Gourmet Food From the Field

Today, I checked my Morel honey hole. By this time of the year, I am usually worrying about the Morel season about to end, but I found the first ones today. This is about three weeks later than a typical year. Some years there are dozens and some there are hundreds. There were only six today and I hope more soon. I brought them home and gathered a few ramps as well. I diced them and cooked them in scrambled eggs and had more morels on the side. Ramps are often described as wild leeks and grow wild in th e Appalachians. They are delicious raw, cooked or mixed in eggs, potatoes, soups or many other combinations. Their downfall is the wicked bad breath that is left behind; eat too many and you will exude their essence through the pores in your skin. But a few cooked ones will only cause consternation for those you come into close contact for a couple of days.

First Morel of the Year

Ramps- They will produce an interesting bloom later in the year

Going Back in Time

I found out today that you can go back in time, sort of. If you travel North about a degree and a half and climb to about 3800 feet, you can revisit Spring. I joined the men of our church on Friday at Summit Lake in the Monongahela National forest for a camping trip. I wanted to fish a little, but was more interested in the hiking and wildflowers. Well this morning I set out with a fly rod,  two cameras and a pack. Seven hours later, I had made an eight mile round trip, caught no fish but had seen dozens of ephemerals,  many which had  already bloomed and gone here at 3000 feet and 2000 feet nearby.  The Trout Lillies were amazing, there were thousands of plants, millions maybe kajillions. I searched in vain for the white variety. The White and Red Trillium were fresh and Painted Trillium had just about fully opened. Showy Orchis were there but no buds yet. A partially opened Jack-in-the-Pulpit, Squirrel Corn, Dutchmen Breeches, a Viburnum, Rue Anemone, Dwarf Ginseng and others. On a side trip to the bog at Cranberry Glade I saw Marsh Marigold and wonder of wonders, Skunk Cabbage, A flower that I searched for in vain through most of March. They were everywhere in the bog and a few still had fresh blooms.

#43- Dwarf Ginseng

#44- Hobblebush Viburnum (Not Quite Fully Blooming Yet, the outer flowers are sterile)

#45- Painted Trillium

Showy Orchis Growing in Rock Cleft

Trout Lilly Everywhere

#46- Skunk Cabbage

#47- Marsh Marigold

#48- Wild Phlox

#49- Garlic Mustard, Another European Import from 150 years ago

#50- Dutchman's Breeches

Mixed Ephemerals: Red Trillium, Carolina Beauty, False Rue Anemone, Trout Lilly

A Sedge

Piney Canyon

Piney Canyon is home to Piney River, an important feature in the history of Beckley, WV.  It was a travel route by foot and horse and then a railroad for timber and coal. The cities founder had a grist mill on its waters.It is relatively quite today with only an occasional train. The coal mines are gone, the early 20th century community has vanished with almost no trace. It is a great place to hike and spot wildflowers. I had another after school event, so I spent an hour or so hiking into and then out of the canyon, once again in shirt and tie like a country gentleman.

#40- Foam Flower

#41- Sweet White Violet

Mixed Group- Spurred Violet, Chickweed and Sweet White Violet

Red Trillium

Had another after school meeting, so I spent an hour or so at Grandview Park, part of the New River Gorge National River. I found a nice rock cliff with Squirrel Corn growing all around its base. A new West Virginia wildflower for me, I have seen it in other states.

#38- Squirrel Corn

#39- Canada Violet

#42- Chickweed...non-native

Puzzled

Beautiful day which was spent with grand kids, grand kids ballgames and mowing the yard, so was only able to get outside around the house for a few minutes at dusk. What puzzles me is the red nodding trillium that are found in my immediate neighborhood. My home is at 3000 feet and the elevation around my house goes up to 3400 feet in areas that I visit looking for wild flowers,wild turkey and morels. The only trillium that I find near here are Painted Trillium in the woods behind my home and a red trillium that nods, often below the leaves. There are no white trillium nor, normal red trillium. They are blooming now and it reminds me that I have never been sure if it is a local quirk of Red Trillium or a red variety of one of the nodding or bent trillium's. I wish I was good at keying wildflowers, but it always leaves me uncertain. This one has a dark red ovary, green sepals and off white stamens. My best guess is that the red ovary makes it Red Trillium (Trillium erectum). Any Thoughts? 

Unknown Trillium- photo from today

Unknown Trillium (older photo)

#37- Purple Dead Nettle

Brush Creek and Trillium

I went to Brush Creek after work today and put in a couple of miles hiking. I was specifically after what I think is a 2nd red Trillium that is there, the Southern Red Trillium. I found it last year and had helping ID'ing it as Trillium sulcatum, Southern Red Trillium. I will high light the two below. I found several new wildflowers in bloom and all of the Trillium were at peak bloom with heavy rain coming tonight to knock them down. I had to take pictures of every new clusters of trillium, in every possible position, against a tree, against a rock, against moss, ferns. There were so many and they looked great and they demanded to be photographed; I mean it, I heard them: "Pssstt, hey, over here, please take our picture. You have to, we will never look this good again, we'll be gone soon. We look better than the last twenty pictures you took of trillium. Pleeeeease."
Many pictures to follow, I may need to add captions later, Its been a long day and another one tomorrow. 

#27- Southern Red Trillium (Trillium sulcatum)

Red trillium (Trillium erectum)

Southern Red Trillium

#36- Pussytoes

#28- Serviceberry (We call'em 'sarvice' and we eat them)

#29- Hispid Buttercup ?

#30- Ragwort

#31- Common Purple Violet

#32- Red Bud

#33- Black Mustard

#34- Wild Geranium 

#35- Wild Blue Phlox

Golden Alexander

Spring Continues to Advance

Roaming around the house and seeing a lot of Spring wildflowers coming into bloom. Headed to Brush Creek to catch Trillium at their peak soon and then next weekend I will be in the highlands of Webster and Pocahontas Counties, where I hope to catch early Spring again. I've seen it at 2000 and 3000 feet, so 3400+ feet should be a nice rerun. 

        Trailing Arbutus is one of my favorite early Spring flowers. I can never remember the name though, I have to go through a mental trial and error before I get it. The school where I work keeps having wildflowers appear in the strangest places and times. I poured a cup of coffee out of my office window one day and saw two blooms of Trailing Arbutus in the lawn. It had only a couple of stunted leaves from being mowed all of the time, but still produces a couple of blooms each year. I also stumbled on Nodding Ladies Tresses and Slender Ladies Tresses. You need to looking all of the time. You never know. 

#24- Trailing Arbutus

#25- Bluet

#26- Gray Willow

Odd

Nothing odd, but today I was hiking near the town of Odd. The elevation there is about 600 feet higher than Camp Creek and the wildflowers near Odd about 3-4 days behind those at Camp Creek. I found three new ones.

#21-False  Rue Anemone

#22- Round-leaved Yellow Violet

                                                #23- Halberd-leaved Violet -Viola hastata

WOW

Brush Creek has came to life. I was there six days ago and not one flower petal was spotted. Today, the Hepatica have reached full bloom, in many variations of color. Trillium have just begun to open with a dozen or so Large Flowering and Red Trillium in bloom. In just a few more days it will be hundreds. I stopped by Camp Creek for a few minutes as well and saw the Bloodroot, Cut-Leaf Toothwort and the flower in the last picture. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so many pictures follow. There are a few unknown that I will label as I I.D. them. All help is appreciated.

#12 Hepatica-White, Blue, Lavender, 

Various Colors Together

WOW

Six Sepals and Twelve Sepals on Same Plant 

These Hepatica Blooms Were the Size of a Quarter

#13 Spicebush

#14 Long Spurred Violet

#15 Red Trillium

#16 ???

#17- Broad-Leaved Sedge

#18- Early Saxifrage

#19- Cut Leaf Toothwort

I thought this was another Hepatica until I got closer. Under the flower is two small leaves and a flower bud in the center of each leaf. 

#20- Rue Anemone