Flora on the Trail at Gravely Nature Preserve

This past week several members enjoyed some forest bathing on the trail with Regina at Gravely Nature Preserve .   We learned about the history of the property, which was a tobacco plantation owned by the Burgess family in the late 1800s.  Fields were abandoned as the crop depleted the soil nutrients, creating a walk through time showing how the area transformed from abandoned field to hardwood forest.  We found many curious things growing along the trail.  We also learned about the pipeline that travels through the area.  

Photo by Regina Flora: Forest Bathers, ready to learn

 Sharp eyes spotted this flash of red in the leaf litter: 

Photo by Regina Flora: Fruiting Jack-in-the-pulpit

We also found some mushrooms that look like pawns from a chess set. Research suggests these are Amanita abrupta.  Note that most Amanita species are very toxic, including this one. More info here: https://www.mushroomexpert.com/amanita_abrupta.html

Photo by Valinda Dyer: Amanita abrupta

At the end of the hike was a tree with a profuse amount of red fruits and very long thorns.  With a little help from an app on a cell phone, we decided it is a species of Hawthorn.  The berries are commonly called 'haws'. There are several species of native hawthorns in this area, and also a number of introduced species.  We are not sure which this is. 

Photo by Regina Flora: Hawthorn 'haws'

 Regina promised to return to Gravely in the spring to visit the Rhododendron glade and enjoy the trillium bloom.  I'm looking forward to that!