It had only been 5 days since we were last at The Pocket, but I ran across some published information about the particular subspecies of Trout Lily at that location a couple of days ago, and I wanted photographs of the identifying characteristics. And it was another beautiful day today, so I headed down there in the early afternoon.  I counted 33 species blooming, naturally mostly the same as five days earlier. I also made a run around to the east side of Pigeon Mountain.

Purple Phacelia, Fernleaf Phacelia – Phacelia bipinnatifida

Heartleaf Foamflower, Bishop’s Cap, and Sweet White Violet are added to the list from earlier in the week, and the Spice Bush blooms appears to be past. Here is the full list of what I found blooming (Click on the hyper-linked scientific name to go to the page with more photos/information on that species.):

• Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) – I only saw a few still blooming
• Virginia Bluebell (Mertensia virginica) – Still magnificent.
• Hepatica (Anemone acutiloba) – Definitely on the decline.
• Cutleaf Toothwort (Cardamine concatenata) – Just a few are still around, showing their age.
• Carolina Spring Beauty (Claytonia caroliniana) – Still easy to find, but declining.
• Star Chickweed (Stellaria pubera) – Lots of them. They hang around for a long time.
• Blue Cohosh (Caulophyllum thalictroides) – Not quite to “peak.”
• Trout Lily (Erythronium americanum) – Plentiful, especially north of the parking lot.
• Bellwort (Uvularia grandiflora) – Several plants are blooming now.

Large-flowered Bellwort – Uvularia grandiflora

• Rue Anemone (Thalictrum thalictroides) Plentiful, now outnumbering the Hepatica.
• Long-spurred Violet (Viola rostrata) – Plentiful, everywhere, but declining.
• Canada Violet (Viola canadensis) – These have really popped in the last few days.
• Smooth Yellow Violet (Viola pubescens) – Many blooming.
• Common Blue Violet (Viola sororia) – Many.
• Sweet White Violet (Viola blanda) – I noted several, but they can be “left behind” since at a casual glance you might mistake them for small Canada Violets.
• Field Pansy (Viola bicolor) – Along the driveway after you drive across the creek.
• Wood Poppy (Stylophorum diphyllum) – Quite a few blooming.
• Dutchman’s Breeches (Dicentra cucullaria) – Several stalks blooming at the back of the loop, closest about 15′ from the boardwalk. Unfortunately the large, close colony is inaccessible due to the closure.
• Wild Geranium (Geranium maculatum) – Quite a few blooming.
• Plantain-leaf Pussytoes (Antennaria plantaginifolia) – Mostly along the rim near the top of the falls.
• Cumberland Spurge (Euphorbia mercurialina) – Many.

Wood Vetch, Carolina Vetch, Pale Vetch – Vicia caroliniana

• Trailing Trillium (Trillium decumbens) – Many.
• Redbud (Cercis canadensis) – Not quite peak down here.
• Purple Phacelia (Phacelia bipinnatifida) – Several plants along Pocket Loop Trail; those along the boardwalk not open yet.
• Robin’s Plantain (Erigeron pulchellus) – Several along the horse trail (Pocket Loop Trail.)
• Wild Blue Phlox  (Phlox divaricata) –  Plentiful along the Pocket Loop Trail, I think I saw a single one around the boardwalk.
• Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) – A couple flowers fully now.
• Violet Wood Sorrel (Oxalis violacea) – Several plants blooming along the horse trail.
• Roundleaf Ragwort (Packera obovata) – These have become prolific in the last 5 days.
• Wood Vetch (Vicia caroliniana) – One just past the gate onto the Pocket Loop Trail.
• Pennywort (Obolaria virginica) – One blooming along the Pocket Loop Trail. When you see the Columbine up on the rock wall on the uphill side of the road, look along the downhill roadside.

Heartleaf Foamflower, False Miterwort, Coalwort, Coolwort, False Bitterroot – Tiarella cordifolia

• Heartleaf Foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia) – There are several near along the Pocket Loop Trail (“horse trail”) near the top of the falls which are about to bloom. There are several blooming along the creek near the falls. (I did not cross any barriers, pass any closure signs, or travel “cross country” to visit these.)
• Bishop’s Cap (Mitella diphylla) – There are several blooming along the creek near the falls. (I did not cross any barriers, pass any closure signs, or travel “cross country” to visit these.)

And the bonus – As I mentioned in the lead-in, after leaving The Pocket, I drove around to the east side of the mountain, and visited a few areas over there. I caught the Twinleaf bloom (Jeffersonia diphylla) at the only site in Georgia where it is found.

Twinleaf, Helmet Pod, Ground Squirrel Pea – Jeffersonia diphylla