Plants

June 15 · Rich-Cove Understory

Mountain Camellia

Stewartia ovata

Large white petals and crowded golden stamens brighten the Appalachian understory in summer.

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June 28 · Forest Floor

Ghost Pipe

Monotropa uniflora

A flowering plant without chlorophyll, found only a little higher than the surrounding leaves.

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July 10 · Hemlock-Deciduous Grove

Pink Lady's Slipper

Cypripedium acaule

Two post-bloom plants—recognized immediately even though the photograph is soft.

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June 15 · Oak Understory

Downy Yellow False Foxglove

Aureolaria virginica

The plant photosynthesizes but also attaches to white-oak roots for some resources.

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July 29 · Seep

Sharpwing Monkeyflower

Mimulus alatus

A purple flower found where water moves slowly through the bank.

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July 19 · Forest Floor

Cucumber Root

Medeola virginiana

The stacked leaf whorls give this small woodland plant its distinctive geometry.

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July 19 & August 1 · Rocky Shoreline

Common Jewelweed

Impatiens capensis

Two outings follow the spotted orange flower from its translucent stem out to the rocky lakeshore.

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May 5 · Flowering Shrub

Multiflora Rose

Rosa multiflora

A close flower view and a wider look at the arching growth of a nonnative invasive shrub.

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April 10 · Mossy Forest Floor

Azure Bluet

Houstonia caerulea

Pale-blue faces and yellow centers rise on thread-thin stems from a bright patch of moss.

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April 2 · Forest Floor

Mottled Wakerobin

Trillium discolor

Three views show the yellow bloom above mottled leaves and the wider group scattered across the forest floor.

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June 5 · Wooded Rock Bank

Cumberland Azalea

Rhododendron cumberlandense

Two coral-orange shrubs sparked community memories and became part of my artwork.

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April 17 · Rocky Woodland

Fire Pink

Silene virginica

Scarlet, deeply notched petals hover above gray rock and early-season leaf litter.

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July 1 · Shaded Forest Floor

New York Fern

Amauropelta noveboracensis

The full frond remains visible from its narrow lower pinnae to its tapering tip.

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July 14 · Sunny Opening

Rosepink

Sabatia angularis

Five pink petals meet in a sharp yellow-green star at the flower's center.

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July 16 · Water's Edge

Buttonbush

Cephalanthus occidentalis

The white globe reads as one bloom until a closer look reveals its many tiny flowers.

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July 16 & 19 · Forest Floor

Downy Rattlesnake Plantain

Goodyera pubescens

White flower spikes rise above evergreen rosettes traced with silver veins.

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July 25 · Rocky Waterline

Lanceleaf Frogfruit

Phyla lanceolata

Tiny purplish flower heads nestle among pale stones and low shoreline vegetation.

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May 10 · Wooded Bank

Mountain Laurel

Kalmia latifolia

A broad flower cluster shows the geometric corollas and dark pockets that hold the stamens.

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July 25 & August 1 · Sandstone Crevice

Mountain Spleenwort

Asplenium montanum

Divided green fronds rise from narrow crevices in acidic sandstone.

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July 9 & August 1 · Mossy Forest Floor

Partridgeberry

Mitchella repens

Two encounters show the creeping leaf mat first and its bright red fruit later.

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July 23 · Green Understory

Red Maple

Acer rubrum

The summer leaves and red petioles make a quieter portrait of a familiar Appalachian tree.

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May 25 · Forest Trail

Striped Wintergreen

Chimaphila maculata

The white-striped evergreen leaves stay connected to the ordinary trail scene where they were noticed.

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May 28 · Open Woodland

Goat's Rue

Tephrosia virginiana

Cream-and-pink pea flowers rise above softly silvered green leaves.

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June 10 · Moist Understory

Great Rhododendron

Rhododendron maximum

Spotted pale flowers open above leathery evergreen leaves beside the creek.

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June 12 · Wet Bank

Southern Sneezeweed

Helenium flexuosum

Notched yellow rays bend away from a domed purple-brown center on the wet bank.

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July 29 · Moist Opening

Hollow Joe-Pye Weed

Eutrochium fistulosum

A tall leafy stem lifts an airy crown of dusty-pink flowers above the moist opening.

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June 28 · Damp Shoreline

Dwarf St. John's Wort

Hypericum mutilum

A hand gives scale to the tiny yellow flowers growing among stones on the damp shoreline.

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