The road into Dicks Creek passes
through a lot of privately owned land before it reaches the wildlife management
area. At first, the road paralleled the creek and relatively close to
it. After the road forded Dicks Creek it climbed up the side of the hills to
parallel the creek at a slightly higher elevation.
I was on the ‘upper’ side
of the road on the way up. I began to see…
These are either Uvularia
sessilifolia (Sessileleaf Bellwort, Wild Oats, Sessile-leaf Bellwort, Straw-lily) or
Uvularia puberula (Mountain Bellwort, Appalachian Bellwort, Pale Yellow Bellwort). Name
That Plants indicates that plants of U. puberula occur in tight clumps with 1”
to 3” between the stems whereas U. sessilifolia plants may also occur in clumps
with 5’ to 10” between the stems. The plants we found occurred in loose clumps
more reminiscent of U. sessilifolia than U. puberula.
We also started to see Tiarella
cordifolia (Heartleaf Foamflower) plants in bloom.
We followed the road to its end and
then retraced the route. I was on the ‘down’ side of the road that fell away
steeply to the creek.
And then I spotted…
A single plant of the green form of Trillium cuneatum (compare with Alan Cressler's photo).
A close view. This is the first time that I’ve seen the green form in all of the different locations where I’ve seen this species.
I looked over the edge of the road down towards the creek. Plants
of Trillium cuneatum were scattered over the hillside. At the bottom of the
hill, I spotted…
a cluster of trilliums with large, ‘soft’ green leaves – similar to those we had seen at Boggs Creek. From a distance we couldn’t see the blooms but it was clear as we approached that they had white flowers
close views of the flowers. These appear to be Trillium simile (Jeweled Wakerobin, Confusing Trillium, Sweet White Trillium), a species that is found only in far north counties in Georgia.
There was one final ‘reword’ for spending time at this spot as the
light faded. A little further along the roads edge nearby, we found a…
In spite of the inauspicious introduction to the Dicks Creek Road,
this area proved to be a rich area for spring wildflowers. I’m sure we’ll
revisit this area in the future.
Click
on an image to view a larger image
Identification Resources:
Southeastern Flora
Natural
and Naturalized Plants of the Carolinas and Georgia:
Alan Cressler: Trillium cuneatum – green form
Distribution:
United
States Department of Agriculture Plants Database:
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