Sunday, September 23, 2012

Charlie Elliott Wildlife Center: Wildfowers At Fox Lake

August 31st, 2012. We didn’t have a lot of time so we made a quick trip to the Charlie Elliott Wildlife Center in the Clybel Wildlife Management Area in Jasper County, Georgia. One of the roads, Murder Creek Church Road, passes below the dam impounding Fox Lake (still called Boyle Lake Number Five on Google Maps). This is a moist area and a good place to look for wildflowers.


Desmodium canescens (Hoary Ticktrefoil)?

Flowers at the tip of the stem

The leaves

A flower, up close

A drama was playing out among the flowers, This Green Lynx spider (cc) had caught a bumble bee – as big and probably heavier than itself - and was figuring out how to converit from prey to dinner.

Ipomoea lacunosa (Whitestar)

The flower and leaf

A closer view of a flower

Ipomoea coccinea (Redstar)

The tube

Close up of the face of the flower

Helenium amarum (Bitter Sneezeweed)

This wildflower is one of the most faithful bloomers throughout the dry months.

Diodia virginiana (Virginia Buttonweed)

Grows like a grass along the ground and is easy to overlook

Impatiens capensis (Jewelweed)

Jewelweed is not common in this area but can be found in moist areas

Erigeron strigosus (Daisy Fleabane)

These plants bloom in the spring but don’t bloom well during the heat of summer. They seem to bounce back when it cools down again.

Apios americana (Groundnut)

A flower head

The leaves

Closer view of the individual flowers. It would have been easy to overlook these flowers since they blend into the vegetation.

Verbena brasiliensis (Brazilian Vervain)

Dellcate flowers on tall plants. The flowers are only about 1/4 inch diameter but the plants may be 5 to 6 feet tall.

Quite a variety of wildflowers made the trip worthwhile.
Click on an image to view a larger image

Identification resources:
Southeastern Flora:

Name that Plant: Native and Naturalized Plants of the Carolinas and Georgia:

Missouri Plants:
Distribution:
United States Department of Agriculture Plants Database:
- Ipomoea lacunosa (Whitestar) 

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