Crotalus horridus, that is; the Timber or Canebreak Rattlesnake. Let me hasten to say it was an encounter of the elective kind. The chosen kind. The nice kind.
We were driving down the road looking for wildflowers and we almost ran over it. W saw it just in time and by the time he stopped, we were close enough to it that I couldn’t see it. I didn’t know why he’d stopped. But when I did, I clambered out to negotiate a photo shoot.
It was minding its own business – making its way across the road.
The sight of a big creature looming above it made it nervous and it stopped,
A closer view of the head. If the color pattern wasn’t a dead give-away, the characteristic pit viper-shaped head says ‘venomous.”
It started to rattle fairly vociferously. This was the first time in four encounters with Timber Rattlesnakes that I’ve really heard one rattle. Obviously I’d entered its personal space. When I stepped back a pace or so, it stopped rattling. (Interestingly, other snakes vibrate the tips of their tails; they just don’t have the rattles.)
It coiled up in a defensive posture, tense, but not showing any signs of striking. I’m sure that could have changed quickly if it had felt the need. Happily it didn’t.
Another close look at the handsome head with the fierce-looking eyes.
After a few minutes, it tested the idea that it might be safe to leave. We had no interest in interfering with it any further.
And off back into the brush at the side of the road.
If anything, this last shot is the scariest to me. I keep thinking of encountering this snake in thick grass or brush. It can be hard to determine the location of a rattling snake that you can’t see. And it’s possible to step on one before it rattles if you surprise it. So….
We tend to only walk in areas where we can clearly see the ground not only in front but also to the side of where we are walking. If we have to walk through thicker grass/brush, we use a snake hook to sweep the area in front and to the side, and tap on fallen logs or rocks under which snakes might be lying in wait for an unsuspecting mouse. I learned these lessons early, growing up in Australia, and they’re lessons well learned and never forgotten and, hopefully, they’ll keep me out of trouble.
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Identification resource:
- University of Georgia: Savannah River Ecology Laboratory: Canebrake / Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus) – Venomous
We drove down to the Redlands WMA in the Oconee National Forest at Fishing Creek/Oconee River. From the turnaround at the end of Forest Service road FS1245B,
it was a short walk down to Fishing Creek at a point where the creek is wide.
We spotted an unusual flower on an island where Fishing Creek empties into the Oconee River. It’s in the center of the photo, at the edge of the water
A closer view. Still in the center of the photo
W was able to get a better photo than I could. We’ve identified it as a Pink Queen (Cleome hassleriana). Seed pods are clearly visible in this photograph.
Cleome hassleriana (Pink Queen) is a native of South America, from Argentina to Brazil. In the United States, it’s found in states east of a line from Wisconsin, Ohio, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas with the exception of the New England state. It may also been found in Ontario, Canada.
It’s an unusual find. According to the USDA Plant Database, this plant has been documented in only three counties in Georgia - White, Harris, and Lowndes counties. It hasn’t been formally documented in Greene County The most probable explanation for finding it here was that it was planted in a garden upstream along Fishing Creek and seeds floated downstream and took root on this shore line.
Click on an image to view a larger image
Distribution:
- United States Department of Agriculture Plants Database: Cleome hassleriana (Pink Queen)
- University of North Carolina Herbarium: Cleome hassleriana
Identification resources:
- Southeastern Flora: Pink Queen (Cleome hassleriana)
Related post:
- 2010: Year Of The Wildflower – Wildflower Index
From: Clasping Milkweed (Asclepias amplexicaulis): Flowers
Asclepias amplexicaulis is known by the common names Clasping Milkweed, Blunt-leaved Milkweed, Blunt-leaf Milkweed, or Sand milkweed. Asclepias sp. are perennial and are among the last perennials to emerge in the Spring. Plants may grow from seed or from rhizomes in a single stalk as high as 3-4 feet tall. Flowers form in a terminal umbel. Flowers may be pink, purple, or maroon or even a brownish pink.
Asclepias flowers appear ‘clean’ because they don’t have loose pollen grains that dust the flowers. Asclepias flowers are unusual; diagrams of the anatomy of the flowers may be found here. The pollen is contained in sacs called pollinia that are located between the anthers. Two pollinia are connected by a ‘thread’ called a translator to a body called a corpusculum. Pollination only occurs if an insect is strong enough to hook the corpusculum and pull the pollinia from their sacs and deposit them on the stigmatic disk of another flower. You can see a photograph of the pollinia here.
Only a small proportion of flowers are fertilized.
The first sign that a flower has been fertilized is the thickening of the flower stem while other flowers and stems gradually wither. Two stems on this umbel have thickened noticeably; the swelling of the ovary at the end of one of the stems is visible in the center of the photo.
This young seed pod is about an inch long. A few unfertilized flowers are still attached.
Another young seed pod, about 1.5 inches long; the dried flower is still attached to the tip of the pod. Unfertilized flowers are still attached but completely dried.
Several pods – three in this case - may develop on a single plant. We’ve seen a maximum of 4 pods develop to maturity on an individual plant.
Several pods may begin to develop but some, as the small pod in the center of this photo, do not succeed.
These pods are 3 to 4 inches long - with another pod that didn't develop..
When the seeds have matured, the pod will split along a seam and open to release the seeds.
When plants grow in full sun, the pods remain hardened. The pod splits to release seed.
The silky hairs on the seeds in the pod are compressed tightly. These seeds will not travel far.
This scene is typical of plants that grow in partial shade. The pod skin is thin and the pod feels hollow. The seeds are released and float off in the breeze.
A closer view of a pod that developed in partial shade. The seeds are packed in the pod with hairs aligned neatly. As the seeds are released the hairs open out, and the seeds float away.
Closer views of the pod showing the alignment of the seeds.
At first seeds are released from the opened side of the pod and those ‘at the back’ are retained.
This photo, taken last Fall, shows the seeds escaping the pod in ‘layers’
The pod curls back as it continues to dry and releases the remainder of the seeds. This is all that is left when all seeds have been released.
The seeds are very buoyant and float away on the slightest breeze. It’s very difficult to photograph individual seeds if there is any breeze. Some had caught on nearly vegetation. They will be washed down to the ground below to, perhaps, grow into a new plant next season.
The silky ‘floss’ of milkweed plants is very buoyant – 5 to 6 times more buoyant than cork - and provides excellent insulation. The history of using the floss to stuff pillows dates back to the 1860s in Salem, Massachusetts. During World War II, floss was collected and used as a substitute for kapok in life preservers. Floss is still used as a hypoallergenic filling for pillows.
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Distribution:
- United States Department of Agriculture Plants Database: Asclepias amplexicaulis (Clasping milkweed)
- University of North Carolina Herbarium: Asclepias amplexicaulis
Identification resources:
- Southeastern Flora: Clasping milkweed (Asclepias amplexicaulis)
- Missouri Plants: Asclepias amplexicaulis
- Kansas Wildflowers and Grasses: Blunt-leaf Milkweed
- Natural and Naturalized Plants of the Carolinas and Georgia: Asclepias amplexicaulis (Blunt-leaved Milkweed, Clasping Milkweed)
- Wikipedia: Asclepias
- Plant of the Week: Milkweed, Latin: Asclepias speciosa
- Wellesley College: Landscape Nature Walks Directory. Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca)
Related posts:
- 2010: Year Of The Wildflower – Wildflower Index
- Clasping Milkweed (Asclepias amplexicaulis): Shoots, Leaves And Flower Buds
- Clasping Milkweed (Asclepias amplexicaulis): Flowers
This truly was Zen.
I think the brain quietly processes things the eye doesn’t see. I had no right to see these flowers. I was photographing a Carolina Wild Petunia (Ruellia caroliniensis) flower. I’m not sure why I chose to photograph a Carolina Wild Petunia yesterday or why I chose this flower. I was concentrating on this flower. When I finished something made my eyes focus on what was immediately behind it. And here they were. Angularfruit Milkvine (Matelea gonocarpa). I never thought I would see these flowers. Zen.
More about this flower later
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We came home from Hancock County along GA-15 from Greensboro via Watkinsville. The road to Scull Shoals Historic Area is accessed via Macedonia Road from GA-15 so we decided to detour. We hadn’t been there for several months. It was too late to walk around the historic area so we decided to check out a side road we’d seen on the way in. This road wasn’t much more than a couple of tracks through the woods.
Sandy Creek, looking upstream (east) from the bridge. I took this in late November 2010.
We spotted some ducks on a log. Then they spotted us and swam off upstream. What we thought was four ducks turned out to be Mum, Dad and the 11 ducklings. They were too far away to identify.
The road ran along the south side of Sandy Creek. At this point the creek had opened out into a large swamp. Although it was sunny in the open, it was fairly dark in the woods.
And this is what we found...
Tall Thimbleweed (Anemone virginiana)
The plant
A close up of the flower. It’s a little past its best but more buds are developing and it’ll be fun to follow the development of the seed
Green Comet Milkweed (Asclepias viridiflora)
It was late enough that we weren’t really looking for plants but, then, on a curve in the road, W spotted the characteristic profile of the Green Comet Milkweed (Asclepias viridiflora). We found 6 to 7 plants at this location. This plant has set three umbels and another plant is beginning to set blooms.
A closer view of an individual umbel
We were excited to see these plants. Previously, in addition to a plant that grows in our field, we’d only found them by the roadside in both Wilkes County and southeast Walton County. Unfortunately these roadside plants may have been destroyed when the roads were graded during the Winter. In this location in Greene County, it’s unlikely that the plants will be damaged.
Trillium species
This, obviously, is a trillium. It’s a big trillium with slightly mottled leaves and an erect flower
A closer view. It will be interesting to see which species this is. I have a bet with myself but I'm not telling.
Jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum)
I’d never seen a Jack-in-the-pulpit before. It’s much larger than I’d imagined. Gigantic compared with what I’d imagined. This plant was about 2 feet tall and almost as wide.
It had bloomed and the fruit are forming. I’ll be following this plant for a while
It looks like this area will be interesting for early Spring flowering plants. We'll be coming back here a lot.
We have a habit of checking out ‘just one last thing’ on our way home. It was dusk so we had to use artificial lighting. I hate flash and only use it for distance shots when I have to. Since my camera won’t shoot macro shots with flash, I use a Yongnuo SYD-0808 digital LED array even though I have to shoot often at 1/50th second.
Click on an image to view a larger image
Distribution:
United States Department of Agriculture Plants Database:
- Anemone virginiana (Tall Thimbleweed)
- Asclepias viridiflora (Green Comet Milkweed)
- Arisaema triphyllum (Jack-in-the-pulpit)
Identification resources:
Southeastern Flora:
- Tall Thimbleweed (Anemone virginiana)
- Green comet milkweed (Asclepias viridiflora)
- Jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum)
Related posts:
- 2010: Year Of The Wildflower – Wildflower Index
- Field Trip: Scull Shoals. Part 1, Oconee River – Sandy Creek
- Field Trip: Scull Shoals. Part 2, Town Ruins – Store
- Field Trip: Scull Shoals. Part 3, Town Ruins – Arched Bridge & Power Plant
- Field Trip: Scull Shoals. Part 4, Town Ruins – Oconee River Bridge & Superintendent’s House
It was minding its own business – making its way across the road.
The sight of a big creature looming above it made it nervous and it stopped,
A closer view of the head. If the color pattern wasn’t a dead give-away, the characteristic pit viper-shaped head says ‘venomous.”
It started to rattle fairly vociferously. This was the first time in four encounters with Timber Rattlesnakes that I’ve really heard one rattle. Obviously I’d entered its personal space. When I stepped back a pace or so, it stopped rattling. (Interestingly, other snakes vibrate the tips of their tails; they just don’t have the rattles.)
It coiled up in a defensive posture, tense, but not showing any signs of striking. I’m sure that could have changed quickly if it had felt the need. Happily it didn’t.
Another close look at the handsome head with the fierce-looking eyes.
After a few minutes, it tested the idea that it might be safe to leave. We had no interest in interfering with it any further.
And off back into the brush at the side of the road. 
