Well, I haven't posted in a while, and that is just wrong. For those following, sorry!
    
Just going over my e-mail, and it looks like the Miami Blue Butterfly is going to be added to the Endangered Species List, and it will affect the Cassius Blue and others, as they look so similar. I sent a notice to the list where I received this telling members they better add this one to their collection before they're all gone. I hope to cause a firefight, as, you see, I have no use for collections of insects, and feel the collectors are just plain wrong. I feel the same way about trophy hunting.
    
      Not that I have anything against hunting, just trophy hunting; you are killing off your breeding stock. No farmer in this world would kill off his prize herd bull, but we do it every season by killing off "record breaking" deer, elk, moose, and what have you. And they wonder why there are so few record breakers in modern times. When you kill bucks with big antlers, you select against that trait, and select for smaller antlers (bucks with smaller antlers live, where the big boys get killed - smaller antlers live to get their genes to the next generation, while the big boys don't. Any other argument has little validity, and is just an excuse for trophy hunting.). Ask any Biologist. Oh, I am a Biologist! People who hunt for food, on the other hand, are hunting for the smaller, younger (and therefore less tough) specimens, and are leaving the bigger ones alone to breed and make healthy youngsters.
   Back to collecting. Same thing here. All the arguments with the notable exception of scientific research have little validity. One prominent group on the Internet (Yahoo Groups) has the motto "We cannot Protect What We Do Not Know". Another argument for collecting of moths and butterflies, and I say "horse apples" With modern photography and the ability to take close up photos of even genitalia, that argument ends in the scrap heap along with oology (collecting of bird's eggs) and plume hunting. And, yes, there are collectors who hunt butterflies commercially, to provide specimens to people who want to "fill out" their collections.


     Now, I figure that some of these folks would be just like the fellows in the early days of our country who collected birds and their eggs, and if it were legal, would happily collect them without a single thought or prick of conscience, and would argue loudly (and these butterfly and moth collectors do, flaming me mightily when I post my views on collecting) if we were to talk about outlawing it, but, alas, birds are protected for the most part by the North American Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and the hunting of game birds and waterfowl are tightly controlled. You see, market hunting (sort of like commercial butterfly and moth collectors) and egg collecting and specimen collection for people's drawing rooms, or even study skins (sort of like people's drawers full of butterflies) had cut many bird populations to almost nothing, forcing the US government in 1918 to step in and stop all of this, forming a treaty with Canada and (later) Mexico. Nothing, however, was ever done about collecting butterflies and their cousins the moths, which goes rolling along without a glitch, and these "responsible" collectors go out and teach young people how to do it, how to set up this once living stamp collection, and how to do it most effectively.

     Now, you see, what bothers me most is that these creatures are living, breathing entities, and people are killing them wantonly to make a pretty collection, in most cases before they even have a chance to breed, as they want "fresh" specimens. Older "worn" ones don't look so pretty, and thus hold less appeal. Of course, if you are good at collection, you will never have to see a worn one, as they won't have a chance to get that way.

     I hope this gives people a reason to think, and I hope they will think a little before attacking me. I do not see why we can't simply enjoy a living creature without the desire to catch it and add it to a collection.

Spring on the Parkway

I finally managed a small trip North up the Parkway from Asheville. It was spur of the moment after visiting my mom at her temporary residence at a nursing facility. If you start out from US 25 from Biltmore Forest, you might see a few Birdfoot Violet, Viola pedata L. on the east road bank. From 70 north, I was able to see a number of wildflowers, including a few Flame Azalea, Rhododendron calendulaceum (Mich.) Torr. (called Wild Honeysuckle by the natives). A few white blooming shrubs can be seen on the rock face near the Haw Creek overlook, which look like Old Man's Beard, or White Fringe Tree, Chionanthus virginicus L. On the way up, it is easy to see little coves with Trillium carpeting the ground. I didn't get out to see what species, but suspect T. erectum L. or T. catesbaei Ell. Will try to get a better look later this week.

Notice that I use scientific names, and give the author of the name. The name is in italic, and the author of that plant's scientific name is after the italicized name, and is not italicized. When you see "L." as an author, it means that the person who named this plant is Carolus Linnaeus, the fellow who developed this naming system, called "binomial nomenclature", a way to classify living things which mostly avoids the confusion inherent in common names. "Michx." stands for Andre Michaux, a prominent French Botanist who did a lot of exploring around here, and "Torr." is for John Torrey, an American Botanist. Note that these are links, to articles on Wikipedia.

Also along this drive, I saw the Giant Chickweed, Stellaria pubera Michx., also called the Star  Chickweed along the roadside and in the woods, and a the tiny Phacelia dubia (L.) Trel. all over the road verge, and seeming to grow right into the road. A look at the rock faces all over here reveals a number of other stress selected plants which I will have to go back to identify, along with a field notebook to keep notes; my 60 yo brain is not so absorptive as in former years.

I terminated my drive at Tanbark Ridge tunnel at BRP mile 374.4 where the Park Service has thoughtfully made some rough parking pullouts, and grabbed my stick from the back of the truck, and started to walk, west across the road and up the little creek there, flowing full and vigorous after all the rain we have had this spring. I was struck first by the Dwarf Crested Iris, Iris cristata Aiton, which lines this trail and stream as far as I could see. A few photos with my cell phone was all I could do, as I left my camera at home. First is a bed of Iris on the trail next to the stream:

Next is a photo of a violet near a fallen log. This one looks like the common violet that is in everybody's lawn, but I think it is another species; will have to take a book next time:

And finally, the stream itself, which I promise, you dear reader and myself, to get a better photo in the future:

The time for these spring flowers is no later than this weekend. I have seen people call these flowers "spring ephemerals", and this is exactly right; in no more than a week they are gone, not to be seen for another year. In fact, the whole cadre of spring flowers is like that, from the Bloodroot, which is one of the first, to the Mayapple, which is one of the last. In a couple of weeks, the hills will be a lush green with just a few things flowering, and you will have to look hard for them.

I will give a further report on this drive, as I hope to have more time and a few nice days. Keep looking, and come back and see us!

Red Maple, or, The Tree that Lives Everywhere.

The Red Maple isn't my favorite native North Carolina tree, I guess; that distinction is reserved for trees like the Sarvice (Appalachian Serviceberry), the Fraser Magnolia, and the lovely cousin of the mysterious and achingly beautiful "Lost Gordonia" or Franklin's Tree, the Loblolly Bay, which is lovely in its own right. No, the Red Maple might not be my favorite, but it has to be in the top five, since it is the first harbinger of Spring in my home land of the Southern Appalachians, lives throughout this state of my home, North Carolina, and puts on a color show from around St. Valentine's day throughout around May, and then puts on the earliest color of all the trees in the forest, except for the Sourwood and Black Gum, though it is not far behind them at all.

Now, if you look at the year as most of us do, we see the year starting in winter time; here in the West we see it starting shortly after Winter Solstice at New Year; some of us attuned to the Natural World see it as starting at Solstice itself. At any rate, the Red Maple starts its year when most other trees are still asleep, and just after the Groundhog has looked out at his shadowy world, and gone back to sleep. No matter. The Red Maple has a schedule, and no furry rodent with narcolepsy is going to deter it. She starts out with tiny red flowers around February 14 (the "real" Groundhog day according to some "Old Timers", or is the "real" St. Valentine's day on February 2? Ah well...), a tiny pulse of life heralding Spring in an otherwise drab world, a tiny show of color that though lost in the gray of Winter, is still sweet points of ruby light in the sombre surroundings.

This is the female flower; they have both male and female flowers, usually on different trees, though they can both appear on one tree.

This photo of a male flower by Elaine Haug @ USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database and is used with permission.

A Red Maple in bloom in the early part of the year is a very understated and sedate tree. Here is a picture of a pair of Red Maples framing the famous Swannanoa Tunnel near Ridgecrest NC.

The show can come later, when the female flowers have turned to fruit, and are nice and red, though the male trees have turned gray again, as their flowers have dropped. Here is a tree near an old house in the country.

This is a tree getting on into April, and the show has begun with all the other trees now too, so a Red Maple might not stand out, what with the Redbud, Serviceberry and Dogwood, but they hold their own, and in some years, like this one, can really put on a show as can be seen here along the Swannanoa River on the opening day of trout season, a day which should be a National holiday!

As you can see, the one in the foreground is joined by many of her sisters on the other side of the river.

Once the leaves come out, the tree then sheds its seeds, these tiny little helicopters that are wonderfully aerodynamic, floating everywhere, and begin to grow leaves in a big hurry, The leaves are typical Maple leaves, usually with three lobes, but often with five. There is so much variation in the species that it was often described by Botanists as a new species, and many subspecies are described that are probably just representative of great variation in the species. In the Autumn, however, is when the Red Maple gets radical. I don't have a great many ohotos of the colors of Red Maple in Autumn, but I will put them up when I find them.

Now, as for why I say it lives everywhere. This little tree is not a big component of any forest type here in North Carolina, or anywhere, for that matter. You will hear of a typical Southeastern Oak - Hickory forest, a Beech - Maple (Sugar Maple), a Spruce - Fir Forest, a Bottomland Hardwood forest, and all types of forests, but none are specifically Red Maple, but I will just about guarantee that the Red Maple is in all of them. Start out at the coast, with the Maritime forest, with the Live Oak, Bluejack Oak, Yaupon Holly and Wax Myrtle, and somewhere in there is Red Maple. Move inland, to the great Pine Savannahs and their attendant Pocosins. In the middle of both you will find the Red Maple, growing right next to the Longleaf Pine, in the savannahs, and with the Loblolly Bay in the pocosin. Check out the Cypress and Tupelo Gum Swamp. Right there, growing with the great Bald Cypress, with fluted and buttressed trunks, just like the Cypress, you will find the Red Maple, with its feet in the water, just like the Cypress and the Tupelo; I would not be in the least surprised if it made "knees" like the Cypress! Moving on in, to the Piedmont, the great pine forests maintained by the pulp producers, and the Red Maple is there growing amidst the Loblolly Pines, and in the forests that are left to be the typical Piedmont Hardwood forest, they are everywhere, right along with the great White, Red, Post and Black Oaks.

Now for the fun part. Much of our Mountain forest are simply an upland form of the Southern Hardwood forest, and of course, Red Maple is there. In the north facing coves, we have the Cove Association, with a host of different trees, particularly the Fraser and Cucumber Magnolias, Yellow Birch, Buckeye, and of course, Red Maple. Move on up, into the Beech Gaps which can be seen around Craggy Gardens, and you will find Red Maple. Go to the "Flag Forests", forests on the ridges of the Blue Ridge Parkway, as in Craggy Gardens, where the trees, such as Yellow Birch, Mountain Ash and others are flag formed from the pounding of the wind, and there, flag formed with the best of them are the Red Maple. Find yourself a Hemlock grove, something that will become rare in the future due to the Adelgid, and right in there with the understory of Spicebush, Ironwood, and with the occasional TulipTree in the grove is certain to be a Red Maple. And finally, go up to the tallest of our peaks, the more than mile high ones like Clingman's Dome, Mount Mitchell and Waterrock Knob. There you will find the Spruce and Fir association for which these mountains are famous. You will also find the Fire Cherry, maybe a Yellow Birch or two, and of course, the Red Maple.

So, you see, whereever you go in North Carolina, you are likely to see a Red Maple. If you look at a county distribution map for Red Maple in North Carolina, you will see very few counties which do NOT have it, and I would almost bet that if you pokes around in those counties long enough, you could almost certainly find it. It, at least in North Carolina (and I suspect in South Carolina) is truly ubiquitous, thus earning my name of "The Tree That Grows Everywhere (at least in North Carolina)!

The Hillbilly's Thermometer

I haven't been posting much, and am sorry for that, but this cold weather has reminded me of the Hillbilly's thermometer.
Years ago I was attending NC State University and a fellow from the Coast was griping about the cold weather he was experiencing there in the middle of the state - in his home, south of Wilmington, the weather is moderated somewhat by the Gulf Stream - and made an observation that thermometers told you nothing but a number, which, for him at least, was somewhat abstract. He said "somebody ought to come up with a thermometer that reads 'cool, cold, awful cold, darn cold, mighty darn cold, and cold as heck'". These were not the exact words he used, but you get the drift. After thinking a few minutes, I remarked that we did indeed have such a thermometer in my home in the Western North Carolina Mountains. Upon getting incredulous looks from all involved, I began to explain...

This is the flower of the thermometer, a type of Rhododendron, the Great or Rosebay Rhododendron, taken at the Sunburst Picnic Area, Pisgah National Forest, Haywood County NC. Be careful when you come to the North Carolina Mountains and ask where to see Rhododendron; many of the natives, especially the older ones will send you to the high mountain balds of the Craggies, looking for the Purple or Catawba Rhodendron, which is not as good a thermometer, though it has gorgeous flowers around late May or early June;no,  they call this one Mountain Laurel or just Laurel, which is confusing, because there is another shrub with this name, which they call Ivy or Mountain Ivy. Confused yet? These live at all elevations of the Mountains, and often people have them in their back yards. They often live right along their confusing namesake, the Mountain Laurel, which is a very different shrub.

The Great Rhododendron has afforded the Southern Mountaineer a cold weather thermometer for generations, and I will tell you how; you see, the leaves curl when the air gets cold. When it's warm, above 50 degrees, the leaves all are held out at right angles to the twig.

When it gets cool, around 40°F, they start to droop, like this, and when it gets to about 30...

The curl a little. This is cold. When it gets pretty cold, around 25­°...

why they curl even more. When it gets darn cold, around 10°F, they will be curled nice and tight to the twig, and as it gets to mighty darn cold and colder than heck, they just curl tighter, until about 0°F, when they won't curl much tighter. I will try to get some photos of this phenomenon this week, just look for an update.

 Not only is this tree good for a thermometer, it has lovely blooms on it starting around mid summer, and the leaves have been used to make a gray dye that was used for Confederate uniforms in the American Civil War. The twigs make the best whimmydiddles (Whimmydiddle), and I have seen the limbs used as paper holders and other things in a mountain lodge.
So, if you live in the mountains, or anywhere the Great Rhododendron lives, check it out. You can throw that confusing digital thermometer away!