April 20th – April 27th, 2012. We found Matelea carolinensis (Maroon Carolina Milkvine) and Matelea flavidula (Yellow Carolina Milkvine) in both Hancock and Jones counties within a day of each other.
In each location, it was uncanny that the petals of M. flavidula resembled those of M. carolinensis in shape and size. The petals of both species were shorter at the…
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Hancock County site than at the…
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Jones County site.
In addition, we found vines of M. flavidula, climbing the same stems intertwined with vines of M. carolinensis in both…
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Hancock County, and in…
Jones County (Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge).
At one point, I even became a little paranoid – like you do when you have a find that’s too good to be true - that the M. flavidula flowers might just be a nonpigmented variant of M. carolinensis. Particularly since the ‘Name that Plant’ website shows a photograph of a non-pigmented variant. I actually unwound a couple of vines a short way to verify that the maroon and green flowers weren’t on the same vine; they weren’t.We found M. carolinensis alone at several locations but never M. flavidula alone. I was going to be a lot more relaxed about these finds if I could find M. flavidula not associated with M. carolinensis – even though this wouldn’t be absolute proof that the green flowers weren’t a non-pigmented M. carolinensis.We did find a M. flavidula vine alone, a little way along the road from the first vines.
A cluster of flowers along the vine.
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A closer view of the cluster. The flower clusters were denser than other clusters we’d seen.
Individual flowers had the same reticulate pattern as the other flowers.
This vine could have originated from the patch along the road, or vice versa, since the seeds are very buoyant and could travel considerable distances from the seed pod.
After we left this site, we traveled more than a mile almost due west along another rural road that wound its way through fields and pine woods. We past several patches of matelea vines that were not blooming - very probably Matalea gonocarpos. Shortly after we turned north, we spotted…
a single plant on a roadside bank under a canopy of trees that was blooming. The blooms were green. We couldn’t reach the plant without a lot of effort so contented ourselves with a...
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photo, taken with a zoom lens, that was sufficient to confirm that this was M. flavidula. And not a M. carolinsis plant in sight.
My paranoia has been dispelled, especially since we have now found a non-pigmented M. carolinensis plant and its petals are distinctly different from those of the M. flavidula plants we’ve found. But more of that next…
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Identification resources:
Alan Cressler: Matelea flavidula
- Houston county: Short petal and long petal
- Cook County
Name that Plant. Natural and Naturalized Plants of the Carolinas and Georgia: Matelea flavidula (Yellow Spinypod)
Distribution:
- USDA Plants Database: Matelea flavidula (Yellow Carolina Milkvine)
- University of North Carolina Herbarium: Matelea flavidula
Related Posts:
- Jones County, Georgia: Yellow Carolina Milkvine (Matelea flavidula)
- Hancock County, Georgia: Yellow Carolina Milkvine (Matelea flavidula)
- Maroon Carolina Milkvine (Matelea carolinensis)
April 21th, 2012. We returned to the Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) on a routine visit using our previous route. Since we had found both the Maroon Carolina Milkvine (Matelea carolinensis) and the Yellow Carolina Milkvine (Matelea flavidula) growing and blooming by the roadside in Hancock County, Georgia, we were looking for these milkvines in the Piedmont NWR. We found the Maroon Carolina Milkvine in several locations on Starr Road in the Oconee Wildlife Management Area (WMA) north of the WMA. We had about given up when we noticed a group of vines growing by the pine forest. Even from the road, I thought I could see a cluster of light-colored flowers.
There were, indeed, several vines of the Yellow Carolina Milkvine (Matelea flavidula) growing with vines of the Maroon Carolina Milkvine (Matelea carolinensis). It was reasonable dark when we photographed these, so I was using artificial light (not flash). These photographs have been sharpened slightly to compensate for the low light. Flowers on some vines had slightly more maroon coloring than others.
A cluster of blooms. These blooms had tinges of maroon in the centers.
A closer view of a cluster of blooms.
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Close ups of an individual bloom
A cluster of blooms with very little maroon color from another vine.
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A closer view of blooms.
A close up of the back side of these blooms.
Matelea flavidula is known by the common names Yellow Carolina Milkvine, Yellow Spinypod. This species is native to the United States where it grows from Virginia to Mississippi. This species is considered to be rare in Georgia where it has only been officially documented in Effingham and Baker counties (USDA Plants Database) and Pulaski, Appling, Wayne, Baker and Decatur counties (University of North Carolina Herbarium). Alan Cressler has found the species in Houston (here and here) and Cook counties.
These finds of Matelea flavidula in Hancock and Jones counties suggest that this species is more widely distributed in Georgia than previously documented. It will be interesting to see if we find this species in other counties in this area of Georgia.
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Identification resources: Name that Plant. Natural and Naturalized Plants of the Carolinas and Georgia: Matelea flavidula (Yellow Spinypod)
Allan Cressler: Matelea flavidula
- Houston county: Short petal and long petal
- Cook County
Distribution:
- USDA Plants Database: Matelea flavidula (Yellow Carolina Milkvine)
- University of North Carolina Herbarium: Matelea flavidula
Related Posts:
- Hancock County, Georgia: Yellow Carolina Milkvine (Matelea flavidula)
- Maroon Carolina Milkvine (Matelea carolinensis)
April 20th, 2012. We found the Maroon Carolina Milkvine (Matelea carolinensis) growing and blooming by the roadside in Hancock, Jasper and Jones counties, Georgia.
While I was photographing the maroon milkvine blooms, W wandered off among the matelea plants that we’d found along a short section of this road. Of course, we expected that all would be the same. But, before long, W asked me if I was interested in a yellow flower. Of course!
He had found several plants that appear to be the Yellow Carolina Milkvine (Matelea flavidula)…
A cluster of blooms near the base of the vine.
A slightly smaller cluster a little further up the vine.
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A small cluster near the top of the vine.
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A slightly closer views
The underside of the flowers
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Close-up views of the flowers. The petals have a wonderful reticulate pattern.
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Close-ups of individual flowers taken at an oblique angle.
Matelea flavidula is known by the common names Yellow Carolina Milkvine or Yellow Spinypod. This species is native to the United States where it grows from Virginia to Mississippi. This species is considered to be rare in Georgia where it has only been officially documented in Effingham and Baker counties (USDA Plants Database) and Pulaski, Appling, Wayne, Baker and Decatur counties (University of North Carolina Herbarium). Alan Cressler has found the species in Houston (here and here) and Cook counties.
If confirmed, our find would place this species further north in Georgia than previously recognized. We found still more... the following day, April 21st at the Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge in Jones County, Georgia.
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Identification resources:
Name that Plant. Natural and Naturalized Plants of the Carolinas and Georgia: Matelea flavidula (Yellow Spinypod)
Alan Cressler: Matelea flavidula
- Houston county, Georgia: Short petal and long petal
- Cook County, Georgia
Distribution:
- USDA Plants Database: Matelea flavidula (Yellow Carolina Milkvine)
- University of North Carolina Herbarium: Matelea flavidula
Related Posts:
- Maroon Carolina Milkvine (Matelea carolinensis)
April 7th - April 21st, 2012. Early last July, we stumbled on Matelea gonocarpos (Angularfruit Milkvine) plants in bloom in the Scull Shoals Experimental Forest (Oconee WMA) in Greene County, Georgia. We had been following the development of blooms of several Asclepias species and, since the genus Matelea belongs the family Asclepiadaceae, we added these to our watchlist.
While driving along a rural road in Hancock County in October 2011, we spotted milkvines with seedpods.
The view from the road. The seedpods were not obvious from a distance. It was the characteristic floss attached to the seeds that glinted in the sun that attracted our attention.
A closer view of the pods. Even from a distance, they were the ‘spinypod’ type of pods, not the angular pods of M. gonocarpos.
Up close. No doubt that these are spinypods but that didn’t give us any clue as to which species this was. It would necessary to wait until this year when these plants bloomed.
April 7th, 2012. We decided to drive by the plants to see if they had sprouted.
The vine, from the road. We spotted the characteristic leaves.
A closer view of the leaves
Buds developing near the tip of the vine.
A closer view of developing flower buds
April 20th, 2012. We stopped by the plants in Hancock County again on April 20th. They were blooming.
Flower cluster from a distance.
A closer view of a flower cluster
Close up of an individual flower.
This is Matelea carolinensis known by the common names Maroon Carolina Milkvine, Carolina Spinypod, and Climbing Milkweed. This species is native to the United States where it grows from Maryland to Texas. In Georgia, it has been documented in counties north of Macon with the exception of McIntosh County – north of St. Simons - on the Georgia coast.
April 21st, 2012. We went down to the Oconee WMA (Jasper County) and the Piedmont NWR in Jones County. We found M. carolinensis blooming in both counties.
Plants were blooming at the edge of the woods at several places along the Starr Road north of the Piedmont NWR.
A close view of a cluster of blooms on one of these plants.
A cluster of flowers on a plant in the Piedmont NWR.
Now that we've identified this species, it will be interesting to follow these plants in the hope that we can watch the development of the seedpods.
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Identification resources:
- Southeastern Flora: Matelea carolinensis (Maroon Carolina Milkvine)
- Name that Plant. Natural and Naturalized Plants of the Carolinas and Georgia: Matelea carolinensis (Carolina Spinypod, Climbing Milkweed)
Distribution:
- USDA Plants Database: Matelea carolinensis (Maroon Carolina Milkvine)
Related Posts:
- Zen: Angularfruit milkvine (Matelea gonocarpa)
- Clasping Milkweed (Asclepias amplexicaulis): Seed Pods & Seeds
March 24th - April 21st, 2012. We returned to the Piedmont NWR to check on plants we saw on March 24th and took the same route as on our last trip. We took Starr Road from GA-83 south on through the Oconee National Forest into the Piedmont NWR. We drove through Tribble Fields to the bridge over Little Falling Creek and then north to Pond 2A. We returned the way we’d come and then took the first road on the right down to the Round Oak – Juliette Rd, drove east and then back into the NWR on the first road on the left. From there we drove north to the intersection with Sugar Hill Road, turned west and forded Stalking Head Creek. We then drove north and took the first road on the right to ford Stalking Head Creek again, east past a small pond and southeast to meet Sugar Hill Road again and then east to GA-11.
As we drove out of the NWR on Sugar Hill Road, a pale cream-yellow flower caught my eye. I thought is was a Tulip Poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera) in bloom and, although I’ve seen the blooms up close, I couldn’t resist stopping to take a closer look. But something wasn’t quite right and it took a few minutes to realize that I wasn’t looking at a Tulip Poplar but at something different.
The bloom. The petals are uniformly cream-yellow. The petals didn’t have the green or orange found on the Tulip Poplar. It took a few more minutes to
The tree had only a few leaves at the tip of the branches, and the leaves certainly weren’t those of a Tulip Poplar. But then I remembered that one of the Magnolia species had cream-yellow flowers. This must be it. A lucky find since it was one of the species I’d wanted to find.
The remains of the flowers that were within reach and which had lost their petals, were clearly those of a member of the family Magnoliaceae. I couldn’t remember which one, other than there was a species with cream-yellow flowers.
This was the most recent of the flowers. The anthers and stigmas are still relatively fresh.
A slightly older flower. The anthers and stigmas are drying up. And…
the oldest flower I could reach. Both anthers had stigmas have dried up.
A quick internet search revealed that it was Magnolia acuminata commonly known as the Cucumber Tree or Cucumber Magnolia. Magnolia acuminata is a deciduous Magnolia species that is native to North America and grows in most of the eastern United States as well as in Ontario, Canada. In Georgia, it’s found mainly in counties in North Georgia.On April 21st, we stopped by the tree to see if the fruit were developing. It was almost dark so we had to depend on artificial light for these photographs.
The tree had leafed out nicely.
The leaves. The branches were lower due to the weight of the leaves so it was easier to reach the developing fruit.
The fruit is developing and its cucumber shape, which gives it its common name, is clearly visible.
A closer view of the fruit composed of aggregate follicles, each of which should produce a seed.
We’ll be following this tree to see the changes in the fruit through the Summer and Fall.
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Identification resources:
- Southeastern Flora: Magnolia acuminata (Cucumber tree)
- Name that Plant. Natural and Naturalized Plants of the Carolinas and Georgia: Magnolia acuminata (Cucumber-tree, Cucumber Magnolia)
Distribution:
- University of North Carolina Herbarium: Magnolia acuminata
- USDA Plants Database: Magnolia acuminata (Cucumber-tree)
Related Posts:
- Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge: Atamasco Lily (Zephyranthes atamasco)
- Jasper County, Georgia: Red-banded Hairstreak (Calycopis cecrops)
- Jasper County, Georgia: New Life – Bracken Fern (Pteridium aquilinum) & Green-and-gold (Chrysogonum virginianum)
- Piedmont NWR: Flowering Dogwoods (Cornus florida)
- Piedmont NWR: Bulbous Bittercress (Cardamine bulbosa)
- Piedmont NWR: A Wildflower Miscellany
- Fowler’s Toad (Anaxyrus fowleri)
- Mushrooms At Stalking Head Creek
- Mayapples At Stalking Head Creek
- Devil’s Urn (Urnula craterium) At Stalking Head Creek
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Hancock County site than at the…
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Jones County site.
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Hancock County, and in…
Jones County (Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge). 
A cluster of flowers along the vine.
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A closer view of the cluster. The flower clusters were denser than other clusters we’d seen.
Individual flowers had the same reticulate pattern as the other flowers.
a single plant on a roadside bank under a canopy of trees that was blooming. The blooms were green. We couldn’t reach the plant without a lot of effort so contented ourselves with a...
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photo, taken with a zoom lens, that was sufficient to confirm that this was M. flavidula. And not a M. carolinsis plant in sight.
