Summer At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, September 9th, 2015 (Part 4)

September 9th. (Continued from…). 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 This is a rewarding walk for viewing wildflowers and I’ve been walking it every week and documenting the wildflowers that I see.

The route, which I described here, here, and here.

 

The early spring wildflowers have finished blooming; it’s time to watch the developing fruit. Summer wildflowers were still blooming but it was time to turn attention to the fungi in the woods. There were quite a number on this walk.

Although a retaining wall has been installed along the lake shore below the Old Fort, a number of wildflowers grow in the shallow water below the wall.

Although Murdannia/Wartremoving Herb (Murdannia kesiak) is an invasive plant of Asian origin, I do love these little flowers, perhaps because they look like tiny spiderworts. (They do belong to the same family, Commelinaceae).

A Primrose Willow (Ludwigia leptocarpa) was blooming in the same area, and was already…

developing seed capsules.

Swamp Smartweed (Polygonum setaceum) was also blooming here. I was lucky enough to find some of the tiny flowers opened.

Sweet Autumn Clematis (Clematis terniflora) and Groundnut (Apios americana) were still blooming a little further along the shore.

I did walk over to check the seed capsules on the Swamp Mallow (Hibiscus moscheutos). The capsules were almost empty; there were still a few seeds in the base of the capsules.

The fruiting bodies of an Annulohypoxylon (fomerly Hypoxylon) sp. that may be A. thouarsianum – had released their spores. The presence of this fungus is essential for Snow Fungus to grow and fruit. I had seen Snow Fungus on this log previously although none was present on this date. 

I walked back down the main trail and found a…

young Yellow-bellied Slider (Trachemys scripta) floating on a patch of algae in the inlet just south of the Fishing Area picnic area.

-->

The Spurred Butterflypea (Centrosema virginianum) was still blooming. It’s not necessary to see the leaves to identify this wildflower but I did take the opportunity to photograph some that were easily accessible.

I had seen a solitary Sensitive Partridge Pea (Chamaecrista nictitans) plant blooming by the trail near one of the disc golf tee platforms a couple of weeks previously. It had already developed seed pods. Hopefully more plants will grow in this area.

Finally… I found seed capsules on the Flowering Spurge (Euphorbia corollata). The term ‘superior ovary’ seems an understatement for these seed capsules as they hang on tiny stalks above the ‘petals.’ 

The final wildflowers by the trail in the open woods near the end of the trail were two Eupatorium species. These were the…

Hyssopleaf Thoroughwort (Eupatorium hyssopifolium), and the…

Late-flowering Thoroughwort (Eupatorium serotinum). Sadly, neither of these species flourishes in this location. 

My final find on this walk were a couple of beautiful mushrooms growing on a rotting log in the pine forest near the end of the trail. These were…

Train Wrecker (Neolentinus lepideus; formerly Lentinus lepideus)* mushrooms. They get the strange name of Train Wrecker because they can grow and produce brown rot in old creosote-treated railroad ties. These were young specimens; as they aged the scales on the stem would turn brown.

*Identified by friends on the Facebook Mushroom Identification Forum

References: 

- Native and Naturalized Plants of the Carolinas and Georgia: Murdannia kesiak 
- Native and Naturalized Plants of the Carolinas and Georgia: Ludwigia leptocarpa 
- Native and Naturalized Plants of the Carolinas and Georgia: Polygonum setaceum 
- Native and Naturalized Plants of the Carolinas and Georgia: Clematis terniflora 
- Native and Naturalized Plants of the Carolinas and Georgia: Apios americana 
- Native and Naturalized Plants of the Carolinas and Georgia: Hibiscus moscheutos 
- Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, Herpetology Program: Yellow-bellied Slider (Trachemys scripta) 
- Native and Naturalized Plants of the Carolinas and Georgia: Centrosema virginianum 
- Native and Naturalized Plants of the Carolinas and Georgia: Chamaecrista nictitans 
- Native and Naturalized Plants of the Carolinas and Georgia: Euphorbia corollata 
- Native and Naturalized Plants of the Carolinas and Georgia: Eupatorium hyssopifolium 
- Native and Naturalized Plants of the Carolinas and Georgia: Eupatorium serotinum 
- Messiah College: Neolentinus lepideus 

Related posts: 
- Summer At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, September 9th, 2015 (Part 3) 
- Summer At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, September 9th, 2015 (Part 2) 
- Summer At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, September 9th, 2015 (Part 1) 
- Summer At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, August 31st, 2015 (Part 3) 
- Summer At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, August 31st, 2015 (Part 2) 
- Summer At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, August 31st, 2015 (Part 1) 
- Summer At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, August 25th, 2015 (Part 2) 
- Summer At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, August 25th, 2015 (Part 1) 
- Summer At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, August 18th, 2015 (Part 2)
- Summer At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, August 18th, 2015 (Part 1) 
- Summer At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, August 10th, 2015 (Part 1) 
- Summer At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, August 10th, 2015 (Part 2) 
- Summer At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, August 10th, 2015 (Part 1) 
- Summer At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, August 3rd, 2015 (Part 2) 
- Summer At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, August 3rd, 2015 (Part 1) 
- Summer At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, July 27th, 2015 (Part 2) 
- Summer At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, July 27th, 2015 (Part 1) 
- Summer At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, July 20th, 2015 (Part 2) 
- Summer At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, July 20th, 2015 (Part 1) 
- Summer At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, July 13th, 2015 (Part 2) 
- Summer At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, July 13th, 2015 (Part 1) 
- Summer At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, July 6th, 2015 (Part 2) 
- Summer At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, July 6th, 2015 (Part 1) 
- Summer At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort,June 29th, 2015 (Part 2) 
- Summer At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort,June 29th, 2015 (Part 1) 
- Orange Sponge Polypore (Pycnoporellus alboluteus)? 
- Summer At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, June 22nd, 2015 (Part 2) 
- Summer At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, June 22nd, 2015 (Part 1) 
- Black Chanterelle (Craterellus cornucopioides) 
- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, June 15th, 2015 (Part 2) 
- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, June 15th, 2015 (Part 1) 
- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, June 8th, 2015 (Part 2) 
- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The OldFort, June 8th, 2015 (Part 1) 
- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, June 3rd, 2015 
- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, May 26th, 2015 (Part 2) 
- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, May 26th, 2015 (Part 1) 
- Redring Milkweed (Asclepias variegata) 
- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, May 18th, 2015 (Part 2) 
- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, May 18th, 2015 (Part 1)
- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, May 11th, 2015 (Part 2) 
- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, May 11th, 2015 (Part 1) 
- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, May 6th, 2015 (Part 2) 
- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, May 6th, 2015 (Part 1) 
- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, 30th April, 2015 (Part 2) 
- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, 30th April, 2015 (Part 1) 
- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, 22nd April, 2015 (Part 2) 
- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, 22nd April, 2015 (Part 1) 
- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, 16th April, 2015 (Part 2) 
- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, 16th April, 2015 (Part 1) 
- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, 10th April, 2015 (Part 2) 
- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, 10th April, 2015 (Part 1) 
- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, 4th April, 2015 (Part 2) 
- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, 4th April, 2015 (Part 1) 
- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, 26th March, 2015 (Part 2) 
- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, 26th March, 2015 (Part 1
- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, 20th March, 2015 (Part 2) 
- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, 20th March, 2015 (Part 1)