Penny's Bend Wildflowers

Penny's Bend Nature Preserve in northeast Durham is a great place to view wildflowers.  The preserve protects a horseshoe bend in the Eno River that forms a peninsula of erosion-resistant diabase.  The diabase sill produces a basic soil type with higher pH than the typical acidic soils of the piedmont.  The unique geology and soil of Penny's Bend supports a variety of rare plant life, making this one of the best places in the Triangle to view wildflowers, especially in early spring before the leaves pop out.

White Wildflowers


Spring beauties (Claytonia virginica) are one of the first wildflowers to bloom in early spring.


Another early spring bloomer is the rue anemone (Thalictrum thalictroides).  I've found pretty large patches of the rue anemones here.


Star chickweed (Stellaria pubera) has small, white, star-shaped flowers.


One of the most interesting species is Dutchman's Breeches (Dicentra cucullaria).  The flowers are named for their resemblance to the pants that were popular in Holland in the 18th century.


Curlyheads (Clematis ochroleuca) have urn-shaped flowers.


Virginia saxifrage (Micranthes virginiensis) is another early spring bloomer.


Slender toothwort (Cardamine angustata) produces clusters of small white flowers.


Yellow Wildflowers



Green-and-Gold (Chrysogonum virginianum) has showy yellow flowers.


Yellow fumewort (Corydalis flavula) has small yellow flowers with a very small spur.


Blue and Violet Wildflowers


Common blue violets (Viola sororia) are a viola species found in the preserve.


Azure bluets (Houstonia caerulea) have small, light-blue flowers.




No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)