Richard Ware, my botanist friend, has said he wanted to check out the north face of Lavendar Mountain at Armuchee Creek to see what sort of flora might be there. Since I am on my Spring Break this week, I called him up and suggested we check it out today. So this afternoon we parked the Toyota on Scenic Rd. and walked down the old railroad bed toward the creek. The way was overgrown with trees and briars and vines.
We finally broke through on the bluff and looked out at the giant supports that once held the trestle.
There at the top of the bluff was this ...
Rattlesnake Fern Botrychium virginianum
And this...
Perfoliate Bellwort Uvularia perfoliata
And this...
Tall Rattlesnakeroot Prenanthes altissima
We didn't find the rich assortment of wildflowers we had hoped for. There were no trillium, Dutchman's breeches, or Virginia bluebells as far as we could tell.
But there was lots of mountain laurel -- no blooms yet, but what a show it will be.
Mountain Laurel Kalmia latifolia
Meanwhile the Wild Azalea will do nicely.
Piedmont Azalea Rhododendron canescens
Piedmont Azalea Rhododendron canescens
And the Wood Betony...
Wood Betony Pedicularis canadensis
The Foam flower was everywhere.
Foam Flower Tiarella cordifolia
Galax...
Galax urceolata
Fighting our way upstream, trying to stay out of the water but constantly pushed toward it by the steep bluff, we made our way slowly up to the old metal bridge.
Northern Red Oak Quercus rubra
From the bridge we walked the mile and a half by road back to the Toyota.
Red Buckeye (hybrid?) Aesculus pavia?
Red Buckeye (hybrid?) Aesculus pavia?
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