Boykin's milkwort (Polygala boykinii)

May 12th, 2012. Milkworts have been blooming.

Polygala polygama (Racemed Milkwort). The Racemed Milkwort is probably the most widely distributed milkwort in Georgia.

A closer view of individual flowers

Another milkwort that appears to be rare in Georgia is Boykin’s Milkwort (Polygala boykinii). We saw a few plants in bloom beside the Red-cockaded Woodpecker Trail in May 2011. Just a few plants. This year, as we stopped along Starr Road, still in Jasper County, before we reached the Piedmont NWR, W spotted a patch of Boykin’s Milkwort plants beside the road.

A cluster of spikes seen from the truck. It’s easy to see how they might be overlooked.

A little closer, and…

closer still.

The leaves near the top of the spike are clearly alternate but...

are arranged in sets of five near the bottom of the spike.

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Closer views of the spike. Individual flowers are between 1/4 to ½ inches across.

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Closer views of the flowers. It was windy that day and difficult to get good shots of the individual flowers. These flowers are only about ¼ the size of the flowers of the Racemed Milkwort.

Polygala boykinii (Boykin's milkwort) is native of the United States where it’s found only in Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana.. In Georgia, it’s only been documented officially in a few counties - Houston, Randolph, Baker, Decatur and Seminole – in southwest Georgia. Our finds in Jasper and Jones counties would place this species two counties north of Houston County.
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Identification resources:
Southeastern Flora: Polygala boykinii (Boykin's milkwort)

Distribution:
United States Department of Agriculture Plants Database: Polygala boykinii (Boykin's milkwort)

Related post:
- Racemed Milkwort (Polygala polygama)

Fringeleaf Wild Petunia (Ruellia humulis)?

April 21st – May 4th. In the late afternoon of April 21st, we spotted a couple of short plants with lavender colored flowers blooming along Dry Branch Road in the Ogeechee Wildlife Management Area in Hancock County on April 21st.

April 21st. The plant is single stemmed. The stem is hairy with opposite leaves also covered with fine hairs, and blooms that open from the bottom of the stem to the top

April 21st. A buds developing in the axis between leaves and stem

April 21st. Developing buds near the base of the plant

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May 4th. Flowers near the top of the plant.

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Open flowers from different angles showing the stamen and anthers. In contrast to available photographs, the central lower lobes of the flowers had strong patches of purple rather than veining.

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A odd plant that we saw on April 21st. This appears to be a non-pigmented version of the lavender flowers. We didn’t see more of these variants.

I believe these plants are Ruellia humilis but would be happy for any correction to this identification

Ruellia humilis – known by the common names Fringeleaf wild petunia, Hairy Wild Petunia, Low Wild Petunia - is native to the eastern United States with the exception of the New England states and South Carolina. Although the USDA Plants Database U.S. map indicates that this species occurs in Georgia, there is no county distribution map indicating that there is no official documentation of this plant in Georgia. Similarly the University of North Carolina Herbarium In Georgia, it’s found in many counties throughout the state but more frequently in north Georgia and in southern counties. Alan Cressler has documented this plant at he Savannah Rapids Park in Columbia County, Georgia. We haven’t seen it anywhere other than Hancock County. This plant tends to blend into its surroundings so it is not surprising that it hasn’t bee reported frequently.
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Identification resources:
- Southeastern Flora: Ruellia humilis
- Alan Cressler: Ruellia humilis
- Missouri Plants: Ruellia humilis
- Vanderbilt University College of Arts and Sciences: Ruellia humilis (Fringeleaf Wild Petunia)
- Oklahoma University Biological Survey: Ruellia humilis

Distribution:
- United States Department of Agriculture Plants Database: Ruellia humilis (Fringeleaf Wild Petunia)
- University of North Carolina Herbarium: Ruellia humilis

Butterfly: Coral Hairstreak (Satyrium titus)

May 22nd, 2012. The Butterfly Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa) is blooming. Many butterflies – most noticeably the swallowtails - work these flowers. Smaller butterflies also work the flowers. Among these are Coral Hairstreaks (Satyrium titus). These photos follow a single Coral Hairstreak for just two minutes in its day.

Butterfly Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa) flowers are brilliant orange and attract butterflies, particularly the big ones such as the…

swallowtails. This Zebra Swallowtail (Eurytides marcellus) was happily working the flowers on this plant when it was repeatedly ‘buzzed’ by a Pipevine Swallowtail (Battus philenor). Both of the swallowtails flew off to another plant nearby. But quietly, and apparently unnoticed by the bigger butterflies, another small butterfly, a Coral Hairstreak was also working these flowers. You can see it in the lower left of this photo.

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The hairstreak then moved up to the top of this cluster of flowers and worked its way across them until the Zebra Swallowtail followed by the bickering Pipevine Swallowtail flew back to this plant.

The hairstreak dropped down under the flowers to avoid the conflict above. After the swallowtails left again, the hairstreak…

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climbed back onto the top of the flowers and continued working that flowers.

A close-up of the Coral Hairstreak. At this point, we left the hairstreak to work the flowers in peace.

The Coral Hairstreak (Satyrium titus) occurs in the northern counties in Georgia between mid-May to mid-August. The flowers of the Butterfly Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa) are a good place to look for them. We’ve seen them in Hancock and Jones counties in Georgia.
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Identification resources:
- Michael Beohm, West Central Georgia Butterflies: Coral Hairstreak (Satyrium titus)
- Butterflies and Moths of North America: Coral Hairstreak (Satyrium titus)
- BugGuide: Coral Hairstreak (Satyrium titus)

Appalachian Fameflowers Are Blooming!

May 26th, 2012. There’s a tiny granite outcrop by a rural road in Greene County that we visit regularly throughout the year. It’s on our way back from Hancock County. It’s probably not much more than 50’ x 20’ in area but it has some of the essential granite outcrop plants; Appalachian Stitchwort (Minuartia glabra), Elf Orpine (Diamorpha smallii), Grimmia moss, lichen and last, but not least, fairly large areas of Appalachian Fameflower (Phemeranthus teretifolius).

The Appalachian Fameflower is fascinating because flowers don’t open until late afternoon and then only for a few hours. If the flower is not fertilized by a passing insect while it is open, it will self-fertilize. We first saw this plant in bloom at the Rock and Shoals Natural Area near Athens in 2011. The flowers were closed when we arrived at the granite outcrop at 4:30 pm. As we photographed what we thought were buds, the flowers began to open until they were completed open after about 10 minutes.

Then, late last year, we found them at the granite outcrop in Greene County. Last week, we stopped by the outcrop. We couldn’t see the plants from the truck but when we got out, we could see carpets of the succulent leaves that heralded their ‘arrival’ again this year. Yesterday we stopped by again. The flowers weren’t immediately visible but, again, when we walked over to the outcrop we could see that the plants were blooming.

A small area carpeted with the fameflower plants.

A close up of the plant. This is a perennial and the black stub at the base of the succulent leaves is evidence that these plants are several years old.

An individual plant in bloom. The flowers are only about 1/2 inch in diameter.

A couple of flowers.

A single flower in profile. Individual flower stems may have several flowers. Developing buds are visible below the open flower.

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Individual flowers

This Variegated Fritillary (Euptoieta claudia) was actively working this patch of flowers and probably pollinating it at the same time.

Phemeranthus teretifolius is one of two Phemeranthus sp. that may be found in Georgia and the Carolinas. Phemeranthus teretifolius is known by several common names: Quill Fameflower, Appalachian Rock-pink, Appalachian Fameflower, or Rock Portulaca. Phemeranthus teretifolius is native to the United States: From Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, the Carolinas, Georgia and Alabama. Phemeranthus teretifolius is distributed more widely in the Piedmont in Georgia than is Phemeranthus mengesii.
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Identification resources:
- Natural and Naturalized Plants of the Carolinas and Georgia: Phemeranthus teretifolius (Appalachian Rock-pink, Appalachian Fameflower, Rock Portulaca)
- Carolina Nature: Appalachian Rock-pink, Talinum - Phemeranthus teretifolius

Distribution Map:
- United States Department of Agriculture Plants Database: Phemeranthus teretifolius (Quill Fameflower)
- University of North Carolina Herbarium: Phemeranthus teretifolius

Related post:
- Appalachian Fameflower (Phemeranthus teretifolius)
http://anybodyseenmyfocus.blogspot.com/2011/05/appalachian-fameflower-phemeranthus.html

Something Green For Lunch

April 21st, 2012. There’s one grassy bend in the road into the Scull Shoals Experimental Forest where we’ve seen a lot of Spangled Skimmers (Libellula cyanea). On this afternoon, the area was full of females – easily more than a dozen.

One, particularly, attracted my attention. She repeatedly returned to this one grass stem. She would take off, fly around and return to this same stem. I watched her make several circuits and was vaguely aware that she had caught something.

Her meal was heavy and she couldn’t make it back to her ‘usual’ grass stem. She landed on another stem a little distance away.

But the meal was heavy and the combined weight was too much for the grass stem. It bent, and she ended up hanging upside-down from the stem.

She was concentrating on eating her meal that she let me get quite close.

A close-up view. Close enough to see that lunch was something green, with wings.
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Identification resources:
- Dragonflies and Damselflies (Odonata) of Georgia: Spangled Skimmer (Libellula cyanea)
- BugGuide: Spangled Skimmer (Libellula cyanea) [Male] [Female]

Related post:
- Dragonfly: Spangled Skimmer (Libellula cyanea)