Crested Dwarf Iris – Native Plant of the Day 03/28/2024
Photo from 04/04/2009. Location: The Pocket, Walker County, GA.
More photos / info at the Iris cristata detail page.
Crested Dwarf Iris – Iris cristata
Vernal Iris – Native Plant of the Day 01/04/2024
Photo from April 30, 2010. Location: Rabun County, GA.
More photos / info at the Iris verna detail page.
Dwarf Violet Iris, Vernal Iris, Spring Iris – Iris verna
Slender Blue Flag – Native Plant of the Day 05/23/2023
Photo from 05/24/2017. Location: AEDC, Coffee County, TN.
More photos / info at the Iris prismatica detail page.
Slender Blue Flag, Slender Blue Iris, Coastal Iris – Iris prismatica
Partly sunny and warm (70+ degrees) – a great time to check on the bloom status at The Pocket. I was expecting the Bent White Trillium and the Crested Dwarf Iris to be blooming, and they did not disappoint. I was also expecting the Little Sweet Betsy to be blooming, and as I walked north of the parking lot and around the boardwalk, I thought I would be shut out on that account, but along the Pocket Creek Trail heading toward the camping area they were in full swing, so no surprises on the Trillium front. However, there was a surprise – alongside one of those blooming Little Sweet Betsy there was a Southern Stoneseed. I had not seen that plant on this side of the mountain. Overall I identified 41 species this visit, not counting some of the invasives around the parking lot such as Purple Deadnettle and Common Chickweed.
Southern Stoneseed – Lithospermum tuberosum
Slender Blue Flag, a native species, has been added to the USWildflowers database (06/22/2017.) Scientific name is Iris prismatica. Photo below was taken in Coffee County, TN on May 24, 2017. Go to the Slender Blue Flag detail page for more information and photos.
Slender Blue Flag – Iris prismatica
I had not planned on getting back down to The Pocket so soon after Sunday’s trip, but I got an email from Clayton Webster of the Over The Hill Hiking Group on Tuesday inviting me to join them on their visit to The Pocket today. I was really glad I joined them, not only because they are such a fine, fun group of folks, but without them I would have missed a Bloodroot still blooming! With that Bloodroot and all the other early spring flowers except Harbinger-of-Spring making a presence (yes, Dutchman’s Breeches STILL blooming) and so many other species at peak bloom, today might have been the perfect day for a visit to The Pocket. Thanks, Clayton!
Crested Dwarf Iris – One of the new species blooming since Sunday
Another hiatus from The Pocket of almost 2 weeks. Repeating from the last report – “Even more species are blooming now than two weeks ago.” This time I counted 40 species blooming, including one I don’t recall ever seeing down there before – Crossvine (Bignonia capreolata.) But the show is the massive display of Bent White Trillium (Trillium flexipes) – nearly every plant I saw had an open blossom, and the hillside was covered with them in many places.
Bent White Trillium – Trillium flexipes
Wednesday, 04/16/2014, woke up bright and beautiful, if a bit chilly with overnight lows in the lower 30’s. I had a reminder on my calendar to check for Trillium sulcatum, a species I had not seen previously, at Cloudland Canyon State Park. Calendar and weather were in sync, so around 10 AM I headed out for my first visit to this wonderful, nearby state park in 2014. I spotted some Vernal Iris (Iris verna) along the park’s entrance road, a portent of what I hoped would be a beautiful walk. I was not disappointed.
Vernal Iris – Iris verna
It’s been nearly two weeks since I have been to The Pocket, and things are changing. Several others of the “signature species” are waning – Virginia Bluebell, and Wood (Celandine) Poppy are almost gone, but all three of the Pocket’s three Trillium species are still blooming right now. Now is the time to head to The Pocket if you want to see the Trillium flexipes display – they’re at peak, but beginning to show some signs of age.
Bent White Trillium – Trillium Flexipes
For the rest of the story…
Yellow Flag, an introduced and possibly invasive species, has been added to the USWildflowers database (11/27/2012.) Scientific name is Iris pseudacorus. It is also known by the common names Paleyellow Iris, Yellow Iris, and Water Flag. Photo below was taken along an irrigation canal in Boise, Ada County, ID, on June 8, 2010. Go to the Yellow Flag detail page for more photos and information.
Yellow Flag Iris, Paleyellow Iris, Yellow Iris, Water Flag – Iris pseudacorus
