Davidson River – April 13, 2026

Posted on April 18, 2026 by WCBC

A great turnout and a lovely day for a hike. We saw loads of violets and trillium and some new plants too.

Photography by Lucy Prim & Penny Longhurst.  Botanical plant names seem to change almost every day, but for now we mostly 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. Click on any picture to zoom & enter the slide show.

Posted in Field Trips | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Jones Gap State Park – April 10, 2026

Posted on April 13, 2026 by WCBC

Jones Gap State Park is slowly recovering from Hurricane Helene although there’s still a lot of debris in the river. The bridge is back! We saw some interesting things including another snake & a bat hunting along the Middle Saluda River.  And, of course, the Jones Gap Trilliums. 

Photography by Penny Longhurst & Jim Poling.  Botanical plant names seem to change almost every day, but for now we mostly 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. Click on any picture to zoom & enter the slide show.

Posted in Field Trips | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Blue Wall Preserve – April 6, 2026

Posted on April 9, 2026 by WCBC

We first visited the 575 acre Blue Wall Preserve, managed by the Nature Conservancy, last fall and wondered what goodies we would find in the spring. It didn’t disappoint! The Preserve contains the Twin Ponds, Lanny’s Cascade, and Richard’s “secret” waterfall.

Photography by Ken Borgfeldt, Penny Longhurst, & Rebecca Sewell. Botanical plant names seem to change almost every day, but for now we mostly 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. Click on any picture to zoom and view the slide show.

Posted in Field Trips | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Station Cove Falls – April 3, 2026

Posted on April 5, 2026 by WCBC

We did things a little differently again this year & walked from Oconee Station to the falls. Once again we found the elusive Three parted Violet (Viola tripartita), Whorled Horsebalm (Collinsonia verticillata), & Pinxter Flower (Rhododendron periclymenoides), and a special treat – Coral Honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens).

Photography by Penny Longhurst & Joe Standaert. Botanical plant names seem to change almost every day, but for now we mostly 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. Click on any picture to zoom & enter the slide show.

Posted in Field Trips | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Best of Twin Bridges

Posted on March 28, 2026 by WCBC

Sadly for the past couple of years we have been unable to visit one of our favorite early spring places, Twin Bridges. You can see why from Carol’s photographs! So, let’s pretend that we will be there and keep our fingers crossed for next year 🤞

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 Ken Borgfeldt, Daudie & John Colson, David Heavner,  Penny Longhurst, Carol McCall, Jim Poling, Joe Standaert, & Ken Wilcox. Click on any picture to zoom & enter the slide show.

Posted in Field Trips | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment