Smokies 2011 Photo Gallery by Tom Nelson at pbase.com

Smokies 2011

The Nelson family traveled to Great Smoky Mountains Nat'l Park for the spring break of 2011 (April 15th-24th). The flora and scenery were awesome, as always. This year the blooming season was 2-3 weeks early, which meant that a lot of the spring ephemerals were past. The good news was that two Cypripedium species, as well as Galearis spectabilis, were in prime bloom! On our drive down from our home in New York City, we visited a flourishing population of Corallorhiza wisteriana growing on a riverbank in Botetourt County, VA. It was a new species for us, bringing our list up to 96 native orchid species and counting.

Cypripedium acaule, light pink.	Cypripedium acaule	Cypripedium acaule	Cypripedium acaule	Cypripedium acaule, growing on a rock.	Cypripedium acaule, the same plants in bud four days earlier.	Emerging luna moth on Cypripedium acaule.	Cypripedium acaule
Cypripedium parviflorum var. pubescens	Cypripedium parviflorum var. pubescens	Cypripedium parviflorum var. parviflorum	Corallorhiza wisteriana, large clump, Botetourt County, VA..	Corallorhiza wisteriana	Corallorhiza wisteriana	Corallorhiza wisteriana	Corallorhiza wisteriana
Corallorhiza wisteriana, unusual flower.	Corallorhiza wisteriana	Corallorhiza wisteriana	Corallorhiza wisteriana, natural light.	Corallorhiza wisteriana, group.	Trillium grandiflorum w. flash	Trillium grandiflorum, natural light	Trillium grandiflorum, group.
Erythronium americanum w. Claytonia virginica high up in the Smokies, where it was still early spring.	Erythronium americanum	Erythronium americanum	Erythronium americanum	Erythronium americanum w. flash	Erythronium americanum	Erythronium americanum	Galearis spectabilis. In my opinion this species is at its most robust in the prime habitat of the Smokies.
Galearis spectabilis	Galearis spectabilis	Galearis w. Trillium grandiflorum	Galearis w. Trillium grandiflorum	Galearis spectabilis	Galearis spectabilis	Galearis spectabilis with huge, multi-flowered racemes. Wow!	Galearis spectabilis. As the flowers mature, the dorsal sepal stands erect and they open up fully.
Galearis spectabilis. This is what the species usually looks like in other locations.	Trillium erectum	Trillium erectum w. flash	Trillium erectum	Trillium erectum	Trillium vaseyi	Trillium undulatum	Trillium undulatum
Dodecathion meadia in White Oaks Sink.	Dodecatheon meadia w. Phlox divaricata	Dodecatheon meadia	Trillium luteum w. Geranium maculatum & Tiarella cordifolia	Trillium luteum	Trillium luteum	Trillium luteum w. Tiarella cordifolia	Trillium luteum
Trillium luteum	Trillium luteum, streamside.	Trillium simile	Trillium simile	Trillium simile w. Trillium luteum	Tipularia discolor, leaves.	Tipularia discolor showing bicolor leaf.	Aplectrum hyemale, showing over-winter hibernal leaf.
Viola rotundifolia w. flash	Massive population of Iris cristata	Iris cristata	Iris cristata	Iris cristata	Bignonia capreolata.	Hypoxis hirsuta	Hypoxis hirsuta
Mrs. Nelson relaxes in a sylvan setting.	Old homestead, preserved.	Old homestead w. split-rail fence.	Christina	The Nelson girls	Viola canadensis	Phacelia fimbriata, endemic to the Smokies and a small adjoining area.	Phacelia fimbriata
Phacelia fimbriata	Phacelia fimbriata	Large stand of Phacelia fimbriata	Phlox divaricata in White Oak Sink.	Phlox divaricata	Phlox divaricata	A nearby waterfall.	The Nelsons, trailside.
Phacelia bipinnatifida	Phacelia binniatifida w. Aquilegia canadensis	Phacelia binnatifida w. Adiantum pedatum	Phacelia bipinnatifida	Phacelia bipinnatifida w. Athyrium felix-femina	Phacelia bipinnatifida w, Aquilegia canadensis	Johanna & Christina at Fern Cliff Falls	Fern Cliff Falls
Fern Cliff Falls	Relaxing at the falls.	Silene virginica	Silene virginica	Silene virginica	The well-traveled Subaru at Little River Gorge, a botanical paradise!	Johanna at Little River Gorge.	Pigeon River, Little River Gorge.
Tiarella cordifolia w. Ranunculus recurvatis	Maianthemum racemosum	Large group of Aquilegia canadensis	The ladies on a hike.	A perilous bridge!	Christina was fearless...	Another view of the bridge.	The beautiful Little Pigeon River as viewed from the bridge.
A typical Smokies riparian landscape. It keeps us coming back!

comment |

Kathy Garness		23-May-2011 00:54
Beautiful work, Tom! Loved especially the trilliums with the orchids. Fred Case would be so proud! : )

Ed McDowell		22-May-2011 18:15
You must have been clairvoyant. As a trip leader at the Gatlinburg Wildflower Pilgrimage a week or so later than your visit, most of your flowers were in sharp decline or simply toast due to the earliness of the season. In fact, some of the flowers seen by Pilgrims normally flower in mid-May to early June. Good collection of images.

Aunt Joyce Jenkins		10-May-2011 16:38
Beautiful photography and I enjoyed the pictures of your family. Keep up the good work. What a wonderful eye you have to be able to recognize and name these different varieties.

Grandma Shirley Nelson		10-May-2011 02:54
Absolutely amazing photography. We looked at and studied every picture. The lighting and composition are extremely well done. We look forward to your next big adventure. Keep up the good work.

joseantonio		09-May-2011 18:54
Beautiful images

click on thumbnails for full image

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