Botanizing in the mountains of Georgia and North Carolina — Part 1 — 2014-06-15

I was really looking forward to a trip into the mountains of north Georgia to photograph an orchid that is found in only two Georgia sites — Platanthera grandiflora or Large Purple Fringed orchid. I joined five botanists/naturalists/photographers from Georgia, and we met at a convenience store in the tiny community of Suches, Union County, Georgia. Several in the group had visited the orchid site after this date last year, but the plants had finished blooming, so we made plans to catch them in full bloom this year.

However, on the way to Suches, I had to follow a steeply climbing mountain road which was lined with summer wildflowers. I was about a half-hour early for our meet-up, so I had the opportunity to stop along the way to photograph some of these colorful beauties. One of my favorite wildflowers is Asclepias tuberosa or Butterfly Milkweed. These were quite plentiful along the road, but what struck me was the occurrence of a very dark orange-red variety that I kept seeing. The typical color of this species is a bright orange, but these looked almost blood-red from a distance. Here is a shot of these Butterfly Milkweed flowers:

Here are a couple of other shots, showing that the flowers are actually orange, striped with red:

Nearby, were several populations of the bright red Silene virginica or Fire Pink:

But time was moving on, and I had several more miles of winding mountain road to travel to the rendezvous. When I arrived, I realized that I was still a bit early, and the others had not yet arrived, so I took time to repack my camera gear and check my maps. After a few minutes, the others arrived. It was good to see these guys again; I had not seen a couple of them in more than a year. We car-pooled and after a short drive, we arrived at the site ready to see the orchids in flower. It took us only a short while to locate the first plant. It was about eye level on a steep embankment, and it was showing six flowers that were fully open. Upon closer inspection, there were unopened buds at the top of the inflorescence, but it appeared that they would not be opening due to some sort of fungus or rot. Too bad, since this would have made for a beautiful display. Here is a shot of the open flowers:

So, we carefully climbed the embankment and searched for other plants. We did find one plant that was quite healthy, but the inflorescence was completely rotted and would not be showing any flowers this season. What a disappointment! But we did see those few flowers on the first plant we found. Considering that it is a very rare species in Georgia, we were thankful that at least one plant gave us a photographic opportunity.

There was another site for another orchid species that was only a few miles away. It was a site that I had visited last year for Liparis liliifolia or Lily-leaved Twayblade orchid. So we packed our gear and drove to the site. Along the way, I spotted a 6-foot (2-meter) tall plant beside the road. It was mostly past peak bloom, but it still had a few late-opening flowers that were in good shape. It is a species called, Frasera caroliniensis or American Columbo. The strangely beautiful flowers are greenish white with small purple streaks and a large hairy green bump on each of the four petals:

I appreciate the patience of the others to wait for me while I photographed the American Columbo. Apparently, they had seen this strange plant on other occasions. Soon, we were off again and on our way to find the Lily-leaved Twayblade orchids. When we arrived, we parked and proceeded to scatter over the hillside, looking for the shiny green leaves that would show us the plants. The flowers are brownish purple, and blend in so well with the leaf litter, that the flowers are seldom seen before the leaves. We found two plants, but they were not in such great shape that we would want to spend much time photographing them. One of the group mentioned that he knew another site near Lake Winfield Scott where he had seen Lily-leaved Twayblade orchids in flower a few years ago. So, we packed up and headed off in the direction of the lake. Orchids are fickle, and sometimes they don’t show up in the quantity or quality that they have shown in previous years.

As we arrived, so did the thunder showers. But, I never let a little rain keep me from photographing wildflowers. We left the parking lot and climbed a wooded hillside where we found about a dozen plants in full bloom. The lightning was far away, and I decided to go ahead and set up my equipment. Here are some shots of the orchids at this location:

We still had a half day of botanizing ahead of us, so we headed toward an area which promised us a field of Sarracenia oreophila or Green Pitcher Plants and Platanthera lacera or Ragged Fringed orchids. But, our trip would take us along winding mountain roads and deep, shaded forests. Earlier this year, a group of us had seen large specimens of Rhododendron calendulaceum or Flame azalea. Click here for the link to that trip report. Those flowers were mostly yellows and oranges, but what we saw on this trip — almost four weeks later — were deep reddish-orange. One of the group concluded that these were another species called, Rhododendron cumberlandense or Cumberland azalea. Whatever species they are, the flowers are striking in their beauty, blooming in tight clusters of five or six flowers at the end of a thin stem, surrounded by bluish-green leaves:

We finished our photography of these stunning wildflowers and headed toward Chatuge Lake, Towns County, in extreme northern Georgia and then on to Buck Creek in Clay County, North Carolina before the day’s end. Stay tuned — those sites will be reported in Part 2 of this trip report. So far, the trip has given us some unexpected photographic opportunities as well as a chance to breathe in the fresh air of a mountain forest. What fun it is to participate in these experiences with others who share my passion for the outdoors and for native wildflowers…

–Jim