Georgia Trip Photo Album

You can click on the thumbnail at left to view all the photos from the Georgia trip. Click on any of the images in the article to view a larger size.

Cutleaf Toothcup

My wife Marcia and I have just returned from a weekend trip to Georgia which included visits to Montezuma Bluffs Natural Area and Indian Springs State Park. As President of the Hairstreak Chapter of the North American Butterfly Association, I organized this casual trip to see the Falcate Orangetip Butterfly. This species used to be seen in Florida along the Ochlockonee River, but has not been seen in recent years. Its demise in Florida may have been due to over-collection of the species. Each spring, we still look for the caterpillars and butterflies whenever we see stands of Cardamine, its host plant.

We passed stately historic homes and orchards of beautiful blooming peach trees as we traveled north of the town of Montezuma toward the Montezume Bluffs Natural Area on Friday afternoon. There is no sign announcing the Natural Area, only a sign for Crooks Landing.

Peach Orchard

Almost immediately after stepping out of the vehicle near the boat landing, we saw several Falcate Orangetips flying along the trail. Several pairs were courting.

Courting Falcate Orangetips

That evening, Sonny P., Marcia, and I met Chris I., our host. He lives less than a mile from Montezuma Bluffs Natural Area and has “adopted” this site. His primary knowledge is botanical, but he also knows a lot about its natural history, geology, and fauna including the butterflies.

After eating dinner with Chris, he graciously took us to his home to see some of his plants in his landscape, many of which he has grown from seeds and cuttings. Of special interest to Marcia and me were Alabama Snow-wreath (Neviusia alabamensis), Alabama Croton (Croton alabamensis), Zizia (Zizia sp.), and Common Pawpaw (Asimina triloba) that were all blooming.

Alabama Snow-wreath

Montezuma Bluffs Natural Bluffs

Joining us on Saturday at Montezuma Bluffs were Marty and Jim Q., and Cynthia and Eric S. Since it was too cool for the butterflies to be flying yet, we botanized until noon. We were very fortunate to have Chris lead us to all the neat spots of Montezuma Bluffs Natural Area that we would not have seen otherwise. During our hike, we saw several habitats including beech-magnolia slope forest, limestone bluffs, and the river floodplain along the Flint River.

Group overlooking the ravine slope

We saw quite a few Relict Trilliums (Trillium reliquum), one of the other reasons Bill and I wanted to visit Montezuma Bluffs. We also saw a Relict Trillium with a yellow flower. The Relict Trillium, sometimes called Confederate Trillium,  is a federally endangered species found mostly in Georgia, but also in a few counties of South Carolina and eastern Alabama. A relict species is a plant that has survived in isolation from an earlier time. In this case, it is a northern species that remained after the retreat of the glaciers. 

Relict Trillium

The limestone rocks in the area support many of the same species seen locally at Aspalaga Landing such as Round-lobed Liverleaf (Anemone nobilis). Also on the rocks was Alumroot (Heuchera americana), not found in Florida. The presence of many shells in the rocks also shows that Montezuma Bluffs was once covered by an ocean.

Marine shells in limestone

The plants in the beech-magnolia slope forest were very familiar to us although some were different species or uncommon in Florida. Trees and shrubs we saw in addition to the predominate Beeches and Magnolias were Eastern Hophornbeam (Ostrya virginiana), Two-wing Silverbell (Halesia diptera), Dogwood (Cornus florida), Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis), Shagbark Hickory (Carya ovata) (not found in Florida), Needle Palm (Rhapidophyllum hystrix), and Dwarf Palmetto (Sabal minor).

Wild Blue Phlox

On the slope floor, we saw Heartleaf Ginger (Hexastylis arifolium), Wild Blue Phlox (Phlox divaricata) , violets (Viola spp.), Atamasco Lily (Zephyranthes atamasca var. atamasca), Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis), Bedstraw (Galium sp.), Squawroot (Conopholis americana) , Grape Fern (Botrychium sp.), and Cutleaf Toothcup (Cardamine concatenata), the local host plant of the Falcate Orangetip.

Heartleaf Ginger

An unexpected botanical bonus was to see the Spotted Geranium (Geranium maculatum) in bloom. This is found in only one Florida County.

Spotted Geranium

Chris showed us one area that he has been tryiing to keep cleared of the invasive kudzu vines. The hard-earned reward was one slope densely covered by Solomon’s Seal (Polygonatum biflorum) and another slope almost entirely covered by Perfoliate Bellwort (Uvularia perfoliata).  Both of these species are uncommon in north Florida and to see them en masse was quite awesome.

Solomon’s Seal covers a slope

Elsewhere, we saw Golden Ragwort (Senecio aurea) and White Blue-eyed Grass (Sisyrichium albidum), both uncommon in Florida.

After our hike, we concentrated on butterflies and we did see more Falcate Orangetips. We also looked at many of the Cutleaf Toothcups (Cardamine concatenata) in hopes of finding a Falcate Orangetip caterpillar. There was a brief flurry of excitement when Jim did find a caterpillar on the host plant, but it turned out to be a geometrid moth caterpillar.

Another good find was a tattered Mourning Cloak that was flitting around an oak tree. It liked to sit in the hanging Spanish Moss, but did land on the tree to be photographed.

Probably the best find of the trip (other than the Falcate Orangetips of course) was an Eastern Comma sighted by Eric. No photos for me, but still a joy to see one. Sonny has graciously shared his photo. Other species seen were Pearl Crescent and Lace-winged Roadside Skipper. 

Eastern Comma

During a final jaunt along a trail, Cynthia spotted an Eastern Hognose Snake, a great way to end the day’s trip.

Eastern Hognose Snake

Indian Springs State Park

Everyone else returned home on Saturday, but Bill and I continued to Indian Springs State Park where we briefly crossed paths with Virginia C., another Chapter member, as she was leaving after having successfully found Falcate Orangetips also.

We saw the Falcate Orangetips in an open grassy area near the start of the nature trail late that evening. The next morning, we walked the nature trail, planning to see the butterflies on the way out.

Newly emerging Mayapples

The nature trail winds through a beech-magnolia slope forest where we saw a species of Trout Lily (Erythronium americanum) not found in Florida, the leaves of Spotted Wintergreen (Chimaphila maculata), blooming Cutleaf Toothcup (Cardamine concatenata), violets (Viola spp.), Bedstraw (Galium sp.), Rue Anemone (Thalictrum thalictroides), Round-lobed Liverleaf (Anemone nobilis), and lots and lots of Mayapples (Podophyllum peltatum) just beginning to bud out. A botanical oddity on the trail was one double-flowered Rue Anemone, the first seen by Marcia and me.

Double-flower form of Rue Anemone

It was still in the upper forties when we returned to the grassy area where we saw the butterflies the previous evening. We did see some typical plant species in the grassy area, but no butterflies: morels (Morchella sp.), field pansies (Viola bicolor), bluets and innocence (Houstonia spp.), Japanese Mazus (Mazus pumilus), henbit (Lamium amplexicaule), and clovers (Trifolium spp.). 

Field Pansy

While waiting for warmer temperatures, we took a gander at the springs and old CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) buildings. Indian Springs State Park is one of the oldest parks in the nation. 

Homeward Bound

At 11:00 a.m., it still was only fifty degrees, a bit too cool to see any flying butterflies, so we decided to head homeward with another stop at Montezuma Bluffs to try to see the Comma (unsuccessful).

On the way home, we took a short stop at the Andersonville National Cemetery.

Andersonville National Cemetery

We also saw our first huge stand of blooming Princesstrees (Paulownia tomentosa) along U. S. 19 north of Albany.

See the entire sequence of Lizard Wars!

It is not uncommon to see a male green anole asserting his territorial rights. You’ve probably seen a male displaying his brightest coloration, “puffing up” to look larger, and doing “push ups” Until this year, I had never seen two male anoles progress beyond these warning signs to actual combat.

This spring, my wife and I were walking through some woods when the trees were just beginning to bud out. As I was walking along, I saw a flash of bright green on a tree branch. Two male green anoles were circling the tree, each trying to get the best strategic position to fight. Then their jaws were locked on each other. The one lizard was actually biting down on the other lizard’s head and neck and it surely must have hurt the victim. The wrestling match continued for quite some time. When it appeared to me that actual harm might be occurring, I did try to separate the two, but after a few moments, they resumed their wrestling match. The fight was still ongoing when I left.

Pineapple Press, 2000
ISBN 1561641979
$19.95 Paperback
$27.95 Hardcover

Gil Nelson has done it again with his newest guide. A non-technical book on the ferns of Florida was long overdue. It is a much appreciated complement to his other two books on the flora of Florida, The Trees of Florida and The Shrubs and Woody Vines of Florida.

Like his previous books, he treats the 160 plus species of ferns thoroughly with easy to understand descriptions, distributions, and habitats. One of the selling features of all of Nelson’s books is his inclusion of how a species differs from other similar species. Another feature not included in many books is a brief description of interesting plant lore.

Excellent photographs and illustrations greatly aid in the identification of the ferns. His alphabetical arrangement of the families and genera is much appreciated by those of us who don’t know the phylogenetic arrangement of the plant kingdom. A key to the ferns families is included in the introduction of the book. Additional keys to various genera are also included. The appendices include a checklist of Florida fern species and an excellent bibliography.

Three minor suggestions for improvement would be:

• the inclusion of more illustrations, especially of the sori characteristic of each fern species;
• easier readability of the illustration and photograph numbers within the text description;
• and the inclusion of a ruler on each page for easy measurement of key characteristics. This was included in his earlier books, but was inadvertently omitted in the Ferns volume. Let us hope future editions will return the ruler to its rightful place!

All in all, if you are interested in learning the ferns of Florida, Nelson’s Ferns of Florida is an essential addition to your library.

Gil Nelson’s other books:

• The Trees of Florida, Pineapple Press, 1994
• The Shrubs and Woody Vines of Florida, Pineapple Press, 1996

My wife Marcia and I were hiking at Torreya State Park near the Apalachicola River when I saw bright glints of green in bare patches of dirt on the trail. Upon closer examination, I saw that they were Six-spotted Tiger Beetles (Cicindela sexguttata).

As always, I had my camera with me and I set out to photograph this beautiful metallic green beetle. Unfortunately for me, the beetles had no interest in posing for a portrait. On my knees, I would follow a likely beetle, prepare to focus, and then, just as I would get ready to click the shutter, the uncooperative insect would spurt off on a short flight before landing again at a distance just out of range of the lens. I would faithfully follow the beetle to its new landing site to try again. Of course, every time I almost reached the landing zone, off would go the beetle on its next flight. The flights were interspersed with short sprints as it searched for its prey which includes small insects and spiders.

This predatory behavior is not photographer-friendly! The tiger beetles were oblivious to me during the next forty-five minutes as I pursued them on my knees before finally getting an acceptable photo.

I had just discovered one of the characeristics of this tiger beetle species: touch-and-go landings. If you’re not familiar with this term, it refers to pilots who must make a certain number of takeoffs and landings to keep qualified for flying. They do this by briefly touching wheels down on the runway in their final approach and landing, and without slowing down, immediately take off again to repeat the process multiple times.

It turns out that the Six-spotted Tiger Beetle looks for motion and runs at breakneck speed toward the prey. It runs so fast that it can’t see the prey until it stops again. If the prey is within reach, the beetle grabs it with its jaws. Otherwise, the beetle will repeat the “touch-and-go” procedure until it succeeds.

The Six-spotted Tiger Beetle is found in shaded hardwood forests. It is one of Florida’s twenty-nine species and subspecies. There are 223 species and subspecies in North America. If you are interested in identifying tiger beetles, there are several field guides available. If budget is a concern, I suggest the paperback A Field Guide to the Tiger Beetles of the United States and Canada by David L. Pearson, C. Barry Knisley, and Charles J. Kazilek, 2006, Oxford University Press.

We were walking along a trail with our friends and had stopped to admire a nice batch of pickerelweed that was growing in the water near a small wooden bridge on a trail. We were enjoying and photographing the many butterflies that were nectaring on the pickerelweed. Then I looked down into the water and say many butterfly wings floating on its surface. I knew then that a praying mantis had to be nearby.

In fact, she was directly above the floating wings on a pickerelweed, lying in wait for her next butterfly meal. This praying mantis had lost part of one of her forelimbs, but the abundance of buterfly wings showed that it did not seem to greatly impair her hunting skills.

Several Gulf Fritillaries and sulphur butterflies landed on her pickerelweed, but either sensed danger and left or were just lucky and escaped with their lives. But finally the praying mantis’ arms reached out and snagged an unwary Gulf Fritillary. We watched for over half an hour as she consumed every butterfly morsel except for the scaly wings which fell off as she finished her meal.

Barnard, Edward L., and Wayne N. Dixon. Insects and Diseases: Important Problems of Florida’s Forest and Shade Tree Resources. Florida Dept. of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Forestry.

Bates, Marston. The Natural History of Mosquitoes. Harper and Row.

Borror, Donald J., and Richard E. White. A Field Guide to the Insects of America North of Mexico. Houghton Mifflin Company.

Chellman, Charlesw W. Pests and Problems of South Florida: Trees and Palms. Florida Dept. of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

Comstock, J. H. An Introduction to Entomology. Cornell University Press.

Fitcher, George S. Insect Pests. Golden Press.

Maxwell, Lewis S. Florida Insects: Their Habits and Control. Lewis S. Maxwell.

Milne, L., and M. Milne. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Insects and Spiders. Alfred A. Knopf.

Swain, Ralph B. The Insect Guide: Orders and Major Families of North American Insects. Doubleday and Co., Inc.

Teale, Edwin Way. The Strange Lives of Familiar Insects. Dodd, Mead and Company.

White, Richard E. A Field Guide to the Beetles of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company.

University of Georgia Press, 1999
ISBN 0820321079
$29.95 Hardcover

Many years ago, I bought my first plant photo identification book, Wildflowers of the Southeastern United States by Wilbur Duncan and Duncan Foote. Now tattered and worn, I have carried it far and wide through the eastern United States and have used it extensively along with the numerous other guides that I have acquired over the years. Unfortunately, it was out of print several years later. Nothing on the market filled the void until the publication of the Wildflowers of the Eastern United States. I am glad to see that it has been expanded to include all the states east of the Mississippi except for parts of south Florida.

This new volume is well laid out with photos and descriptions of 631 species as well as comparisons with an additional 500 species that are not photographed. Each photograph shows the important characters of each species and a text description allows for easy identification. Plant families are arranged phylogenetically. All major families of wildflowers are represented.

My only major complaint with the book is that, within each family, the genera and species descriptions are not listed alphabetically which makes quick lookups impossible. A bibliography of additional references would have been appreciated.

This is one book that cannot be left on the shelf. It should be carried into the field along with other botanical identification guides previously published by the University of Georgia Press.

Other books published by the University of Georgia that cover the southeastern United States include:

• Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of Northern Florida and Adjacent Georgia and Alabama by Robert Godfrey, 1988
• Aquatic and Wetland Plants of the Southeastern United States (2 volumes) by R. K. Godfrey and J. W. Wooten, 1979 and 1981

University of Georgia Press, 2000
ISBN 0820321796
$29.95 Hardcover

Having made my first trek to the mountains of Georgia in the springtime of 2000, I understood why the authors enjoyed the eight years that they photographed Georgia’s splendid wildflowers.

They divide the coverage of this large-format volume into four regions of the state from the coastal plain to the Blue Ridge mountains. Within each region, physiographic characteristics and floral diversity are emphasized. Photographs of 85 plants and habitats are intertwined with these discussions. The authors discuss parks, trails, and areas where one can enjoy numerous wildflower species during their blooming season.

This book is not a systematic treatment with taxonomic keys and illustrations. For those interested in such treatments, there is a reference book list at the end of the book. It is a wonderful guide to the true beauty conveyed by wildflowers. Each of us must do our part to inspire others to help protect the wildflowers of Georgia and elsewhere, especially those endangered by loss of habitat. I think the Nourses have succeeded in inspiring readers of this book to become more aware of Georgia’s natural heritage. Let us hope that each of us can strive to preserve this state’s disappearing wildlands.

University of Georgia Press, 1989
ISBN 9780820324555
$26.95 Paperback

Another identification manual that is a must while botanizing in the Blue Ridge province is the Guide to the Vascular Plants of the Blue Ridge. Its wide range of habitats within the region extends from northern Georgia to southern Pennsylvania. Over 2000 species are included, representing all major plant groups including ferns, trees, monocots, and dicots. All the families, genera, and species are arranged alphabetically. (Yes!) Although lacking illustrations, the keys are simple to follow. The list of references is quite useful for those who wish to delve further into species identification. Hopefully, a new edition will update the species coverage and include updated taxonomic revisions.