Rachel StepekAppalachian Field Notes & Community Science
Stalked Puffball-in-Aspic among moss and wet forest litter

A searchable record of photographed life

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Search 50 featured organisms by common or scientific name, or browse the photographed plants, fungi, animals, and other life.

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50 featured organisms

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Each organism appears once. Repeated observations become dates, settings, or alternate Field Views within that entry.

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Cumberland Azalea flowering across a wooded layered rock bankPlants27 entries → Bright Shaggy-Stalked Boletes on the forest floorFungi15 entries → Great Blue Heron at a wooded waterlineAnimals7 entries →
Prefer to begin with color?Explore the Color Guide →
Group of pale yellow Appalachian Tiger Swallowtails gathering on damp ground Appalachian Tiger SwallowtailPapilio appalachiensis Animals
April 2 · Waterfall Hollow Tiny pale-blue Azure Bluet flowers in bright moss Azure BluetHoustonia caerulea Plants
April 10 · Mossy Forest Floor Spherical white Buttonbush flower head at the water's edge ButtonbushCephalanthus occidentalis Plants
July 16 · Water's Edge Tiny yellow Club-Like Tuning Fork fungi branching from decaying hardwood Club-Like Tuning ForkCalocera cornea Fungi
June 28 · Decaying Hardwood Two Common Earthballs among wet leaves beside moving water Common EarthballScleroderma citrinum Fungi
August 1 · Wet Forest Floor Spotted orange Common Jewelweed flower with droplets on its stem Common JewelweedImpatiens capensis Plants
July 19 & August 1 · Rocky Shoreline Cucumber Root leaf whorl beside moss and decaying wood Cucumber RootMedeola virginiana Plants
July 19 · Forest Floor Orange Cumberland Azalea flowering above a layered rock bank Cumberland AzaleaRhododendron cumberlandense Plants
June 5 · Wooded Rock Bank Two Downy Rattlesnake Plantain flower spikes above patterned evergreen leaves Downy Rattlesnake PlantainGoodyera pubescens Plants
July 16 & 19 · Forest Floor Downy Yellow False Foxglove flowers in Appalachian understory Downy Yellow False FoxgloveAureolaria virginica Plants
June 15 · Oak Understory Tiny yellow Dwarf St. John's Wort flowers beside a hand for scale Dwarf St. John's WortHypericum mutilum Plants
June 28 · Damp Shoreline Eastern Black Bear at the Lake Keowee waterline Eastern Black BearUrsus americanus americanus Animals
March 31 · Lake Keowee Cove Cream Eastern Cauliflower Mushroom with curled ribbonlike branches Eastern Cauliflower MushroomSparassis spathulata Fungi
July 29, 2023 · Hardwood Forest Orange Eastern Newt crossing mottled stones Eastern NewtNotophthalmus viridescens Animals
July 19 · Damp Forest Eastern Tiger Swallowtail resting with striped wings open Eastern Tiger SwallowtailPapilio glaucus Animals
July 9 · Sandy Cove Scarlet Fire Pink flowers above a rocky woodland floor Fire PinkSilene virginica Plants
April 17 · Rocky Woodland Pale Ghost Pipe plants rising through wet leaf litter Ghost PipeMonotropa uniflora Plants
June 28 · Forest Floor Pink-and-cream Goat's Rue flowers above silvery green leaves Goat's RueTephrosia virginiana Plants
May 28 · Open Woodland Great Blue Heron at a wooded rocky waterline Great Blue HeronArdea herodias Animals
April 1 · Waterline Cluster of pale Great Rhododendron flowers in the leafy understory Great RhododendronRhododendron maximum Plants
June 10 · Moist Understory Tall Hollow Joe-Pye Weed crowned with soft pink flower clusters Hollow Joe-Pye WeedEutrochium fistulosum Plants
July 29 · Moist Opening Cream Jellied False Coral Fungus branching across the hardwood forest floor Jellied False Coral FungusSebacina schweinitzii Fungi
July 14 · Hardwood Forest Floor Tiny purplish Lanceleaf Frogfruit flowers growing among stones near the water Lanceleaf FrogfruitPhyla lanceolata Plants
July 25 · Rocky Waterline Lynx Paw Oyster mushroom emerging from a hardwood cavity Lynx Paw OysterPleurotus levis Fungi
July 29 · Hardwood Cavity Mottled Wakerobin with a yellow flower and patterned leaves Mottled WakerobinTrillium discolor Plants
April 2 · Forest Floor White Mountain Camellia flower with crowded golden stamens Mountain CamelliaStewartia ovata Plants
June 15 · Rich-Cove Understory Cluster of pale Mountain Laurel flowers with patterned pink centers Mountain LaurelKalmia latifolia Plants
May 10 · Wooded Bank Mountain Spleenwort fronds rooted in a narrow sandstone crevice Mountain SpleenwortAsplenium montanum Plants
July 25 & August 1 · Sandstone Crevice Pale Multiflora Rose blossoms with yellow stamens Multiflora RoseRosa multiflora Plants
May 5 · Flowering Shrub New York Fern frond rising from a shaded Appalachian forest floor New York FernAmauropelta noveboracensis Plants
July 1 · Shaded Forest Floor Bright orange Orange Jelly Spot fungus on dark wet wood Orange Jelly SpotDacrymyces chrysospermus Fungi
August 1 · Wet Wood Yellow Ornate-Stalked Bolete rising from the leafy forest floor Ornate-Stalked BoleteRetiboletus ornatipes Fungi
July 22 · Forest Floor Red Partridgeberry fruit among glossy leaves and wet moss PartridgeberryMitchella repens Plants
July 9 & August 1 · Mossy Forest Floor Post-bloom Pink Lady's Slipper leaves on the forest floor Pink Lady's SlipperCypripedium acaule Plants
July 10 · Hemlock-Deciduous Grove Warm brown and ochre Pink-Striped Oakworm Moth resting on a hand Pink-Striped Oakworm MothAnisota virginiensis Animals
May 29 · Woodland Three small Powder-Scale Pholiota mushrooms on decaying hardwood Powder-Scale PholiotaFlammulaster erinaceellus Fungi
August 1 · Fallen Hardwood Small divided orange-red Red Chanterelle against wet forest litter Red ChanterelleCantharellus cinnabarinus Fungi
July 29 · Wet Forest Floor Red Maple leaves and reddish petioles in the green understory Red MapleAcer rubrum Plants
July 23 · Green Understory Coral-red Red Raspberry Slime Mold cushions clustered on decaying wood Red Raspberry Slime MoldTubifera ferruginosa Other Life
June 15 · Decaying Wood Red-Eared Slider viewed from above with its red head stripe visible Red-Eared SliderTrachemys scripta elegans Animals
July 23 · Lakeshore Pale green Rock Greenshield Lichen spreading across a dark rock surface Rock Greenshield LichenFlavoparmelia baltimorensis Fungi
July 9 · Rock Surface Pink Rosepink flower with a yellow-green star-shaped eye RosepinkSabatia angularis Plants
July 14 · Sunny Opening Pair of bright Shaggy-Stalked Boletes on the forest floor Shaggy-Stalked BoleteAureoboletus betula Fungi
August 1 · Forest Floor Purple Sharpwing Monkeyflower growing in a seep Sharpwing MonkeyflowerMimulus alatus Plants
July 29 · Seep Southern Sneezeweed flower with yellow rays around a purple-brown center Southern SneezeweedHelenium flexuosum Plants
June 12 · Wet Bank Red Stalked Puffball-in-Aspic among moss and wet litter Stalked Puffball-in-AspicCalostoma cinnabarinum Fungi
August 1 · Mossy Forest Floor Striped Wintergreen leaves on the forest floor with a dog farther along the trail Striped WintergreenChimaphila maculata Plants
May 25 · Forest Trail Broad brown Velvet-Footed Tap mushroom attached to decaying wood Velvet-Footed TapTapinella atrotomentosa Fungi
August 1 · Decaying Wood Layered White-Pored Chicken of the Woods at buried hardwood roots White-Pored Chicken of the WoodsLaetiporus cincinnatus Fungi
June 15 · Steep Creek Bank Tiny yellow chanterelles among moss and wet leaves Yellow ChanterellesCantharellus minor Fungi
August 1 · Moss & Leaf Litter

The full, growing record.

This guide features fifty of the organisms I have photographed. My complete record continues on iNaturalist.

Explore my complete record on iNaturalist →

All field photographs and field notes by Rachel Stepek · Field exploration and discoveries with Nathan Stepek