September 2nd, 2012. It
was the Labor Day (US) holiday weekend so we took the opportunity to make an
overnight trip into the Chattahoochee National Forest. After making our
way out of the Coopers Creek Wildlife Management Area, we drove up to Blue
Ridge for the night. We retraced our way up the Noontootla River Valley through
the Blue Ridge Wildlife Management Area as we had in mid-December 2011. We
hadn’t seen many wildflowers on that trip. We saw a variety of wildflowers on
this trip. The first section of the trip was on the Forest Service road to the
junction with the road to the Appalachian Trail parking area below Springer
Mountain.
Last year, we drove on to the southwest. This
year, we retraced our route and continued north to GA-60. The road to/from the
Appalachian Trail parking lot below Springer Mountain back to the junction with
the Noontootla River road is an east-west road. The north side is dry but the
south side is sheltered with some, probably seasonal, seeps that maintain a
moist environment. Here we found…
gentians, probably Gentiana
saponaria (Soapwort Gentian, Harvest Bells) in bloom
along the embankment.
Closer
views
In
one of the moister areas we found unusual ferns and empty seedpods from flowers
that had bloomed earlier. An area to visit again.
A
large patch of Collinsonia canadensis (Richweed) plants were blooming on the
north side of the road.
An
individual plant in the patch
Close-ups
of individual flowers
When
we reached the junction with the Noontootla River road, we continued north on
Winding Stair Gap Road. The road ran along the top of the ridge.
We found…
Aureolaria
flava (Smooth Yellow False Foxglove)
The
Appalachian Trail crossed the road. Here the Winding Stair Gap Road split into
the Appalachian Blue Ridge Road to the right, and Rock Creek Road to the left.
We took Rock Creek Road which ran north past Rock Creek Lake to the
Chattahoochee National Fish Hatchery and on through the Blue Ridge WMA to
GA-60.
We found a small patch of Conoclinium
coelestinum (Blue Mistflower, Mistflower, Wild Ageratum,
Hardy Ageratum) near the fish hatchery
A Dog Day cicada (Tibicen sp.) was sunning
itself in a nearby plant
A clematis, probably Clematis virginiana
(Virgin’s Bower) had finished blooming and was setting seed
Seed pods of Asclepias tuberosa (Butterfly
Milkweed) were releasing their seeds
The
Oenothera biennis (Evening primrose) plants had finished blooming and were
setting seed
Amphicarpa bracteata (Hog Peanut) vines were
common
The sad note for the day was the sighting of a
Copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix) that had been killed
while crossing the road. It did provide the opportunity for a photograph
without having to worry about being bitten.
Next: The high points – Dianna and Great
Spangled Fritillaries
Click on an image to view a larger image
Identification
resources:
Southeastern
Flora:
- Aslepias tuberosa (Butterfly Milkweed) - Oenothera biennis (Evening primrose)
Name
that Plant: Native and Naturalized Plants of the Carolinas and Georgia:
United
States Department of Agriculture Plants Database:
SavannahRiver Ecology Laboartory: Copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix)
Related posts:
- Tough Life For A Milkweed: Aphis nerii & Oncopeltus fasciatus
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