Spring Is In The Air: Fort Yargo State Park, Section B To The Dam, April 17th (Part 2)

April 17th. (Continued from…) When I visited Fort Yargo State Park in mid-February, there were few signs of Spring. The only wildflower plants that were obvious were the leaves of Cranefly Orchids (Tipularia discolor) that I found in many places.

The route… I’ve described it here, here, here, and here. This walk doesn’t have the variety of wildflowers as my other walk from the Group A Shelter to the Old Fort but it does have some gems. On a previous walk on April 12th, the leaves of the Pink Lady’s Slipper (Cypripedium acaule) Orchids were starting to bloom and was surprised to find several Smallflower Pawpaw (Asimina parviflora).

I found a couple of Woolsower galls. One still had red spots; the red spots on the second one had almost turned brown. They’ll become more difficult to spot as they turn brown.

One of the many pretty small oaks in the woods.

I made my way around the trail to the Pink Lady’s Slipper Orchid patch, where…

several plants were blooming. These flowers develop to a darker pink than those over at the Fishing Area. These orchids are protected in Georgia.

  

I found another Smallflower Pawpaw a little further along the trail that had a fertilized flower.

I made my way along the trail, up The Hill and…

down the other side, and…

to the lake shore again. 

I noticed another Smallflower Pawpaw shrub a little way off the trail. It was about five feet tall, the tallest I’ve found so far, and was treated to…

flowers at various stages of development. Before I moved on, I unwound a Kudzu vine that was making its way up the plant.

About to leave the woods and make my way back to the parking lot. Once again, a rewarding walk on this trail. 

Related posts: 

- Spring Is In The Air: Fort Yargo State Park, Section B To The Dam, April 17th (Part 1)

- Spring Is In The Air: Fort Yargo State Park, Section B To The Dam, April 12th (Part 2)

- Spring Is In The Air: Fort Yargo State Park, Section B To The Dam, April 12th (Part 1)

- Spring Is In The Air: Fort Yargo State Park, Section B To The Dam, April 5th

- Spring Is In The Air: Fort Yargo State Park, Section B To The Dam

- Out With The Old; In With The New (Part 2)

- Out With The Old; In With The New (Part 1)

- Well… So Much For Walking The Beach

- Winter Walk: Fort Yargo State Park – Section B To The Dam (Part 4)

- Winter Walk: Fort Yargo State Park – Section B To The Dam (Part 3)

- Winter Walk: Fort Yargo State Park – Section B To The Dam (Part 2)

- Winter Walk: Fort Yargo State Park – Section B To The Dam (Part 1)