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)

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