White Showy Orchis, Ephemerals and Tree/Shrub Blooms

White Showy Orchis (note last years seed pod)

I spent a beautiful morning roaming the woods near my home under the guise of turkey hunting. I had seen these Showy Orchis last year before they bloomed and was pleased to see them blooming this year. I also found my first all white one. Needless to say my shotgun was forgotten somewhere on a log for a good portion of the morning. This is why I am almost no threat to the turkey population. Many other ephemerals were seen and photographed. I will also post several trees and shrubs I saw blooming this week within the New River Gorge National River.

White Showy Orchis

Showy Orchis

Mitrewort

Res-Spotted Newt or Red Eft

Purple Trillium

Foam Flower

Perfoliate Bellflower

Jack-In-The-Pulpit

This is the 'holler' where I found these wildflowers this morning.
To the left is another stream with this raised area between them. 

Virginia pennywort

Showy Orchis

Purple Trillium

Woodland Anemone 

Carolina Silver Bell

Carolina Silver Bell

Dogwood


Wild Blueberry

Dogwood

  

Hawthorn

Botanising from SC to WV in One Day

During a family vacation in the Carolinas, I had the opportunity to visit the

Anne Springs Close Greenway, a private Nature Preserve in Fort Mill, SC.
 I was there early Friday morning and when we arrived home Friday evening, I headed to the Brush Creek Preserve near my home in WV.  It's interesting to see the variety and similarities that 2400 feet elavation difference and 200 miles separation makes. At Anne Springs, I saw Catesby Trillium (Trillium catesbaei) along with several others. 

Catesby Trillium (Trillium catesbaei)

The whole time I was in SC, I was worried I would miss peak bloom at Brush Creek. But, I hit it perfect this evening. Below are WV pctures

Bloodroot

Large-Flowered Trillium (Trillium grandiflorum) and
Long Spurred Violet

Purple Trillium or Erect Trillium

A Patch of the thousands of Large Flowered Trillium 

Large Flowered Trillium 

Mitrewort

Mitrewort

Wild Ginger

Foam Flower

Trout Lilly

Gaywings or Fringed Polygala

Gaywings or Fringed Polygala

Creeping Phlox

Pussytoes and Creeping Phlox on a shale barren

Female Pussytoes

Male Pussytoes 

It'sThe Most, Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

Spring Wildflower season is one of my favorite times. Today, I spent some time along New River, where I now can find almost every ephemeral wildflower that I have found scattered in several sites. And, I found a new wildflower for my quest to photograph as many wildflower in West Virginia as possible. Twinleaf. I had seen it only in Virginia one time, several years ago. 

   #351 - Twinleaf 

   It is described as endangered or threatened in several surrounding states. I knew about it but had never seen it, so it seems scarce here as well.







                   
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Twinleaf and Phlox

Squirrel Corn One of Three Members of Fumariaceae Family

Dutchman's Britches One of Three Members of Fumariaceae Family

Yellow Fumewort One of Three Members of Fumariaceae Family

Blue Cohosh

Purple Trillium

Purple Trillium

Red Toadstool Trillium

Dwarf Larkspur

Virginia Spring Beauty

Carolina Spring Beauty

Dwarf Ginseng 

Violet, Spring Beauty and Chickweed