High Elevation Georgia – Brasstown Bald

Brasstown Bald is the highest point in Georgia, but it is very easy to get to. I went there for the first time last weekend at the request of my friend Parrie. Located near the towns of Hiawassee and Young Harris, the mountain rises to 4,784 feet.

View from the summit on one side

From the observation tower you have great views to several valleys below and the beautiful waters of Lake Chatuge which straddles the Georgia-North Carolina border. Brasstown Bald is one of the mountains in the Blue Ridge mountain range. It is a great place to view fall foliage according to Parrie.

 

Observation tower in the background

There are trails that you can hike to the top – some of them as long as 7-8 miles. One is the Wagon Train Trail which goes from Young Harris College to the summit. We took the easy way: a paved path from the parking lot at the Visitor Center up to the summit. It is only 6/10 of a mile but is fairly steep in a few places. At one point it crosses the Wagon Train Trail. Parrie says that in the regular season, a shuttle will run from the Visitor Center to the Observation Tower for those that need transportation.

Trailing arbutus (Epigaea repens)

Our trip was too early to catch any blooming flowers. Parrie had hoped to see trailing arbutus (Epigaea repens) in flower. It is a tiny little shrub that has a groundcover habit. We found it growing along the trail, but no flowers yet.

Even though we didn't have flowers, there was plenty of green to keep us company. White pine (Pinus strobus) was very common in the area, there was hemlock (Tsuga), fir (Abies fraseri), mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia), and two kinds of evergreen Rhododendron. On the ground we also found some beetleweed (Galax urceolata); the shiny leaves were a mixture of green and bronze (bronze is their fall color; new leaves will emerge in late spring).

Moss was abundant as well. It decorated tree trunks and rocks throughout the trail. I loved finding some of the benches that nature created (there are plenty of man-made benches too).

Galax urceolata

Parrie passes a bench on the way down

In the shaded areas we found remnants of snow. It reminded us of just how high up we were. We saw kids throwing snowballs at each other at the edge of the parking lot.

Snow at the base of Fraser fir (Abies fraseri)

It was great to be out in the sun, enjoying the fresh air. I look forward to coming back to the area in late May or June to see the mountain laurel and rhododendrons blooming.

The Natural Communities of Georgia (the book)

For the unknowing, land is land. We walk on it, we drive through it and, when we want to build something, we scrape the plants off it. For those that have come to appreciate it, every piece of land is different (although perhaps similar within a given area). Travel through Georgia and you will come to visit a wide range of “natural communities” and appreciate just how different they can be. These communities are unique in the variety of plants and animals that live there, the weather, and even the rocks and landforms that shape them.

We may not all get a chance to visit each of these communities. Georgia is a big state! We have a chance to explore and learn about them through a book recently published: The Natural Communities of Georgia by Leslie Edwards, Jonathan Ambrose, and L. Katherine Kirkman. Beautiful photographs are provided by Hugh and Carol Nourse.

The authors have taken a subject that might otherwise be dry and technical and turned it into an easy to understand collection of details that provide a superb reference for both the hobbyist and the professional.

The first two chapters give an overview of Georgia’s Natural Heritage, some of the conservation challenges in the state, and the physical characteristics present. Statistics like total acreage and conservative acreage by region are included. Chapter 2 provides many excellent definitions such as soil types, rock types, hydrology concepts, wetland types and others. 

The bulk of the over 650-page book is devoted to exploring 5 ecoregions. The book defines “ecoregions” as “broad physical areas with common … characteristics such as geology, physiography, soils, climate, hydrology, wildlife and vegetation.” The five ecoregions are: Blue Ridge, Ridge and Valley, Piedmont, Coastal Plain and Maritime. For reference purposes, those of us that live near Atlanta are in the Piedmont, and those in coastal communities like Savannah are in the Maritime ecoregion. Areas like Columbus, Macon and Augusta are in the Coastal Plain, just south of the Fall Line, a 20 mile wide steep change in elevation between the Piedmont and Coastal Plain ecoregions.

Each ecoregion chapter is divided into broadly defined natural community groupings that are found within that ecoregion. In an effort to illustrate how the ecoregions are covered in depth, I will outline the 90 pages of Chapter 5 - the Piedmont ecoregion.  

As I said, each natural community grouping is broadly defined; the details are found in the more specific natural communities within it. For the Piedmont ecoregion, 3 groupings are defined; those groups and the natural communities within them are:

• Upland Forests and Woodlands
• Mesic Forests
• Oak-Pine-Hickory Forests
• Pine-Oak Woodlands and Forests
• Montane Longleaf Pine Woodlands and Forests
• Prairies, Glades, Barrens and Rock Outcrops
• Prairies and Savannas
• Glades, Barrens and Woodlands
• Granite Outcrops
• Ultramafic Barrens and Woodlands
• Cliffs, Bluffs, and Outcrops
• Wetlands
• Flatwoods
• Seepage Wetlands
• Floodplains, Bottomlands, and Riparian Zones

Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) - characteristic of Piedmont
Mesic Forests and just starting to bloom now.

Each community is then covered in detail: an introduction that summarizes the key traits of the community; physical setting and ecology; vegetation; animals; a featured animal and a featured place. The featured place description is a real treat: it describes a site where an example of that community can be viewed by the public and includes directions to it. Sounds like “road trip!” Each community also has a section of characteristic plants.

Reading the chapter for my own ecoregion was a good way to appreciate the depth of information provided in this book. I was surprised to realize how close I live to the upper edge of the Piedmont ecoregion.  My county is actually split between the Piedmont and the Blue Ridge ecoregions. I certainly look forward to learning more about the other ecoregions.

Lespedeza (Lespedeza virginica) - characteristic of Pine-Oak
Woodlands and Forests; Pickett's Mill Battlefield

The text of the book is very easy to read. The main body does not contain scientific names for the plants. This allows the reader to easily process the information being presented. Appendix 2 contains a cross reference of common name to scientific name for plants so that any plant discussed in the text can be identified to scientific name if desired. The photographs compliment the text very well and are all crisp and colorful.

Cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis) - characteristic of
Floodplains, Bottomlands and Riparian Zones

The other reference sections are thick and detailed: an appendix of animal names, literature cited (excellent for those doing further research), a comparison of community names in this book with other resources (how many books have left you to figure that out on your own?) and more.

This is a wonderful resource for the people of Georgia – it should be in the hands of every person in Georgia that appreciates the uniqueness of our natural communities and in every public and school library.

Special Plants, Special Places - Outcrops

Some plants are found in many places – tuliptrees (Liriodendron), sweetgum trees (Liquidambar ), red maples (Acer rubrum), Canadian goldenrod (Solidago canadensis) and others are everywhere around me. But some plants are only found in special places. Places that have just the right environment, the right minerals, soil levels, moisture levels and other special characteristics. I visited just such a place last week – a place known as an “outcrop”.

Diamorpha in Dicranum moss

After I visited that area, I happened to pick up my 2012 issue of Tipularia, The Journal of the Georgia Botanical Society. The first story in the issue is “Piedmont Outcrops, Overgrown and Under Fire.” The author explained that “granite outcrops of the southeastern United States are a treasure-trove of rare plant species.” The first picture in the article showed two of the plants I had just seen: Diamorpha smallii and Tradescantia hirsuticaulis. It was interesting to read about the very difficult conditions that these outcrops create for their resident plants. High temperatures and thin soils require specially adapted plants. Some plants grow when moisture is plentiful and then die out during the hot months, leaving seeds for the cycle to start again later.

Outcrop fringed by grasses and trees

When I first entered the area, it was like entering a meadow in the middle of a forest – a big clearing with some dried grasses on the edges. As my eyes adjusted to this unusual sight, I realized it was a huge area of rock, covered in some areas with moss and low growing plants and exposed in others as bare rock. I could quickly see from the color variation that even the moss population was diverse: I recognized the lush bright green of Dicranum scoparium and the dark, grey areas of Grimmia laevigata. Mixed in were some pale green lichens and at least 3 other species of moss. These plants, which benefited from small collections of soil on the rock themselves, now provide areas for seeds to gather and sprout.

Diamorpha smallii in Grimmia laevigata

Throughout the area was the small annual sedum known casually as “diamorpha” (Diamorpha smallii) or Small’s stonecrop. Only the leaves were present now; it will bloom later in the spring with small, starry white flowers reminiscent of other native sedums. Even without blooming, the succulent red leaves offer stunning color and beauty on the bare rocks and mixed into the moss. In areas of deeper soil, more perennial plants like the hairy spiderwort (Tradescantia hirsuticaulis) and grasses were found. Even a few trees had managed to survive over time (including some stunted invasive privet and Japanese honeysuckle).

Small vernal pool surrounded by mosses and Diamorpha

In one area was a small pool. Floating in the pool was more Diamorpha. Dried tuffs of moss surrounded it, no doubt waiting to be reinvigorated with the next spring rain. The whole effect was quite beautiful, as if we had stumbled upon a fairy world.

Diamorpha floating in pool, tethered by a long stem

Georgia is a unique place for granite outcrops. According to the article in Tipularia, “Approximately 87% of all granite outcrop habitat area occurs in Georgia and the majority of outcrops exist within sixty miles of Atlanta.  If you are interested in exploring an outcrop in Georgia, here are some suggestions:

Stone Mountain

Panola Mountain

Arabia Mountain

Heggie’s Rock

Little Kennesaw Mountain

In the month of March, several areas are sponsoring an event known as Monadnock Madness to help people learn more about these special places. The event is described on their website: “In March (2013), you can experience these unique places first-hand through guided hikes and free tours at Arabia, Panola, and Stone Mountains. If you can conquer all three peaks during the month you’ll earn a special souvenir that you can wear as a badge of honor.” 

Check it out at the hotlink above and take this opportunity to discover some of Georgia's unique natural environments.

Spring Forward

Signs of spring abound around me this week. The haze of red maple flowers adorns roadside trees, non-native daffodils nod cheerful yellow heads, and plants all around show signs of change to those that look for it. I walked through the yard yesterday to see what I could find.

Blueberry (Vaccinium spp.) flower buds expanding

Blueberry (Vaccinium spp.) buds are beginning to elongate and you can see the individual flowers begin to take shape. Leaves come later.

The chokeberry (Photinia pyrifolia) and southern crabapple (Malus angustifolia) are two woody plants that have new leaves already; their flowers will come after the leaves have expanded.

Erythronium umbilicatum

Trout lilies (Erythronium umbilicatum) are emerging from thick leaf blankets. Their spotted foliage appears first. A pair of leaves means the plant is mature enough to bloom. Today's bright sun has opened up this flower; it was just a bud yesterday. Nearby, toothwort foliage (Cardamine angustata) is up.

Fly poison (Amianthium muscitoxicum) foliage is 2 inches up, as fresh and bright green as anyone would hope. Blooms won’t appear until early summer and thankfully the deer will leave this foliage alone (one of my favorite reasons to have this plant).

Yellowroot (Xanthorhiza simplicissima)

Yellowroot (Xanthorhiza simplicissima) buds are just beginning to reveal the soft purple flower buds. They will expand rapidly now; it is one of the earliest flowers along streamsides.

One of the Carex in the woods has blooms on it already, but it will be mighty lonely until some others join it. As a wind-pollinated plant, it needs company to be successful.

Pieris phillyreifolia

Pieris (Pieris phillyreifolia) is already flowering. The translucent white blooms support early pollinators. The evergreen leaves make a beautiful foil for the early flowers.

Aplectrum hyemale

Plants that are evergreen all winter are still there: evergreen ginger (Hexastylis arifolia and H. shuttleworthii), green and gold (Chrysogonum virginianum), cranefly orchid (Tipularia discolor) and this puttyroot (Aplectrum hyemale).

These are good plants to use if you like to see a bit of green in your shade garden during the colder months. Look for them at native spring plant sales.

Viburnum acerifolium

Not everyone is ready – the buds of this mapleleaf viburnum (Viburnum acerifolium) are still tight and will wait for warmer days and longer sunlight hours before they are ready to make their move.

I'm enjoying every plant's awakening in its turn.