July 24th. (Continued from…). When I visited Fort Yargo State
Park in mid-February, there were few signs of Spring. The only wildflower
plants that were obvious were the leaves of Cranefly Orchids (Tipularia discolor) that I found in many
places.
The route… I’ve described it here, here, here, and here This walk doesn’t have the variety of wildflowers as my other
walk from the Group A Shelter to the Old Fort but it does have some gems. One
of the Smallflower Pawpaw (Asimina
parviflora) had developed fruit that, unfortunately, it had lost; the Pink
Lady’s Slipper (Cypripedium acaule)
Orchids had bloomed, and some Green Adder’s-mouth (Malaxis unifolia) Orchids had bloomed and two were setting seeds.
The occurrence of slime mold fruiting bodies added a new focus of interest for
this walk.
The Bigroot Morning Glory (Ipomoea
pandurata) vine weren’t blooming in the shade at the edge of the woods near
the beginning of my return trail. Wonder if they are ‘done’ for the year.
The seed capsules on the Hairy Angelica (Angelica venenosa) continue to develop. They
looked unchanged from the previous week.
Bicolor Lespedezas (Lespedeza
bicolor) plants were still blooming along the trail just before it turned
west.
When I turned west and was surprised to find a…
Cranefly Orchid blooming at the edge of the trail. I had
thought, even if the orchids bloomed in these woods, that I wouldn’t see their
flower stalks for the ground cover. But here was one. Admittedly, the ground
cover wasn’t very high in this location.
Perfoliate Bellwort (Uvularia
perfoliata) plant. The fruit was brown and I was suspicious.
Sure enough, the capsule had split on the bottom and the
seeds had fallen out.
The next stop was the Green Adder’s-mouth Orchid. The…
seed capsules were doing well.
The last sighting for the walk were more Bicolor Lespedeza
flowers on the return trail.
This walk, like the walk from Picnic Shelter A to the Old
Fort, was the ‘quietest’ so far this year. I was left wondering if the ‘slime
mold season’ was over for the year.
Related posts:
-
Spring Is In The Air: Fort Yargo State Park, Section B To The Dam, May 1st
(Part 2)
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