Since the Blue Ridge Parkway was closed northbound from Elk Pasture Gap we did the walk as an in-&-out and still found some nice plants, including TWO new Figworts and several superbums! We drove back to the Buck Spring Lodge for our picnic lunch. Once again it was a lovely day (cool compared to almost 90° down in the valley) & didn’t rain until we were driving home!

Botanical plant names seem to change almost every day, but for now we use those approved by ITIS, the Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Plants that are non-native to North America are indicated by an asterisk (*) placed after the species name. Photography by Cindy Carpenter, Penny Longhurst, Jim Poling, & Joe Standaert. Click on any picture to zoom & enter the slide show.