We weren’t planning on going to The Pocket today. It was beautiful, and I’d heard some rumors that piqued an interest in another site – didn’t pan out, but on our way home we passed within a couple of miles of The Pocket, so at the last minute we decided to check it out. We’d seen on Facebook that Dutchmen’s Breeches were blooming in the Smokies, so I wanted to check to see if they were blooming at the pocket – see below; they were!
Dutchman’s Breeches – Dicentra cucullaria
My wife and I did a quick walk of the boardwalk only, but added several species to the list from last Wednesday. We didn’t walk the horse trail or up to the falls, so I’m guessing that there is even more blooming. Take a look at Wednesday’s list, and add the following species as confirmed blooming now, bringing the confirmed number up to 20 species:
- Long-spurred Violet (Viola rostrata) – A patch was blooming in the forest next to the parking lot; these usually are found along the horse trail which we didn’t walk.
- Field Pansy (Viola bicolor) – Abundant along the driveway between the boardwalk and the parking lot.
- Trailing Trillium (Trillium decumbens) – A number of plants with their petals exposed, but only a couple with them starting to separate.
- Rue Anemone (Thalictrum thalictroides) – Noticed just a few; early in their season
- Dutchman’s Breeches (Dicentra cucullaria) – These usually have a pretty short blooming season. Last year there were a few this early (see my report from 3/3/2017), then we had a cold snap, and the main bloom was nearer to the normal late March. This year, however, they are blooming in abundance now. There might not be a “normal season” bloom in a couple of weeks.
- Heartleaf Foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia) – We found just one plant blooming along the sidewalk, hiding nearly under one of the pull-offs. The earliest are usually up the trail to the falls, so there are likely a couple more up there.
- Canada Violet (Viola canadensis) – Just beginning; we saw a few at the end of the boardwalk.
Trailing Trillium – Trillium decumbens