Spring- Almost- I Thought

Grand kids are all practicing baseball or softball, so today while one practiced at the Grandview section of  the New River Gorge National River, two others and I went on a short hike in upper 50's tempertures. Even though it is several weeks before the first wildflowers, I found myself scanning. The overlook was great today and at home I saw the first crocuses. 

         

  I also heard the first 'Spring Peepers.' These may be Wood Frogs, having just emerged from logs and stumps after a minimum numbers of  warm enough days. They gather at ephemeral water holes to make war and love. Their story is fascinating as is much of the natural world. Find and read George Constantz's Hollows, Peepers and Highlanders for a look at West Virginia's natural wonders.

       Whoa, whats that, we're under a winter weather advisory? Five inches of snow and 25 degree temperatures for the next few nights? Well, Spring can't be stopped, it is almost here, and I need to reread that book anyways....

Orchids in August

I've been trying to decide if the Spring, Summer or Fall Orchids are my favorite. My conclusion is that whatever is in bloom is my favorite. August seems to be the month that a sense of urgency begins to be felt by all life. Even though the first frost in late September is still about five or six weeks away, I already feel and see the signs of impending cold weather. Deer are increasingly active, hummingbirds are frantic, birds can be seen in loose flocks and wildflowers bloom and die back quickly.  

       Yellow Fringed Orchids are particularly showy. It seems that they know they are in competition for the affection of pollinators and don't have time to play around. They flaunt their availability as if they cannot wait until tomorrow. 

#235- Yellow Fringed Orchid

A neighbor pointed out the Purple Fringeless Orchid to me several years ago. I am able to photograph them each year if I can find them in time. This year we were hunting them by August 1 but had no luck. He has an acre or two of typical wet field full of Iron Weed, Steeplebush, St. Johns Wort and etc. and the Orchid is typically shorter than everything else there. Last year a beautiful, perfect one bloomed across the road in a cow field and was promptly eaten. So he had been making regular trips through the field looking for the orchids and having no luck and I had been once. Today, I wore long rubber boots and scoured the field with no luck and then tried a nearby field where Ladies Tresses had been seen but no Purple Fringeless. But I spotted two plants that were far past prime, but had a couple of nice blooms. This plant is not know in Raleigh County, West Virginia and his efforts to report it have not been successful. 

#236- Purple Fringeless Orchid 

Purple Fringeless Orchid 

Purple Fringeless Orchid  with lighter bloom

 I had spotted the winter leaves of Crane-fly Orchid early in the Spring at Grandview a part of the New River National River. I started making trips to look for the bloom on July 25th. There was nothing where the leaves were but I did spot four newly emerged flower spikes nearby and made three trips before finding one in bloom on August the 5th. This was a first time sighting for me.

#237- Crane-fly Orchid

Crane-fly Orchid

Crane-fly Orchid- Notice the sticky pollinaria that will attach to a moth to be transferred to another plant

The Crane-Fly Orchid two weeks before

 Downy Rattlesnake Orchid is one of five or so Orchids that grow on the farm where I live. The picture below is an amateurishly stitched together series of three pictures. It is a difficult plant to show in its entirety. You can see several seed pods from last year around the bottom. Every time I see these plants, I stop and look for its cousin the Lesser Rattlesnake Orchid.

#238- Downy Rattlesnake Orchid

Downy Rattlesnake Orchid

Wildflowers on the iPad Camera

I was at Grandview Park last week and found some time to hike back into the area where I have found many Spring ephemerals. I had no camera but did have a 3rd generation iPad and decided to give it a try. The woods were so dense, I walked around for close to an hour before I spotted Striped Wintergreen and a couple of mushrooms. An ephemeral is about the only plant that stands a chance in a place like that.
        I was somewhat impressed with the iPad photo, so I decided to use it for all of the photos in this post. Most were from arounf my home.

#152- Striped Wintergreen

#153- Poke Milkweed

Poke Milkweed

#154- Alumroot

Close Up of Alumroot Flower

 The Wild Hydrangea below grows in front of my house on the edge of the road. I have trimmed around it for years and try to protect it but the Department of Highways comes through once a year to with a brush trimmer and one year a right of way crew sprayed herbicide on everything along the road but spared this at my request. Even so, it was the only thing that died back. But, its a survivor.

#155- Wild Hydrangea

Chinquapin is a native plant that produces small Chestnut like nuts .The small black wasp had gathered a lot of pollen on its rear legs and was working these blooms thoroughly. 

#156- Chinkapin or Allegheny Chinquapin

 I look at this Orange Daylilly as a marker plant. Anytime I am in the woods and see this, I know a home site or cemetery is close by. This is an old fashioned pass along plant that was introduced from Asia. 

#157- Orange Daylilly

Grandview Again

News Bulletin: A tall, thin man, in a bright yellow shirt, blue slacks and fashionably coordinated tie, has been spotted in the Grandview section of the New River Gorge National River roaming around in the woods. No explanation can be offered for this; the only clue is that it is reported that he often is heard muttering things like, 'I know I saw Putty Root here last year' or 'Was that Pennywort in this holler or the next one over?' If you spot this man please gently remind him that he has a meeting later in the evening and to please not get his shoes or clothes muddy. His wife will appreciate that. 


Grandview has an impressive display each year of this Rhododendron, Catawba or Rosebay Rhododendron. Some are planted, but back on the trails and hanging on cliffs inaccessible to planting you will find the native plant that is thought by many to be the state flower. Actually the WV state flower is  Rhododendron Maximum or Great Laurel, a white variety that will bloom later in the year.  This was an excellent example that was hanging below one of the more remote overlooks. 

#95- Catawba or Rosebay Rhododendron

Most Showy Orchis is gone, I did find a couple of fresh ones that begged to be photographed 

And the Squaw Root is still going strong 

Light Colored Orchids

Off to Grandview for a hour or so to see what has bloomed in the past couple of weeks. My first find was a Pink Lady Slipper. It was very light colored and also was on a flat rock where there could not have been more than 4-6 inches of soil. 

#75- Pink Lady Slipper

I then revisited the area where I had found only one Showy Orchis two weeks ago and found many at peak bloom today. One cluster of three were almost white. 

Showy Orchis, light pink, almost white

Showy Orchis, normal color

The next find was Virginia Pennywort, a member of the Gentian family and is mycotrophic, a three way symbiotic relationship involving a mycorrhizal fungus and the roots of a woody plant. This is a complex and interesting relationship; I had assumed it was parasitic, but not quite, read more here.

#76- Virginia Pennywort

Virginia Pennywort

#77- Striped Maple or Moosewood

#78- Woodland Stonecrop

#79- Fleabane

Colorful Fungi

Grandview is quickly becoming one of my favorite places to hike and search for wildflowers                                             

First Orchid of the Season

Grandview has produced one of my favorite wildflowers and the first orchid of the year. Showy Orchis.

#51- Showy Orchis 

It took quite awhile for me to find these in West Virginia even though they are wide spread. I remember making many trips along the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail in Gatlinburg, TN during family vacations. We spend time there about every year and I  hit the road every morning at daylight and get a couple hours of hiking in then back to the motel to take the family to breakfast and start the daily tourist things. Now days the grand kids are at the perfect age to tag along and they enjoy the mountains as much as I do.
           I also found a few more wildflowers at Grandview today.

#52- Squaw Root (If Audubon calls it a flower, so do I)

#53 Fire Pink

#54- Appalachian barren strawberry

#55 -Carolina Silverbell  (Mountain Silverbell) some say they're the same, others do not

#56- Sweet Cicely

The violet below is one that I find several of every year  in this one area of 

Grandview. It is in the same area as Canada Violets, so it may be a color variation. 

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

Grandview and Spring.... Finally!!

I had an hour or so after school to kill before an evening meeting so I made a quick trip to Grandview Park. Grandview was a popular state park for many years but now is part of the New River Gorge National River and has many overlooks and trails.

One of Grandviews Namesakes

Since the cool weather and surprise snowstorm six days ago, the weather has moderated and the wildflowers are springing into action. I was wearing a tie and dress shoes so I probably resembled one of the English country gentlemen hiking in the woods. I thought I looked pretty snazzy myself.

I found two wildflowers that I thought were Harbinger of Spring and Spring Beauty, but after consulting several sources, I wasn't so sure.  The leaves on both just don't look right. The Harbinger of Spring is shown in references as having fern like leaves, not like those shown below 

UPDATE: I am thinking maybe Star Chickweed, with some help from esh_ga from Georgia a Gardenweb forum member. #6 for the Big Year.

This one that I was sure is Spring Beauty is described in most sources as having lanceolate or grass like leaves which did not fit this one. With some help I have came up with  Carolina Springbeauty- Claytonia caroliniana, a new flower for me and #7 in the Big Year. The difference between the two are described in this blog called Spring Beauty and the Bees 

I also stumbled on an over winter leaf from an orchid that I had searched for diligently but could not find.  The Crane-fly Orchid is a moth pollinated orchid that I hope to now see in bloom late this summer. 

I also saw this butterfly, one of the first of the year. It was a great hike, and I managed to stay clean and make a successful presentation before the Board of Education. 

Behold, my friends, the spring is come; the earth has gladly received the embraces of the sun, 

and we shall soon see the results of their love!

Sitting Bull