Friday, October 28, 2011

Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge: October Wildflowers (Part 3)

Continued from here
October 8th. It was time make a seasonal trip to the Piedmont Wildlife Refuge again to check on some plants. We found these wildflowers by the road north to Pond 2A

Nothoscordum bivalve (False garlic) plants were blooming near Pond 1A.

A Liatris sp. I’ve come to the conclusion that this is probably Liatris aspera (Roughleaf or Tall Blazing Star). Again, any corrections are welcome

Andropogon virginicus (Broomsedge) plants are just starting to produce seed.

Cornus florida (Flowering Dogwood) berries are starting to turn red.

Verbena rigida (Tuberous Vervain) flowers are still holding on but it won’t be long before they’re finished for the season.

Helianthus angustifolius (Narrow-leaf Sunflower). We saw just a couple of plants near Pond 2A.

Erianthus alopecuroides (Silver Plume Grass) is a favourite at this time of year. These seed heads are not ripe yet.

Just a silhouette of Adropogon glomeratus (Bushy Bluestem). This species is easy to identify by its bushy heads.

What is this? Helianthus sp. (Sunflower)? It was almost dark when we found this.

After the long, dry summer, it was great to see such a variety of wildflowers.
Click on an image to view a larger image


Identification resources:

- Southeastern Flora

- Natural and Naturalized Plants of the Carolinas and Georgia


Related posts:

- Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge: October Wildflowers (Part 2)

- Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge: October Wildflowers (Part 1)

- Zen: First Autumn Color

- 2010: Year Of The Wildflower – Wildflower Index

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge: October Wildflowers (Part 2)

Continued from...
October 8th. It was time make a seasonal trip to the Piedmont Wildlife Refuge again to check on some plants. We continued south on Starrs Road in the Oconee National Forest into the Piedmont NWR and then north to Pond 2A.


A few Centrosema virginianum (Butterflypea) flowers hid among the other wildflowers. Not many around now.

I’m not sure what this is and would love it if someone can tell me with this one. My best guess is Stachys floridana (Florida Betony) but I don’t know…

Chrysopsis mariana (Maryland Goldenaster) flowers are the dominant small daisies in this area compared with Heterotheca subaxillaris (Camphorweed) which is dominant in Walton County at the moment.

Lobelia puberula (Downy Lobelia) flowers. We saw these in a couple of places

Lespedeza virginica (Slender Lespedeza) is nearing the end of its flowering season but there are still some nice blooms to be seen.

Oxalis rubra (Purple Woodsorrell) is my favourite sorrel. We saw these, and the following blooms along the road north to Pond 2A.

Chamaecrista fasciculata (Partridge Pea). These are mostly done for the season now.

Conoclinium coelestinum (Blue mistflower). This was a treat; just one plant - and in bloom. W found it while I was chasing another Eastern Lubber Grasshopper (Romalea microptera)

I’m not familiar with Agalinis sp. but I think this is Agalinis purpurea (Purple Gerardia) and would welcome any correction on this ID. We saw a lot of these in the woods in the Piedmont NWR and in the Oconee WMA near the south of Lake Oconee.

To be continued in Part 3

Click on an image to view a larger image


Identification resources:

- Southeastern Flora

- Natural and Naturalized Plants of the Carolinas and Georgia


Related posts:

- Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge: October Wildflowers (Part 1)

- Zen: First Autumn Color

- 2010: Year Of The Wildflower – Wildflower Index

Monday, October 24, 2011

Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge: October Wildflowers (Part 1)

October 8th, 2011. It was time make a seasonal trip to the Piedmont Wildlife Refuge again to check on some plants.

We took the route from GA-83 south on Starr Road through the Oconee National Forest into the Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge. The road passes through Tribble Fields and then to the bridge over Little Falling Creek and then north to Pond 2A. We were treated to a surprising variety of wildflowers, some of which have survived through the summer and Fall bloomers.

Symphyotrichum cordifolium (Common Blue Wood Aster) is a newcomer for the Fall.

This Desmodium sp., a ticktrefoil, has been blooming during the summer. I love the tiny green patches as the base of the large petal. These flowers were a particularly deep pink color compared with most that we saw.

Correopsis tinctoria (Plains Coreopsis) has been blooming along Starrs Road for most of the summer.

I wonder if this is Agalinis tenuifolia (Slenderleaf False Foxglove). At first I thought it was Agalinis purpurea but am reconsidering my initial identification

Ageratina altissima (White Snakeroot) is another Fall bloomer

Eupatorium leptophyllum (False Fennel) has been blooming during the summer and is just about finished for the year.

Belamcanda chinensis (Blackberry Lily) seeds. We photographed the blooms earlier in the year but had to come back to see the seeds. The common name, Blackberry Lily, comes from the seeds which are arranged like the fruit of a blackberry. And they really are!

A Cirsium sp., perhaps Cirsium discolor (Field Thistle). These have been blooming for a couple of months and are also just about done for the season.

Helenium amarum (Bitterweed) has been a faithful bloomer all Summer. It, too, is just about done for the year.


To be continued in Part 2

Click on an image to view a larger image


Identification resources:

- Southeastern Flora
- Natural and Naturalized Plants of the Carolinas and Georgia


Related posts:

- 2010: Year Of The Wildflower – Wildflower Index

- Zen: First Autumn Color

- Blackberry Lily (Belamcanda chinensis)

Friday, October 21, 2011

Zen: First Autumn Color

Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge - Pond 2A. October 8th, 2011.
Click on the image to enlarge

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Euchaetes egle (Milkweed Tussock Moth Caterpillar)

So… We were poking around the remains of the Matelea gonocarpa (Angularfruit Milkvine) vines looking for seed pods that we may have missed before the vines were mowed. We saw a couple of caterpillars that seemed a little frantic – making their way quickly along one of the vine stalks. We didn’t know what it was at the time but we took some shots…

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A little research revealed them to be Euchaetes egle, the Milkweed Tussock Moth Caterpillar. In truth, they may have been frantically looking for matelea leaves, many of which had been destroyed by the mowing. There were some vines that were still in tact with leaves. Hopefully these little guys made it to the food.

Click on an image to view a larger image


Identification resources:

Bug Guide:

- Euchaetes egle (Milkweed Tussock Moth Caterpillar)

- Euchaetes egle (Milkweed Tussock Moth)


Related post:

- Carnage…

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Carnage…

September 25th, 2011. We’ve been following some asclpeias and matalea vines in a local wildlife management area. Unfortunately, hunting season has arrived. One of the preparations that the wildlife management folk make for the hunting season is to mow the roadsides and some meadows to allow hunters access. Mowing also lessens the chance that careless hunters, and others, will accidentally set the woods on fire, particularly since many areas are tinder-dry due to the drought we’ve endured for the last couple of years. We keep our fingers crossed that the areas we frequent won’t be mowed before plants go to seed but... Sometime between September 10th and September 25th, they mowed.

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It looks neat but…

We’d been following this Asclepias viridiflora (Green Comet Milkweed) plant since May or so when we first found it. 

Watching it bloom without developing seed pods until, finally...

it developed a couple of pretty pods.

This was all that was left of the plant. We hunted around and…

found the remains of just one pod.

Closer inspection showed that the mower blade had neatly sliced the pod and sheared the seeds from the silk. We only found one seed still attached to the silk. Hopefully the mower blade threw some of the seeds back into the woods where they can grow, bloom and develop seeds out of danger or the mowers.

The second group of plants we’d been watching were vines of Matelea gonocarpa (Angularfruit Milkvine) further down the road.

These vines had developed a few pods. We found a couple of pods lying on the ground under the vines. Only one had developed on a vine that had climbed up about a foot above the ground on another plant.

This pod was sliced lengthwise and thrown several meters away.

The pod had shriveled but was still slightly green

The seeds and silk seemed to be mature and ready to be dispersed in the wind.

One pod was still attached to a vine that hadn’t been cut by the mower. Hopefully, it will develop to maturity

Another pod had split so we cut it open further. A single seed with its silk lies beside the pod

Within a few minutes the silk fibers spread and the seed was ready to float away in the breeze.

The seeds arranged in the pod. The raised circular section in the middle of each seed is the actual seed. The ‘serrated’ margin on each seed certainly would help them to catch on vegetation as they blew in the wind.

Mowing roadsides is a necessary evil to help prevent forest fires and some plants pay the price. Hopefully, seeds from these plants survived and will develop into new plants
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Click on an image to view a larger image


Distribution:

- United States Department of Agriculture Plants Database: Asclepias viridiflora (Green Comet Milkweed)

- United States Department of Agriculture Plants Database: Matelea gonocarpa (Angularfruit Milkvine)


Identification resources:

- Southeastern Flora: Asclepias viridiflora (Green Comet Milkweed)

- Southeastern Flora: Matelea gonocarpa (Angularfruit Milkvine)

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Close Encounter Of The Gentle Kind

With a Black Rat Snake (Pantherophis obsoleta): that is. I like Black Rat Snakes. This is the fourth I’ve encountered this year. I think I’m starting to understand them and I like them.

We were driving down a road in Hancock County, Georgia, when W swerved, hit the breaks, whipped he truck into reverse can backed down the road. It was less than a mile from where we encountered the Timber
Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus) in July. In this case, I didn’t hesitate to hop out and walk up to it – slowly so as not to upset it more than it probably already was. But, it wasn’t like walking up to the rattlesnake. It was like approaching an old friend. If I picked up snakes, I would have picked this one up without hestitation.

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It had started out onto the road as we came by. We hadn’t hit it. By the time we backed up, it was in its classic ‘crinkle’ pose.

A closer view of its head

And, for some reason, I took a shot of its tail; it was just stretched out

After a while, the tell-tale tongue flick. I’d seen that at Fort Yargo State Park when I encountered one on the trail late one afternoon. The sign that it was thinking about leaving. Testing the air to see if it was safe to turn and leave. What do they detect - or not detect - that tells them it's safe to leave?

Then it turned to leave

Interestingly, it ‘pulled’ its tail up as it started to move off. I’d never noticed that before.

And off it went. Safely back into the brush.

It seemed as if we had been photographing it for a long time, but when I looked at the time-stamp on the images, the entire encounter had lasted a total of just four minutes.

Click on an image to view a larger image


Identification resource:

- Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, Herpetology Program: Black Rat Snake (Pantherophis obsoleta; formerly Elaphe obsoleta)


Related posts:

- OK, Now I’m Getting A Complex: Black Rat Snake (Pantherophis obsolete) At Home

- Black Rat Snake (Pantherophis obsoleta): Broad River Wildlife Management Area, Wilkes County, Georgia

- Black Rat Snake: Another Close Encounter

- And There It Was… Black Rat Snake (Pantherophis obsoleta)