Cumberland Spurge – Native Plant of the Day 12/20/2024
Photo from March 21, 2009. Location: The Pocket, Walker County, Ga.
More photos / info at the Euphorbia mercurialina detail page.
Cumberland Spurge, Mercury Spurge – Euphorbia mercurialina
Snow-on-the-Mountain – Native Plant of the Day 09/07/2024
Photo from 8/24/2016. Location: Kansas Roadside
More info / photos at the Snow-on-the-Mountain detail page.
Snow-on-the-Mountain – Euphorbia marginata
Flowering Spurge – Native Plant of the Day 07/07/2024
Photo from 07/12/2010. Location: Haywood County, NC
More photos/info at the Euphorbia corollata detail page.
Flowering Spurge, Emetic Root – Euphorbia corollata
Wild Poinsettia – Native Plant of the Day 12/24/2023
Photo from 12/22/2011. Location: Coquina Baywalk on Leffis Key, Manatee County, FL.
More photos / info at the Euphorbia cyathophora detail page.
Wild Poinsettia, Fire on the Mountain, Painted Euphorbia, Desert Poinsettia – Euphorbia cyathophora
Snow-on-the-Mountain, native to the Great Plains and introduced in much of the rest of the country, has been added to the USWildflowers database (02/02/2019.) Scientific name is Euphorbia marginata. Photo below was taken at a rest area in Kansas on Aug 24, 2016. Go to the Snow-on-the-Mountain detail page for more information and photos.
Snow-on-the-Mountain – Euphorbia marginata
I always get surprises when I go to The Pocket. Today was no exception, except that since things started blooming so much earlier than usual this year (Hepatica in January!), I was expecting the “early season” to continue – expecting some of the earlier species to be gone, and frankly I was expecting to see the Bent White Trillium blooming. However, with the exception of Lindera benzoin (Spicebush), ALL of the early species were still blooming. So with all those earlier ones, and a few more added this trip, I found 30 species in flower this trip. And those Bent White Trillium, while close, are not yet blooming. It seems the wildflowers at The Pocket are now closer to “normal schedule” than “really early.”
Not quite yet – Bent White Trillium – Trillium flexipes
The Georgia Botanical Society made their trip to Cloudland Canyon State Park on Saturday, April 11, and I saw their photo report on Facebook. That, and a report from Richard Ware’s Sunday trip to the same location, inspired me to take advantage of a break in this week’s rain on Tuesday to get back over to Sitton’s Gulch to see the Dwarf Larkspur, Southern Red Trillium, and other wildflowers. It was a great choice, with at least 34 species of wildflower observed.
Dwarf Larkspur – Delphinium tricorne – Unusual blue form along Sitton Gulch Trail side loop
The rest of the story…
Grassy Mountain is a 3600’+ peak in Murray County, Georgia, just outside the southwest corner of the Cohutta Wilderness. It’s probably best known as the home of Conasauga Lake, which at 3150′ is the highest lake in Georgia. It is formed by a small dam on the headwaters of Mill Creek. I’d spent a lot of time in and around the Cohutta Wilderness in the 90’s, but hadn’t been back much since then, so when I got an email last week from Mike Christison of the Georgia Botanical Society where he mentioned he’d seen Yellow Ladyslippers blooming on Grassy Mountain in the past, and that they were recently blooming at a much lower elevation, I figured this would be a great time for a return trip to the area. In spite of the cool temperatures, wind, and occasional rain, it WAS a great time; my wife and I identified (at least to a genus level) 37 40 different wildflower species in bloom, including this Wideleaf Spiderwort (Tradescantia subaspera.)
Wideleaf Spiderwort – Tradescantia subaspera along Mill Creek Road
Yesterday (3/27) was one of the rare days this spring – mostly clear skies and warmer weather – into the 60’s. As a plus a couple of my grandkids wanted to join me, so a great time at The Pocket was guaranteed. Several of the “signature species” at The Pocket – Virginia Bluebell, Wood (Celandine) Poppy, Dutchman’s Breeches (or, as my grandson called them, “Upside Down Pants from Holland), Trout Lily are blooming right now. I’m developing a checklist to use so I won’t have to photograph or remember what all is blooming, and of the 51 species on my current version of the checklist, 25 are blooming right now.
Trailing Trillium – Trillium decumbens
For the rest of the story…
While the weather is keeping things slow, things are picking up at The Pocket. Several species have started blooming, and even more are “almost there.” Checking last year’s reports, we’re tracking pretty close to 3/10/2013. The big excitement for me today was finding that a few Dutchman’s Breeches have started blooming.
Dutchman’s Breeches – Dicentra cucullaria
Read on for a more complete update…