A Walk in My Woods

I really miss the Virginia native Plant Society (VNPS) hikes this spring, so on 4/29 I decided to do a spring walk in the woods in back of my house, to see how many plants I could identify on my own. I usually don't go in there after the trees leaf out because I fear the poison ivy and noxious insects, but at this time of the year it's fairly safe.

There are several dogwoods in bloom that can be seen from my back yard. The big trees are mostly black and northern red oaks in their dotage, with some hickories (Bitternut and Pignut). The fact that there is a quite a diversity of plant species leads me to believe that my patch of woods is a small strip of native vegetation that was left undisturbed when the neighborhood was built, probably because the slope down to the drainage ditch is so steep.

Over the years I've managed to identify some of the understory trees. The distinctive flowers of the Witch Hazel trees (Hamamelis virginiana) are visible in the fall and winter months; there is a large patch of them on the east corner of my lot extending into my neighbor's.

Witch hazel

Another understory tree on the opposite (western) side of my lot is the American Hop-hornbeam (Ostrya virginiana). About three summers ago I noticed a particularly abundant crop of the characteristic hop-like fruit on several trees in back, which allowed me to identify them. My explorations this spring reveal that these are growing all over.

Hop-hornbeam 

Pignut

There are several hickories too--Pignut hickory (Carya glabra) and Bitternut hickory (Carya cordiformis)--the nuts fall into my yard and the squirrels bring them too. There's also the ubiquitous red maples, perhaps silver and other maples I have yet to identify, bird cherries (Prunus avium), a few dogwoods, and possibly a Serviceberry that bloomed sparsely earlier on.

Further down toward the forest floor are a bunch of what I believe are Late Low Blueberries (Vaccinium vacillans)--much browsed by deer--and some shoots of bedstraw.

 Blueberries

Going down the steep slope towards the drainage ditch I found a few Lady ferns, (Athyrium filix-femina) and patches of Winterberry (Gaultheria procumbens) and star chickweed (Stellaria pubera) on the forest floor. There were also goldenrod shoots, blackberries, and the usual annoying honeysuckle vines.

Chickweed with Wintergreen

At first I wasn't sure what the plants below were, but farther down I found one plant with flowers and was able to identify it as Solomon's seal (Polygonatum biflorum). I'd seen two lovely specimens of this plant farther up the slope a couple of days earlier, but when I started to look for those, they'd vanished. Eventually I located two decapitated stems--the deer had eaten them!

Solomon's seal

The day was so warm and lovely that I continued downhill crossing my neighbor's woods towards the creek that flows from a neighboring farm. There is a small clearing here where more sunlight reaches that can host moisture-loving species typical of our area: Golden Alexanders (Zizia aptera), Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica), and Bluets (Houstonia caerulea).

Golden Alexanders

Spring Beauty

Bluets

Walking along the spongy creek bed I noticed a distant clump of shrubs and small trees with bunches of white flowers. These looked so familiar, I got closer to confirm my suspicions, and they were native Black Haw Viburnums (Viburnum prunifolium), exactly like the two planted in my yard.

Viburnums

Doubling back towards the drainage ditch, I found a plant of Golden Ragwort (Packera aurea), a clump of Mayapples (Podophyllum peltatum), a Buttercup and more Rattlesnake Weed (Hieracium venosum).

Golden Ragwort

May-apples

Rattlesnake Weed

In my own back yard again, I continued through my woods toward the other end of my property, coming across lots of patches of Squawroot (Conopholis americana). This plant lives as a parasite on oak tree roots, and has no leaves.

Squawroot

I also came across a small woody plant with unfurling leaves that I thought might possibly be a native azalea, although the leaves seem a bit large for such. I'll try to keep track of this one as it grows to see if I can identify it.

Unidentified

I continued walking through the woods under the Hop-hornbeams before emerging onto the grassy hillside on my other neighbor's property for the conclusion of a fruitful afternoon exploring my woods.

Weekend at Mountain Lake Station, Part I

Yellow pinesap (Monotropa hypopitys)

VNPS had announced a weekend at UVA's Mountain Lake Biological Station in southwestern Virginia at the end of July but the excursion was limited to a baker's dozen in number. Not sure that I'd be able to get one of those slots or keep up with their strenuous hiking schedule, I reserved accommodations for myself the weekend before. I figured that the orchid I was hoping to see, the Coral Root Orchid (Corallorhiza maculata) would be in bloom then, as well as other interesting plants. Being by myself, I would have time to sketch and set my own pace.

This remote mountain area is noted for its rich diversity of flora and fauna, some quite unique. The lake itself,  Mountain Lake, also called Salt Pond, is most unusual: unchanged for the most part of last century, a hotel resort had been built on its shore (the 1980's movie Dirty Dancing was filmed here in part). The spring-fed lake's water level began to drop precipitously in the early 2000's and drained completely. Fissures in the bedrock were found, and geological studies revealed that the lake actually has drained periodically, and fills up again. The lake has now returned to about half its volume.

I left on Friday at mid-morning for the three and a half hour drive down the scenic Shenandoah Valley. I was timing my arrival at the station for the afternoon check-in. This would allow enough time to stop along the way at near-by Pandapas Pond, a place I'd read about where another plant I was seeking could be found. Yellow pinesap (Monotropa hypopitys,) a member of the fascinating Monotropa family that I'd never seen, blooms at this time of the year, and I hoped to get photos for my illustrations.

Pandapas Pond

It was about one o'clock when I took the exit towards Blacksburg. The sign for Pandapas Pond was so inconspicuous that I almost missed the turn, but just managed to make the quick left. I parked towards the end of the last lot, and sat on a bench to enjoy my lunch in the company of a goldfinch browsing some thistles.

After putting my trash back in the car I was weighing which of the two trails to take when another car pulled up. An older lady with a mesh bag in her hand got out and was starting up the forest trail when I asked her what she intended to collect. Judging by her accent, she was local, and she was looking for edible mushrooms, something she called "swamp mushrooms." She told me she didn't have much time before her church service. I asked if she'd ever seen pinesap in the area and she responded no, but that I should look at the site of fallen trees, particularly pines.

I followed her at a respectful distance until she vanished from sight. I came across some Indian pipe and encouraged by this, went off-trail to look for pinesap. I didn't find any and continued up the trail which ended at a beautiful flower garden. The terrain here didn't look particularly promising, so I turned back to try the pond trail. On the way back I saw the old lady deep in the woods, bending over something--she must have found what she was looking for.

Fungi on the pond trail

The pond trail wound around a small hill covered with old pine trees; I climbed up the steep bank to look under them and saw the ground was covered with fungi and mosses, but no pinesap. I went back down and scouted around the pond, but the sandy soil there was not particularly promising either. I was almost back at parking lot, about to give up my search, when I happened to glance up at the steep bank now on my right. There it was--a tiny shoot of Yellow pinesap emerging from the mossy ground! I scurried up and discovered several more pristine stalks to photograph.

Yellow Pinesap.

Having accomplished one goal, I continued on my journey. Heading west the hills became steeper and traffic thinner. At the turn-off for Mountain Lake Lodge the two-lane road went through an area of rural properties and then started climbing steadily, becoming steeper and steeper with every curve.

Power lines at Mountain Lake

The forest canopy was thick until I reached this point where overhead power lines cut through. I couldn't resist the amazing vista that opened up, and pulled over to take this photo. The freshness of the mountain air took my breath away as much as the panorama--it was perceptibly cooler here than on the valley floor. This had to be at around 3,000 feet elevation.

I reached the lodge and asked some hotel attendants at the parking lot where the road to the Biological Station continued. They directed me to the left of the lodge, past the pool and some outbuildings. The paving ended a few miles later and the road became gravel. A few deep ruts here and there gave an indication of what the downpours in these mountains must be like.

After a few more miles the sign for the Biological Station appeared--I drove past some rustic cottages and buildings and parked at the main lot, looking for the building with the registration office. I was directed to Lewis, a two-story stone building to my left. I checked in at the office and received my information packet--I talked briefly with the young lady there about my pursuits and Jamie marked the locations of several stands of Coral Root and other orchids on the station map. One stand was right outside of this building. Another hand-out showed the trails around the station, and she marked those for me as well.

I'd been assigned one of the cottages, Burns, which turned out to have a small fenced-in garden surrounding it. I was cautioned to never leave the gate open, as the deer here were extremely voracious. After getting my gear and settling in, I went out with my camera to explore my surroundings.

The Burns Cottage and garden.

The cottage garden had been lovingly landscaped with all sorts of native plants in a charming arrangement, and conveniently labeled. There were Turk's cap lilies (Lilium superbum) and red and white bee balm (Monarda) blooming. A number of ferns, among them a huge variety of Osmunda (Osmunda spectabilis) which I had never seen before, and a rare trillium, Trillium sulcatum, with a peculiar maroon fruit (my photo of this didn't turn out well).

Turk's Cap Lily (Lilium superbum)

Osmunda spectabilis.

Burns Cottage garden.

After that, I went out to explore the rest of the station. The campus consisted of a series of small cottages and a few larger building arranged around an open grassy area, with the dining hall at one end and Lewis at the other end, and a pond and the large new lab building to the south.

There were three Coral root orchids by Lewis, three small flowering stalks under the oak trees, the flowers not yet open. I walked down the green towards the other area where Jamie had indicated more of these, and found two huge clumps near another cottage. These were better developed but the stalks seemed older, with some flowers clearly past their prime. Still, very exciting to see so many of them!

Coral Root Orchid (Corallorhiza maculata)

I checked out the purple fringed orchids by another cottage; they had been fertilized and were developing seed pods. Looking for other orchids, I entered an area where an old swimming pool had been--pieces of concrete slabs and piers remained in place. The ground here was spongy, lushly covered with several varieties of mosses, among them on that looked like miniature fern fronds. Here was Indian pipe and farther down, another orchid, Rattlesnake Plantain (Goodyera pubescens) with several flowering stalks.

Beautiful fern moss (Thuidium delicatum?)

Indian Pipe (Monotropa uniflora)

Rattlesnake Plantain (Goodyera pubescens)

What great finds! This would help me plan where to start sketching tomorrow morning.

The first dinner bell rang out as I was heading back to my cabin. I dropped off my camera quickly and headed back to the dining hall--I'd been warned the hungry hordes would claim every bite if one was late. There was a small kitchenette in my cabin with a refrigerator, but since I didn't know that in advance, I hadn't thought to bring any snacks, only some wine and my favorite teas.

After dinner I walked around again, enjoying the cool evening and the last of the light lingering on the pond. I came across a gentleman on a cottage deck readying some plant specimens for pressing and talked to him for a bit. Dr. Mark Whitten told me he and his assistant, a young Chinese man by the endearing name of Miao, were here to collect specimens for a project comparing the DNA of eastern North American plants with their counterparts in northeastern China. It's believed that these plants share a common ancestry from a time before the continents began to drift apart, and this project may add valuable information to prevailing theories.

After that it was time for an evening read, and then to bed. I'd brought a light wool blanket with all my linens, since MLBS warns that the night temperatures can drop into the upper fifties even in summer, but even then I wasn't prepared for just how cold it got. I couldn't get to sleep, and wished I'd brought an extra blanket. After closing all the windows and putting a sweater on, I was still too cold to sleep. Eventually I spread all the extra clothes I had with me over the blanket and managed to get warm enough to drift off, but it was one AM by then.

Next: Sketching Orchids, a hike to Bear Cliffs and more.