The Chattahoochee you don’t know
I enjoyed a great whirlwind tour of Chattahoochee’s botanical wonders on Sunday thanks to Leigh Brooks, who worked for The Nature Conservancy for many years and is extremely knowledgable about the unique botany along the Apalachicola River. The first thing she did was took me to see Angus Gholson, the man who has spent a lifetime learning and sharing all there is to know about the region’s flora. After a visit to his herbarium and a chance to admire the Ashe magnolia blooms, we headed down to the nature park named in his honor and poked around for rare wildflowers in bloom, and we were not disappointed. In one tract near the park, Leigh introduced me to croomia, a plant I’d learned about but never had seen before.
A driving loop down along the Apalachicola River and past the dam yielded more showy botanical treasures, including oakleaf hydrangea in bloom. We finished up with a visit to a natural area hidden behind the state prison, where the trail has been let go but the shores of Cypress Cove are as pretty as can be. I’ve had the chance to write these places up for the new book, which is now consuming all of my “spare” time. Thanks, Leigh, for treating me to a side of Chattahoochee I didn’t know was there!
June 8th, 2007 at 11:26 am
[...] including Hydrangea quercifolia. Sandra Friend has been hanging around in the woods and gives her side of the story. Related Posts: Hybrid Musk Rose Ballerina This entry is filed under On Perennials. Comment [...]
June 8th, 2007 at 11:27 am
I like your write-up very much. Croomia indeed, and Ashe magnolia. I spent a lot of time on the Chattahoochee when I was younger, but up near Atlanta.
Barrie
April 9th, 2008 at 6:01 am
Gil Nelson (author of plant books and natural area guides), when asked if he knew anyone who was doing a study of Florida’s important native plant areas, mentioned your name. Is this the book about natural areas being written for the Pineapple Press Wild Florida series? How is it going? To me, such a study is critical to generating the public interest in plant conservation that is necessary to increase legal protection for endangered and threatened plants, which is minimal and slipping (2008 Florida Legislature is cutting the only state plant conservation funds, the $250,000 Endangered and Threatened Plant Conservation Program in FDACS). Thanks, Fritz.