Logo Buck Creek Barrens
Late Summer 2024 Botanizing
All Text & Images:
Copyright (2024)

1 - Sept 13, 2024

West side of Buck Creek.   I made my way up to the Barrens
to catch the first of what I call the "fall wildflower season".
The hogs have gotten bad up there in the past few years.


Canada_Burnet
Canada Burnet   (Sanguisorba canadensis)


Milkwort_Senega_curtissii
Curtiss' Milkwort, aka Appalachian Milkwort
(Senega curtissii, formerly Polygala)



Parnassia_grandifolia
Bigleaf Grass-of-Parnassus   (Parnassia grandifolia)


Parnassia_grandifolia
P. grandifolia is the less common of our two mountain Parnassus species.


Parnassia_grandifolia
Bigleaf Grass-of-Parnassus   (Parnassia grandifolia)


Trentepohlia_aurea
Trentepohlia aurea, a species of filamentous terrestrial green alga.
I first found the rocks on which this grows back in 2018,
and visit it every fall, because I think the color is so cool!



Serpentine
Serpentine rock


Hog_rooting
Evidence of hog rooting abounded...


Gentiana_saponaria
Soapwort Gentian   (Gentiana saponaria)


Gentiana_saponaria
Soapwort Gentian   (Gentiana saponaria)


Gentiana_saponaria
Soapwort Gentian   (Gentiana saponaria)


Chicken_of_the_Woods
Chicken of the Woods   (Laetiporus sulphureus),
well past its prime...



Chicken_of_the_Woods
More Chicken of the Woods on the other side of the tree.


White_Snakeroot
White Snakeroot   (Ageratina altissima)


Agalinis_tenuifolia
Slender Gerardia   (Agalinis tenuifolia)


Agalinis_tenuifolia
Slender Gerardia   (Agalinis tenuifolia) with a bug.
I believe the insect is a Spinach Flea Beetle (Disonycha xanthomelas).



Solidago
Goldenrod   (Solidago species)


Solidago
White Goldenrod   (Solidago bicolor),
just coming into bloom...




2 - September 24, 2024

East side of Buck Creek.   With rain and then more rain from Hurricane Helene in the forecast, I wanted to check on the largest population of Fringed Gentians in our vicinity.   I prefer to photograph these under overcast conditions, but unfortunately the flowers of this species require sun to open.   That means I have to try to catch a day that starts sunny, and then clouds up in the afternoon.   This day fit that forecast, so I headed there after lunch.   Unluckily, it had been sunny at home, but the Gentians' location had seen rain, so not many flowers were open.   But that was OK, as I have seen this rare species many times before.

As a bonus, I came across a new (for me) species that I'd never heard of before, much less seen!


Gentianopsis
Fringed Gentian   (Gentianopsis crinita)


Gentianopsis
Fringed Gentians   (Gentianopsis crinita)


Gentianopsis
Fringed Gentian   (Gentianopsis crinita)


Gentianopsis
Fringed Gentians   (Gentianopsis crinita)


Gentianopsis
Fringed Gentian   (Gentianopsis crinita)


Gentianopsis
Fringed Gentian   (Gentianopsis crinita)


Gentianopsis
Fringed Gentian   (Gentianopsis crinita)


Gentianopsis
Fringed Gentian   (Gentianopsis crinita)


Gentianopsis
Fringed Gentians   (Gentianopsis crinita)


Gentianopsis
Fringed Gentians   (Gentianopsis crinita)


Gentianopsis
Fringed Gentian   (Gentianopsis crinita)


Gentianopsis
Fringed Gentians   (Gentianopsis crinita)


Gentianopsis
Fringed Gentian   (Gentianopsis crinita) - view inside


Gentianopsis
Fringed Gentians   (Gentianopsis crinita)


Gentianopsis-Crab_Spider
White-banded Crab Spider (Misumenoides formosipes)
emerging from Fringed Gentian (Gentianopsis crinita)



Orange_Horse_Gentian
Orange-fruited Horse Gentian   (Triosteum aurantiacum)
I had never heard of, much less seen, this species
before coming across a small group of plants.



Orange_Horse_Gentian
Fruits of Orange-fruited Horse Gentian
I need to catch them in flower next year.



Spiranthes
Nodding Ladies' Tresses   (Spiranthes cernua complex)


Spiranthes
Nodding Ladies' Tresses   (Spiranthes cernua complex)


Gentianella
Stiff Gentian   (Gentianella quinquefolia)


Gentiana_decora
Appalachian Gentian, aka Showy Gentian   (Gentiana decora)


Gentiana_decora
Appalachian Gentian, aka Showy Gentian   (Gentiana decora)


Bog
The start of some fall color at the pond becoming a bog.



2024 Buck Crk Index Buck Creek Index
Natural Environments NE GA - NC Index