Anybody Seen My Focus?: Spring Is In The Air: Fort Yargo State Park, Section B To The Dam, June 17th (Part 2)

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

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

June 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. One of the Smallflower (Asimina parviflora) had developed fruit that, unfortunately, it had lost; the Pink Lady’s Slipper (Cypripedium acaule) Orchids had bloomed, and some Green Adder’s-mouth (Malaxis unifolia) Orchids were still blooming.

The Hairy Angelica (Angelica venenosa) was still blooming.

The New Jersey Tea (Ceanothus americanus) seed capsules were still developing.

A Blue-fronted Dancer (Argia apicalis) was perched on a leaf, sunning itself.

Oak Apple Galls, one (Top) older than the other (Bottom) were still in good shape.

I was surprised to find a Pigeonwings (Clitoria mariana) plant blooming along this section of the trail.

The developing seed capsules on the Perfoliate Bellwort (Uvularia perfoliata) were still developing and healthy, and the…

spore packets on the Ebony Spleenwort (Asplenium playneuron) were still intact.

The Green Adder’s Mouth Orchids (Malaxis unifolia) had just about finished blooming, and…

seed capsules were developing. I counted 13 capsules developing on this plant.

Nearby, I found a couple of new Oak Apple galls on a sapling oak.

The developing seed capsules on Pipsissewa (Chimsphils maculata) plants by the trail still looked healthy.

I was hoping to find more slime molds on the logs near the…

top of ‘The Hill.’ All I found, however, were…

stalks remaining from three clusters of Chocolate Tube (Stemonitis sp.) slime mold.

On the open section of the trail back to the parking lot, I found…

the first Poorjoe (Diodia teres) flower of the season.

Brazilian Vervain (Verbena brasiliensis) plants were also blooming. There are a lot of these this year.

The Hoary Mountainmint (Pycnanthemum incanum) plants were still blooming.

Several Margined Leatherwing (Chauliognathus marginatus) beetles, one of the species of Soldier beetles, were feeding at the flowers. These beetles feed on pollen and nectar.