White Baneberry – Native Plant of the Day 03/23/2024
Photo from 04/04/2009. Location: The Pocket, Walker County, Ga.
More photos / info at the Actaea pachypoda detail page.
White Baneberry, Doll’s Eyes – Actaea pachypoda
This will likely be my last status update on wildflowers at The Pocket this season. The overstory is filling out, and the leafy understory is blocking what sun makes it through the leaves on the trees, so the spring ephemeral season is drawing to a close. From a species count – this time I counted 39 species blooming – it seems to be active, but most of those are in definite decline. This would be a particularly good time to come if you want to catch some of those species in fruit. The massive display of Bent White Trillium (Trillium flexipes) is still on, but it and most other species are past their peak.
White Baneberry – time to be transitioning to the Doll’s Eyes common name – Actaea pachypoda
Work and grandkid schedule have left time only for a quick trip down to The Pocket on Wednesday evening. My primary purpose was to determine if the Bellwort down there is Large-flowered or Perfoliate (mission accomplished.) We also took a spin around the boardwalk and made a trip north of the parking area, but did not get up the horse trail toward the falls, so I’m unable to update the status of flowers found along that trail.
Wild Geranium – Geranium maculatum
We made a quick trip down to The Pocket on Tuesday evening. We made a short 100-yard walk up the horse trail and took a spin around the boardwalk, so I’m unable to update the status of flowers found along the trail to the falls, but here’s what I’ve got.
Wild Blue Phlox from 04/06/2010
Cindy and I headed down to The Pocket at Pigeon Mountain around 4:30 Friday afternoon. I knew the light would be failing on the Shirley Miller Wildflower Trail soon after we arrived, but I was committed for Saturday, and wanted to make sure I was able to make a weekly report on the wildflower status during the spring season. If you’re into watching the seed-formation process, this is a good time for you. There is still an abundance of wildflowers in The Pocket, making a trip absolutely worthwhile, but of the “signature flowers,” Virginia bluebell and wood poppy are past blooming or almost so, and the bent trillium is abundant but in decline. The dominant species in the boardwalk area is probably the wild hyacinth, with the wild geranium still providing a pink splash around much of the trail.