentian<\/strong> plants are tall — some were more than 3 feet (1 meter) tall, and they tended to rise above all of the surrounding grassy foliage. The only other plants which were taller were some Rhus copallinum<\/em> or Winged Sumac<\/strong>. A few years ago, I managed to visit the site when the Winged Sumac<\/strong> was in it fall glory, with bright red leaves. I managed to photograph the Winged Sumac’s<\/strong> red leaves in only a single shot on this visit:<\/p>\n

\"Greater<\/p>\n

The Greater Fringed Gentian<\/strong> flowers arise from a single, multi-branched stem which sports as many as 12-15, 2-inch (5 cm) flowers. <\/p>\n

While I was there, many of the flowers were being visited by a number of Phoebis sennae<\/em> or Cloudless Sulphur Butterflies<\/strong>. These bright yellow creatures were flitting all over, sometimes flying directly in front of my face before lighting directly on the Gentian<\/strong> flowers and sipping nectar.<\/p>\n

\"Greater<\/p>\n

I spent about two hours finding the best plants to photograph. It was particularly difficult with many dozens of plants being in full bloom. Here are some additional images of these gorgeous flowers:<\/p>\n

\"Greater<\/p>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
\"Greater<\/td>\n\"Greater<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

\"Greater<\/p>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
\"Greater<\/td>\n\"Greater<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

\"Greater<\/p>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
\"Greater<\/td>\n\"Greater<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

There was one other Gentian<\/strong> species blooming at the site, and that was Gentianella quinquefolia<\/em> or Stiff Gentian<\/strong>. I had photographed that species on the Blue Ridge Parkway just a week or so ago, and I was pleased to see it occupying the same habitat as does the Greater Fringed Gentian<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
\"Stiff<\/td>\n\"Stiff<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

It was also evident that there had been some Asclepias<\/em> or Milkweed<\/strong> species blooming in the meadow earlier in the summer. The evidence of this is some exploding seed capsules, with the dark brown seeds and silky, white “parachutes” that will carry the seeds away at the slightest breeze:<\/p>\n

\"Asclepias<\/p>\n

Finally, there were a few occasions during this trip that I managed to do a face-plant into a spider web as I kneeled to set up the tripod. Turns out, there were many Argiope aurantia<\/em> or Black and Yellow Garden Spiders<\/strong> in the center of webs that were stretched between the limbs of Winged Sumac<\/strong> and the tallest of the Greater Fringed Gentian flowers<\/strong>. This was not a pleasant experience for sure, although it should not have been unexpected.<\/p>\n

\"Black<\/p>\n

I’m certainly glad I managed to hit the peak bloom of this wonderful and rare (for the Southeast) habitat. Too many of our botanical treasures are falling prey to development or to habitat changes that affect the water table. Perhaps a local or state conservation organization will move in and protect this unique site so that it can be enjoyed into the future. I might also mention that there are usually some Greater Fringed Gentian<\/strong> plants that grow along the access road, but the state DOT has seen fit to mow them down to the ground! I don’t blame the mowing crew, but I do blame their supervisor who has been told about these rare plants. Until someone in authority understands these things, then the destruction will continue… <\/p>\n

I will look forward to visiting this special site again, next year, provided that the Greater Fringed Gentian<\/strong> flowers have not been replaced with manicured fescue…<\/p>\n

Until next time,<\/p>\n

–Jim \t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Because of its intensely vibrant blue (some would say “electric blue”) color, this beautiful Gentian species has evoked an emotional response from a number of writers\/poets over the years. Here are two poems that come to mind: Fringed Gentian By EMILY DICKINSON God made a little gentian; It tried to be a rose And failed, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nFringed Gentian in Northeast Georgia - Blue, Blue, Blue!- 2018-10-04 - Jim Fowler Photography<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/jfowlerphotography.net\/?p=9131\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Fringed Gentian in Northeast Georgia - Blue, Blue, Blue!- 2018-10-04 - Jim Fowler Photography\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Because of its intensely vibrant blue (some would say “electric blue”) color, this beautiful Gentian species has evoked an emotional response from a number of writers\/poets over the years. Here are two poems that come to mind: Fringed Gentian By EMILY DICKINSON God made a little gentian; It tried to be a rose And failed, […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/jfowlerphotography.net\/?p=9131\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Jim Fowler Photography\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-10-05T14:02:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/c2.staticflickr.com\/2\/1964\/44205260105_4d96324a99_b.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jim\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/jfowlerphotography.net\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/jfowlerphotography.net\/\",\"name\":\"Jim Fowler Photography\",\"description\":\"Not just another nature blog...\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/jfowlerphotography.net\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/jfowlerphotography.net\/?p=9131#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/c2.staticflickr.com\/2\/1964\/44205260105_4d96324a99_b.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/c2.staticflickr.com\/2\/1964\/44205260105_4d96324a99_b.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/jfowlerphotography.net\/?p=9131#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/jfowlerphotography.net\/?p=9131\",\"name\":\"Fringed Gentian in Northeast Georgia - Blue, Blue, Blue!- 2018-10-04 - Jim Fowler Photography\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/jfowlerphotography.net\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/jfowlerphotography.net\/?p=9131#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2018-10-05T14:02:19+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-10-05T14:02:19+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/jfowlerphotography.net\/#\/schema\/person\/a98c73ec33318cfa13d0e6c828fb4a2a\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/jfowlerphotography.net\/?p=9131#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/jfowlerphotography.net\/?p=9131\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/jfowlerphotography.net\/?p=9131#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/jfowlerphotography.net\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Fringed Gentian in Northeast Georgia – Blue, Blue, Blue!– 2018-10-04\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/jfowlerphotography.net\/#\/schema\/person\/a98c73ec33318cfa13d0e6c828fb4a2a\",\"name\":\"Jim\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/jfowlerphotography.net\/#personlogo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/806932168e5a355ad2a5ae562ea55aeb?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/806932168e5a355ad2a5ae562ea55aeb?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Jim\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/jfowlerphotography.net\/?author=3\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Fringed Gentian in Northeast Georgia - Blue, Blue, Blue!- 2018-10-04 - Jim Fowler Photography","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/jfowlerphotography.net\/?p=9131","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Fringed Gentian in Northeast Georgia - Blue, Blue, Blue!- 2018-10-04 - Jim Fowler Photography","og_description":"Because of its intensely vibrant blue (some would say “electric blue”) color, this beautiful Gentian species has evoked an emotional response from a number of writers\/poets over the years. Here are two poems that come to mind: Fringed Gentian By EMILY DICKINSON God made a little gentian; It tried to be a rose And failed, […]","og_url":"https:\/\/jfowlerphotography.net\/?p=9131","og_site_name":"Jim Fowler Photography","article_published_time":"2018-10-05T14:02:19+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/c2.staticflickr.com\/2\/1964\/44205260105_4d96324a99_b.jpg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jim","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/jfowlerphotography.net\/#website","url":"https:\/\/jfowlerphotography.net\/","name":"Jim Fowler Photography","description":"Not just another nature blog...","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/jfowlerphotography.net\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-CA"},{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/jfowlerphotography.net\/?p=9131#primaryimage","inLanguage":"en-CA","url":"https:\/\/c2.staticflickr.com\/2\/1964\/44205260105_4d96324a99_b.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/c2.staticflickr.com\/2\/1964\/44205260105_4d96324a99_b.jpg"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/jfowlerphotography.net\/?p=9131#webpage","url":"https:\/\/jfowlerphotography.net\/?p=9131","name":"Fringed Gentian in Northeast Georgia - Blue, Blue, Blue!- 2018-10-04 - Jim Fowler Photography","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/jfowlerphotography.net\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/jfowlerphotography.net\/?p=9131#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2018-10-05T14:02:19+00:00","dateModified":"2018-10-05T14:02:19+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/jfowlerphotography.net\/#\/schema\/person\/a98c73ec33318cfa13d0e6c828fb4a2a"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/jfowlerphotography.net\/?p=9131#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-CA","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/jfowlerphotography.net\/?p=9131"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/jfowlerphotography.net\/?p=9131#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/jfowlerphotography.net\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Fringed Gentian in Northeast Georgia – Blue, Blue, Blue!– 2018-10-04"}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/jfowlerphotography.net\/#\/schema\/person\/a98c73ec33318cfa13d0e6c828fb4a2a","name":"Jim","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/jfowlerphotography.net\/#personlogo","inLanguage":"en-CA","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/806932168e5a355ad2a5ae562ea55aeb?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/806932168e5a355ad2a5ae562ea55aeb?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"Jim"},"url":"https:\/\/jfowlerphotography.net\/?author=3"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jfowlerphotography.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9131"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jfowlerphotography.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jfowlerphotography.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jfowlerphotography.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jfowlerphotography.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9131"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/jfowlerphotography.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9131\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jfowlerphotography.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9131"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jfowlerphotography.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9131"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jfowlerphotography.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9131"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}