Chestnut Branch & Barnards Creek September 2019 |
All Text & Images: Copyright (2019) |
Explorations for fall wildflowers along two tributaries of Buck Creek. I'd never been along these sections of the creeks other than in winter... |
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Bugbane, aka Mountain Black Cohosh (Actaea podocarpa) Very similar to Black Cohosh, which has bloomed out by now... |
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Unknown polypore fungi on a mossy log |
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Mountain Purple Turtlehead (Chelone obliqua) |
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This would be a bee's point of view as it approached a Turtlehead to pollinate it... |
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Goldenrod (Solidago sp.); just one of several species here. |
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White Snakeroot (Ageratina altissima) This was blooming everywhere along the creeks... |
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It's Aster (Symphyotrichum sp.) season, and there were many species blooming. |
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Blue-bead Lily (Clintonia borealis), in fruit. At least that's what I thought it was when I found it. When I went back in the spring to see it flower, it turned out to be the more common C. umbellulata. |
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Another Aster species |
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I found a very few Soapwort Gentians (Gentiana saponaria), but the flowers were mostly on the way out. |
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With our lack of rain, creek levels were way down, and leaves were already turning brown and falling. |
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Indian Cucumber Root (Medeola virginiana), with its fall coloring. |
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The uncommon Fraser's Sedge (Carex fraseriana ) grows lushly here... |
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Seed heads of Mountain Angelica (Angelica triquinata) There was lots of this along one of the creeks... |
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Walking along a wet area of an old logging road, I noticed what appeared to be the track of an old logging railroad or pole road. You can see crossties running between the parallel wheel beds. |
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I didn't get up Barnards as far as I'd wanted, so I returned about 10 days later. Unfortunately I didn't find much more in regards to any unusual fall blooms... |
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Barnards Creek |