Calmes Neck

Pawpaw flowers.

 

 Last Saturday I went on the Virginia Native Plant Society's (VNPS) walk at Calmes Neck, a tract of private land overlooking the Shenandoah River a bit north of Front Royal. This is a unique site that contains a good number of native species over varied terrain: limestone cliffs with ferns and Columbines overlooking the river, and hillsides carpeted in Virginia Bluebells and other spring ephemerals.

 

Pawpaw flowers (Asimina triloba).

We started our walk at the top of a hill that was covered with Pawpaw trees in flower. There was little evidence that these flowers had been damaged by a frost earlier in the month, so I presume these trees didn't begin to flower until after the frost.

Twinleaf plants (Jeffersonia dyphilla)

Seedpod of Twinleaf.

I had hoped to sketch the twinleaf flowers after our walk, and had brought my sketchbook and kit, but due to the recent heat-wave, the plants were done flowering and had gone to seed. There was not a single flower on the entire hillside covered with these plants!

I had to console myself with the native delphiniums (Delphinium tricornis) nearby. There were a few unusual pale sports growing next to the normally deep purple flowers in this small patch near the twinleaf plants. There were also some trilliums (Trillium sessile), near the Delphiniums.

 

Delphiniums (Delphinium tricornis) on the forest floor.

Close-up of Delphinium tricornis

A pale variant of Delphinium tricornis

Toadshade (Trillium sessile)

We walked down the hillside toward the river where Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica) grow in abundance. Among the bluebells we found plants of both squirrel corn (Dicentra canadensis) and Dutchman's breeches (Dicentra cucullaria).

 

The path by the Shenandoah River.

Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica)

Dutchman's breeches (Dicentra cucullaria)

Squirrel corn (Dicentra canadensis)

River floodplain filled with Virginia bluebells.

After a short stroll through the river floodplain filled with Virginia bluebells our group turned towards a high bluff overlooking the Shenandoah River. On the rocky ledges of this bluff grew a number of lovely and unusual plants: wild columbines, bulblet ferns, walking ferns, native sedums, purple cliffbrake, and spleenwort.

 

Looking down from the limestone cliffs.

Wild columbines (Aquilegia canadensis) on the rocky ledges.

 

 

Columbines and bulblet ferns (Cystopteris bulbifera).

Spring has been so dry this year that the usually green mossy rock ledges were all dried and brown; the walking ferns in particular seemed to be fried to a crisp! Still, they manage to hang on--I'm sure they'll all revive with the first abundant shower.

 

Walking fern (Asplenium rhizophyllum)

Wild ginger (Asarum canadense) with flower.

Rare purple cliffbrake fern (Pellaea atropurpurea)

Stonecrop (Sedum ternatum)

Here was another rare fern--the wall rue (Asplenium ruta-muraria)--so tiny it would be easy to overlook if we didn't have an expert botanist as a guide. Other ferns and plants on the cliffs are unique to this site.

Wall rue (Asplenium ruta-muraria)

Alumroot (Heuchera villosa)

Rue anemone (Thalictrum thalictroides)

Rock twist (Draba ramossisima)

A number of other spring blooming flowers were present: spring beauty (Claytonia virginica), harbinger of spring (Erigenia bulbosa), cut-leaved toothwort (Cardamine concatenata), pussytoes (Antennaria plantaginifolia), round-leaf ragwort (Packera obovata) etc., that are by-now very familiar to me. I did learn that the tiny spring beauty flowers actually have pink pollen, and that when bees harvest their pollen, the pink pollen sacs tell us they've been visiting these spring beauties..

 

Harbinger of spring (Erigenia bulbosa)

Pussytoes (Antennaria plantaginifolia)

Round-leaf ragwort (Packera obovata)

I had brought a sandwich and my paints so that after our excursion I could stay a bit longer to paint one of these lovely flowers. I chose to do a field sketch of one of the delphimiums, which turned out quite nice. I had just finished my drawing when I felt the cool breeze presaging that some rain might be heading this way, so I packed up and left.  I had just got back on Route 50 when a shower started.

 

Watercolor field sketch of Delphinium tricornis (9" x 6").

 

I finished the watercolor in my studio at home with the help of my photos. Above is my little sketch.