Tall Rattlesnakeroot (Prenanthes altissima)

September 15th, 2012. We drove over Patterson Gap Road from Betty’s Creek Road to Persimmon Road. Patterson Gap lies on the Tennessee Valley Divide in the Chattahoochee National Forest. The road is graveled and water erosion has produced some rough sections.

Our first find was Lobelia siphilitca (Great Blue Lobelia). Further up the road – at about 2,900 ft asl - we started to see gentians. We spotted Gentiana saponaria (Soapwort Gentian) and Gentiana quinquefolia (Stiff Gentian) further up the road. Near the top of the pass, we found a blazing star that we’ve tentatively identified as Liatris squarrulosa (Southern Blazing Star).

I walked along the road a little further and found this Prenanthes species that I’ve tentatively identified as Prenanthes trifoliata (Gsll of the Earth) based on the deeply indented leaves. Otherwise I would have identified it as Prenanthes altissima (Tall Rattlesnakeroot).
Note: Thanks to A. L. Gibson at 'The Natural Treasures of Ohio' for correcting my identification and identifying this as Prenanthes altissima (Tall Rattlesnakeroot). Thanks Andrew!

A cluster of flowers

Still closer views of the flowers

The leaves. Not the clearest but showing deeply indented leaves

Prenanthes altissima (Tall Rattlesnakeroot, Tall White Lettuce) is native to the United States  where it’s found in from Maine to Illinois and southwest to Texas and south to Georgia. In Georgia, it’s only been documented only in a few counties in the Piedmont.

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Identification Resources:

Natural and Naturalized Plants of the Carolinas and Georgia:
- Prenanthes altissima (Tall White Lettuce, Tall Rattlesnake-root)-  Prenanthes trifoliata (Gall-of-the-Earth)

- J. Pippen, Duke University: Gall of the Earth (Prenanthes trifoliata)

Distribution:

United States Department of Agriculture Plants Database: 
- Prenanthes altissima (Tall Rattlesnakeroot)
-  Prenanthes trifoliata (Gall of the Earth)

Related posts:

- Black Rock Mountain State Park, Rabun County, Georgia: Wildflowers 

- Agueweed or Stiff Gentian (Gentianella quinquefolia)

- Great Blue Lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica)

Appalachian or Southern Blazing Star (Liatris squarrulosa)?

September 15th, 2012. We drove over Patterson Gap Road from Betty’s Creek Road to Persimmon Road. Patterson Gap lies on the Tennessee Valley Divide in the Chattahoochee National Forest. The road is graveled and water erosion has produced some rough sections.

Our first find was Lobelia siphilitca (Great Blue Lobelia). Further up the road – at about 2,900 ft asl - we started to see gentians. We spotted Gentiana saponaria (Soapwort Gentian) and Gentiana quinquefolia (Stiff Gentian) further up the road. Near the top of the pass, we found a blazing star that we’ve tentatively identified as Liatris squarrulosa (Southern Blazing Star).

The top of the stem

The leaves

Close-up views of the flowers from different angles.

Liatris squarrulosa (Appalachian Blazing Star, Southern Blazing Star, Earl’s Blazing Star) is native to the UnitedStates where it’s found in from Ohio to Illinois southwest to Texas and southeast in Virginia to Florida. In Georgia, it’s only been documented only in a few counties, in the Piedmont.

Click on an image to view a larger image

Identification Resources:

- Natural and Naturalized Plants of the Carolinas and Georgia: Liatris squarrulosa (Southern Blazing Star)

- J. Pippen, Duke University: Liatris squarrulosa (SouthernBlazing Star, Appalachian Blazing Star, Earl’s Blazing Star)

- Missouri Plants: Liatris squarrulosa

 

Distribution:

United States Department of Agriculture Plants Database: Liatris squarrulosa (Appalachian Blazing Star)

 

Related posts:

- Agueweed or Stiff Gentian (Gentianella quinquefolia)

- Great Blue Lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica)

Appalachian Land Snail (Mesodon sp.)?

September 15th, 2012. We drove over Patterson Gap Road from Betty’s Creek Road to Persimmon Road. Patterson Gap lies on the Tennessee Valley Divide in the Chattahoochee National Forest. The road is graveled and water erosion has produced some rough sections. Lobelia siphilitca (Great Blue Lobelia) and then Gentianella quinquefolia (Agueweed or Stiff Gentian).

 

While we were ‘hunting’ gentian flowers, we came across this snail. It was in its shell when we found it and didn’t come out while we were there. As close as I can tell it’s an Appalachian Land Snail (Mesodon sp.). This was the first of two of these snails that we found that weekend.

Can anyone confirm or correct this identification?

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Related posts:

- Agueweed or Stiff Gentian (Gentianella quinquefolia)

- SapsuckerTree

- Great Blue Lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica)

Agueweed or Stiff Gentian (Gentianella quinquefolia)

September 15th, 2012. We drove over Patterson Gap Road from Betty’s Creek Road to Persimmon Road. Patterson Gap lies on the Tennessee Valley Divide in the Chattahoochee National Forest. The road is graveled and water erosion has produced some rough sections.

Our first find was Lobelia siphilitca (Great Blue Lobelia). Further up the road – at about 2,900 ft asl - we started to see gentians. We spotted Gentiana saponaria (Soapwort Gentian) on an embankment above the road; why do they always grow on steep embankments above the road?  I scrambled part way up to take some photos and then spotted a few plants of Gentianella quinquefolia (Agueweed or Stiff Gentian). This flower is easy to identify by its clusters of characteristically shaped flowers. I must say I had expected larger flowers.

Plants on the embankment. A couple of flowers on the plant to the left have opened.

Views of clusters of flowers. The leaves are ‘soft’ compared with leaves of Gentiana sp.

I thought this was the best view we would get of these flowers. We drove a little further up the road and found several plants growing at the edge of the road.

The tallest of these plants was about 30 inches.

A closer view of the top cluster of flowers

Views of the top cluster from different angles

A close-up view of the top cluster

The calyx lobes of this species

Gentianella quinquefolia (Agueweed or Stiff Gentian) is native to the United States where it’s found in states along the eastern seaboard from Maine to Georgia and including West Virginia and Tennesee. It is distributed more widely than indicated; it grows in Illinois and Missouri. In Georgia, it’s been documented only in a few counties, including Rabun County, in the northeast of the state.

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Identification resources:

Southeastern Flora: Gentianella quinquefolia (Agueweed) 

Natural and Naturalized Plants of the Carolinas and Georgia: Gentianella quinquefolia (Fivefinger Gentian, Eastern Agueweed,Stiff Gentian) 

Missouri Plants: Gentianella quinquefolia 

Illinois Wildflowers: Stiff Gentian (Gentianella quinquefolia)

 
Distribution:

United States Department of Agriculture Plants Database: Gentianella quinquefolia (Agueweed)

 

Related posts:

- Great Blue Lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica)

Sapsucker Tree

September 15th, 2012. We drove over Patterson Gap Road from Betty’s Creek Road to Persimmon Road. Patterson Gap lies on the Tennessee Valley Divide in the Chattahoochee National Forest. The road is graveled and water erosion has produced some rough sections.

Half way up the road to the summit at Patterson Gap, we found this tree…

A sapsucker, or perhaps many sapsuckers, have enjoyed sap from this tree and probably over may seasons.

A closer view. Note some oyster mushrooms also growing on the trunk.

We’ve had sapsuckers work trees at our place but not to this extent.

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Related post:

- Great Blue Lobelia (Lobelia syphilitica)

- Yellow-bellied Sapsucker: Right Under Our Noses

Great Blue Lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica)

September 15th, 2012. We drove over Patterson Gap Road from Betty’s Creek Road to Persimmon Road. Patterson Gap lies on the Tennessee Valley Divide in the Chattahoochee National Forest. The road is graveled and water erosion has produced some rough sections.

Our first find was Lobelia siphilitica (Great Blue Lobelia), named because it was believed to be a cure for syphilis. They were blooming beside the road in a moist, shaded area. I had to use artificial light to photograph the flowers. The photographs don’t adequately show how intensely blue the flowers are.

The plant was about 15 to 18 inches tall

 

Closer views of the flower stem. The characteristic hairy calyces are clearly visible.

The leaf

The tip of the flowering stem

Flowers with immature anther tubes. The characteristic hairy calyces are clearly visible.

Flowers with mature anthers. Pollen is visible on the upper and lower flowers.

Lobelia siphilitica (Great Blue Lobelia) is native to the United States where it’s found in states east of a line from North Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado, Oklahoma and Texas, with the exception of Florida. In Georgia, it’s been documented only Rabun County in the far northeast and Catoosa, Dade, Walker and Floyd counties in the far northwest of the state.

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Identification resources:

Southeastern Flora: Lobelia siphilitica (Great Blue Lobelia)

Missouri Plants: Lobelia siphilitica 

Illinois Wildflowers: Great Blue Lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica)

Distribution:

United States Department of Agriculture Plants Database: Lobelia siphilitica (Great Blue Lobelia)

Wavyleaf Aster (Symphyotrichum undulatum)

September 15th, 2012. While I was standing in the ditch photographing the Agilinis tenuifolia, I photographed an aster that growing beside it.  I’m not an expert at identifying asters but I’ve decided to ‘bite off’ a couple at a time and see if I can master them. So here goes…

The flower

Close up of the center. Just because!

The flower in profile

The wavy leaves that give this aster its name.

Symphyotrichum undulatum (Wavyleaf Aster, Wavy-leaf Aster) is native to the United States where it’s found in states east of a line from Illinois to Kentucky, Arkansas and Louisiana. In Georgia, it’s been documented in many counties but more frequently in counties in north Georgia.

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Identification resources:

Natural and Naturalized Plants of the Carolinas and Georgia: Symphyotrichum undulatum (Wavy-leaf Aster)

J Pippen, Duke University: Wavyleaf Aster (Symphyotrichum undulatum)

 

Distribution:

United States Department of Agriculture Plants Database: Symphyotrichum undulatum (Wavyleaf Aster)

Related posts:

- Slenderleaf False Foxglove (Agalinis tenuifolia)

Slenderleaf False Foxglove (Agalinis tenuifolia)

September 15th, 2012. We saw this small Agalinis species growing in a north-facing dry ditch by the roadside in Rabun County. The flowers were distinctly smaller than those of Agalinis purpurea.

Agalinis tenuifolia (Slenderleaf False Foxglove, Slender Gerardia, Thin-leaved Agalinis) is native to the United States where it’s found in all states east of the Rocky Mountains. In Georgia, it’s been documented in many counties but more frequently in counties in the Piedmont and far north Georgia.

Click on an image to view a larger image

Identification resources:

Southestern Flora: Agalinis tenuifolia (Slenderleaf False Foxglove)

Natural and Naturalized Plants of the Carolinas and Georgia: Agalinis tenuifolia (Slender Gerardia, Thin-leaved Agalinis)

Missouri Plants: Agalinis tenuifolia

J Pippen, Duke University: SlenderleafFalse Foxglove, Slener Gerardia (Agalinis tenuifolia)

Distribution:

United States Department of Agriculture Plants Database: Agalinis tenuifolia (Slenderleaf False Foxglove)

 

Related posts:

- Stephens County: Russell Lake Wildlife Management Area