May 11th. I started to walk again at Fort Yargo State Park
in Winder, Georgia. One of my favorite walks is from the Group Shelter A to the Old Fort and back.This
is a rewarding walk for viewing wildflowers and I’ve been trying to walk it
weekly and document the wildflowers I see.
The first part of the trail is through woods that are very
shady and cool.
The first wildflower of the day was Venus’ Pride (Houstonia
purpurea); there were only two plants. This is the first time that I had seen
this flower.
The Strawberry Bush (Euonymus americanus) was still
blooming.
A Blackgum (Nyssa sylvatica) was setting flower buds.
As I walked past the bench just beyond the Strawberry Bush,
I startled a damselfly. It’s a juvenile that I haven’t been able to identify.
It was remarkably ‘tame’ and posed for several photos before I left to check on
the…
A Red-spotted Purple (Limenitis arthemis) was sunning itself.
Approaching the first bridge, and…
crossing it.
Pipsissewa (Chimaphila maculata) flower buds were still
developing nicely.
Berries were developing on Deerberry (Vaccinium staminium)
bushes just beyond the first bridge.
The large seedpod was still developing on the Eastern
Sweetshrub (Calycanthus floridus) bush. The second flower stem that looked
promising originally, was starting to wither; obviously, it wont develop any
further.
Rattlesnakeweeds (Hieracium venosum) were still in full
bloom.
Some seed capsuled were definitely developing on the witchhazel.
It looked like about nine or ten capsules were developing, a small number
compared with the number of flower stalks on the plant.
The gall on the young witch hazel bush had developed
further; it was a Witch Hazel Cone Gall caused by the Witch-hazel Cone Gall Aphid (Hormaphis hamamelidis).
The Christmas Ferns (Polystichum acrostichoides) above the cliff were starting to
fruit.
Berries were still developing on the Elliott’s Blueberry
(Vaccinium elliottii) plant but none were showing signs of ripening yet.
I took some time to check one of the Hazel Alder (Alnus serrulata) bushes by the
water. The seed cones, that had remained unchanged for several months, were
starting to swell.
A flower on one of the Green Arrow Arum (Peltandra
virginica) had opened. It was lying on the soft mud so I couldn’t reach it. It
doesn’t look like it had started to release pollen.
The Common (Sisyrinchium angustifloium) and Needle-tipped
Blue-eyed Grasses (Sisyrinchium mucronatum) had bloomed. I’d been waiting for
another blue-eyed grass, the…
Annual Blue-eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium rosulatum) to bloom.
These bloom in the grass at the point in the Fishing Area.
I had remembered that I’d seen…
Carolina Wild Petunia (Ruellia caroliniensis) blooming close
by. I checked and found a plant just starting to bloom at the edge of a patch
of Poison Ivy (Toxodendron radicans). This must have been the first flower of
the season. It was white; usually these flowers are a light mauve. I expected
that later flowers would be mauve.
And then off into the Rock Garden…
(To be continued…)
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