August 21st. (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. For
the moment, some wildflowers we still blooming but there was a lull between
seasons. I had thought that the slime mold fruiting was done for the year, but
I was in for a surprise. There were new fungi to be found too.
A recently fallen branch, no more than one inch in diameter,
held the most intriguing fungi. Small brackets with caps at their attachment
points. They are called the Little Nest Polypore (Poronidulus conchifer).
A little further along, and off the trail, I found spotted a
couple of Golden Reishi (Ganoderma curtisii).
second was growing on its own stalk a few inches from the
tree trunk, but probably associated with one of the oaks roots. I was looking
forward to following these fascinating fungi.
I walked on towards the Green Adder’s-mouth Orchid when I
spotted a sapling that had been stripped of all its foliage. It reminded me of
another small sapling I had seen several weeks before that hosted a hatching of
small caterpillars on a Post Oak (Quercus
stellata) that had also been stripped of all its leaves. I saw a couple of
Post Oaks nearby and decided to check them for caterpillars. Sure enough,…
The leaf on the Green Adder’s-mouth Orchid plant and its
developing seed capsules still looked healthy. I wondered how long it would
take for these small seed capsules to mature.
A very small spider (that I couldn’t get a good look at) had
taken advantage of the flower spike and had spun a web from the flower spike to
nearby plants.
The Rattlesnake Plantain (Goodyera pubescens) seed capsules
were swelling ever so slightly. Hopefully, these would mature too.
At the top of ‘The Hill,’ I found some more immature Wolf’s
Milk (Lycogala epidendrum) fruiting
bodies. The small gray ‘blobs’ around the Wolf’s Milk fruiting bodies are developing fruiting bodies of either another slime mold or of a fungus
that we haven’t been able to identify at this stage of their development.
On another log nearby, I found a relatively rare sight (for
me). These Wolf Milk fruiting bodies had matured and their ‘skins’ dried to
break open and release spores onto the wood below. Incidentally, the small
brown spots along the crack above these fruiting bodies are the fruiting bodies
of yet another slime mold. (Unfortunately I didn’t get good photographs of
these latter fruiting bodies to allow identification).
A little further along the trail, A section of the recently
fallen pine tree was showing areas of white growth indicative either of a slime
mold or fungus.
Closer inspection revealed a healthy colony of ‘Honeycomb’
Coral Slime (Ceratiomyxa fruticulosa
var. porioides) fruiting bodies.
Out on the open section of trail, a Gulf Fritillary (Agraulis vanillae) was feeding on
Brazilian Vervein (Verbena brasiliensis). I just managed to get a shot before
it flew off.
The large Trumpetweed/Joe Pye Weed (Eutrochium fistulosum) had all but finished blooming but was still
an imposing presence near the end of the trail.
Below it, against the trail was a tangle of green plants
three to four feet tall. I thought, at first, that it was just one plant
species. When I looked closely, however, the plants had somewhat similar leaves
– in size and shape – but they had distinctly different flowers…
The first was Spotted Spurge/Eyebane (Chamaesyce nutans), not only with flowers but also with…
The second was Tooth-leaved Croton (Croton glandulosus var. septentrionalis), whose stems were hairy
compared with those of the Spotted Spurge.
Related posts:
- Summer On A Fort Yargo State Park
Trail: Section B To The Dam, July 29th (Part 1)
-
Spring Is In The Air: Fort Yargo State Park, Section B To The Dam, May 1st
(Part 2)
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