Saturday, September 26, 2015

Summer On A Fort Yargo State Park Trail: Section B To The Dam, July 29th (Part 1)


July 29th. 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 had bloomed and two were setting seeds. It looked like the slime mold fruiting body season was over, but I was still checking logs on the trail.


I found a Common Evening Primrose (Oenothera biennis) bloom partially open. Usually the flowers have closed by the time I get to the park.


The Hoary Mountainmint (Pycnanthemum incanum) had finished blooming; the spent flower heads still stood out. The leaves didn’t look hoary anymore either.


The Cranesfly Orchids just inside the main woods were blooming. 

A little further down the trail, a few…


St. Andrew’s Cross (Hypericum hypericioides) plants…


were blooming quietly in the shade.


The Witch’s Butter (Tremella mesenterica) that had swelled after recent rains, had dried up again. 

Again, there weren’t any slime mold fruiting bodies at either of the two logs I visited on the way to the dam, so I stopped by the…


Tulip Poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera) where the fruit was still developing.


Plants in the patch of Hairy Elephantfoot (Elephantopus tomentosus) just past the Tulip Poplar were still blooming. 

I walked up to the Outer Loop. As I walked down the trail towards the dam, I was startled by movement off to my left. It was a…


young American Toad (Anaxyrus americanus), just over and inch long, hopping over the leaf litter.

I walked on down to the dam.
(To be continued...)
 
Related posts:
- Spring Is In The Air: Fort Yargo State Park, Section B To The Dam, May 1st (Part 2)

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