Over the last month with many of us discussing boreal forests in the Appalachians, Europe and Canada I felt a little photographic tour of the highlands of North Carolina would be fitting. I have took these over the last 5 years at places like Richland Balsam, Devil's Courthouse, Waterrock Knob, The Mountains-to-Sea trail on the Pisgah Ridge, Craggy Gardens and The Black Mountains Crest ( Deep Gap ) trail, which is the highest hike east of the rockies and Flat Laurel Creek, near Sam's Knob. These forests are beyond words but beautiful is the best I can come up with. I have also downloaded a picture taken from the Mountains-To-Sea trail overlooking the Blue Ridge Parkway which I have uploaded to the file page of our ENTStrees Google website.
Can anyone tell me what these pretty blue flowers are and the colorful leaves?
On Fri, Jan 2, 2009 at 11:15 PM, James Parton <hawthorn_...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> ENTS,
> Over the last month with many of us discussing boreal forests in the
> Appalachians, Europe and Canada I felt a little photographic tour of the
> highlands of North Carolina would be fitting. I have took these over the
> last 5 years at places like Richland Balsam, Devil's Courthouse, Waterrock
> Knob, The Mountains-to-Sea trail on the Pisgah Ridge, Craggy Gardens and The
> Black Mountains Crest ( Deep Gap ) trail, which is the highest hike east of
> the rockies and Flat Laurel Creek, near Sam's Knob. These forests are beyond
> words but beautiful is the best I can come up with. I have also downloaded a
> picture taken from the Mountains-To-Sea trail overlooking the Blue Ridge
> Parkway which I have uploaded to the file page of our ENTStrees Google
> website.
> Can anyone tell me what these pretty blue flowers are and the colorful
> leaves?
> Over the last month with many of us discussing boreal forests in the
> Appalachians, Europe and Canada I felt a little photographic tour of the
> highlands of North Carolina would be fitting. I have took these over the
> last 5 years at places like Richland Balsam, Devil's Courthouse, Waterrock
> Knob, The Mountains-to-Sea trail on the Pisgah Ridge, Craggy Gardens and The
> Black Mountains Crest ( Deep Gap ) trail, which is the highest hike east of
> the rockies and Flat Laurel Creek, near Sam's Knob. These forests are beyond
> words but beautiful is the best I can come up with. I have also downloaded a
> picture taken from the Mountains-To-Sea trail overlooking the Blue Ridge
> Parkway which I have uploaded to the file page of our ENTStrees Google
> website.
> Can anyone tell me what these pretty blue flowers are and the colorful
> leaves?
Thanks for the identification of these two plants.
They may be some old-growth Red Spruce on or around Devil's Courthouse
mountain. Some are quite tall. I need to get back up there and measure
them. Will has told me of some nice Red Spruce in remote areas. It
seems that Fraser Fir rarely gets really big anymore. Damage by the
Balsam Wooly Adelgid has killed most of the bigger trees.
I should have put a picture here of Mountain Ash. It is common in the
higher Appalachian forests also.
> The flowers are a bluet, probably Houstonia serpyllifolia, and the
> leaves are witch-hobble (Viburnum lantanoides [formerly V.
> alnifolium]).
> Jess
> On Fri, Jan 2, 2009 at 11:15 PM, James Parton <hawthorn_...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> > ENTS,
> > Over the last month with many of us discussing boreal forests in the
> > Appalachians, Europe and Canada I felt a little photographic tour of the
> > highlands of North Carolina would be fitting. I have took these over the
> > last 5 years at places like Richland Balsam, Devil's Courthouse, Waterrock
> > Knob, The Mountains-to-Sea trail on the Pisgah Ridge, Craggy Gardens and The
> > Black Mountains Crest ( Deep Gap ) trail, which is the highest hike east of
> > the rockies and Flat Laurel Creek, near Sam's Knob. These forests are beyond
> > words but beautiful is the best I can come up with. I have also downloaded a
> > picture taken from the Mountains-To-Sea trail overlooking the Blue Ridge
> > Parkway which I have uploaded to the file page of our ENTStrees Google
> > website.
> > Can anyone tell me what these pretty blue flowers are and the colorful
> > leaves?
The hardwoods in Craggy Gardens are primarily Birch, though I don't
really know what species. Hawthorn and Mountain Ash are present here
also. The hardwoods seen in the Devils Courthouse photos are primarily
American Mountain Ash ( Sorbus Americana ) which is closely related to
your European species. The European species has more rounded leaves.
Like your Rowan ours is sometimes called American Rowan. Birch and
some American Beech is found around Devils Courthouse as well. The
highest altitude photo here is the bluet flowers. They are on Mt.
Craig in which the Deep Gap Trail passes over. The mountain is
dominated by spruce/fir forests and is 6.647ft asl.
The Craggy Balds are about 5.500 feet above sea level while Devils
Courthouse Mountain is 5.720 feet asl.
JP
On Jan 3, 12:39 pm, Kouta Räsänen <kouta.rasa...@t-online.de> wrote:
Thanks! I meant the another "Devils" photo. You have taken it from
uphill (or from helicopter ;) ) and the photo shows a canopy of
conifers (red spruces?) and hardwoods (birches and beeches?).
I've visited both of those sites, and both photos include yellow birch
(B. alleghaniensis), which is by far the most common birch at high
elevations. The "Craggy" shot includes more beech (Fagus grandifolia)
than any other species. And yes, the conifers are red spruce.
On Sun, Jan 4, 2009 at 6:49 AM, Kouta Räsänen <kouta.rasa...@t-online.de> wrote:
> James,
> Thanks! I meant the another "Devils" photo. You have taken it from
> uphill (or from helicopter ;) ) and the photo shows a canopy of
> conifers (red spruces?) and hardwoods (birches and beeches?).
> Thanks! I meant the another "Devils" photo. You have taken it from
> uphill (or from helicopter ;) ) and the photo shows a canopy of
> conifers (red spruces?) and hardwoods (birches and beeches?).
> I've visited both of those sites, and both photos include yellow birch
> (B. alleghaniensis), which is by far the most common birch at high
> elevations. The "Craggy" shot includes more beech (Fagus grandifolia)
> than any other species. And yes, the conifers are red spruce.
> Jess
> On Sun, Jan 4, 2009 at 6:49 AM, Kouta Räsänen <kouta.rasa...@t-online.de> wrote:
> > James,
> > Thanks! I meant the another "Devils" photo. You have taken it from
> > uphill (or from helicopter ;) ) and the photo shows a canopy of
> > conifers (red spruces?) and hardwoods (birches and beeches?).
