#quicksilver-weed

A few mementos from a short hike on the Virgin Hemlock Tail this morning. Cold, damp weather has settled into NC West Virginia, but any rain is welcome following an unusually dry winter and spring (opposite of the West Coast). From top: the ever balletic but stinky red trillium (Trillium erectum); long-spurred violet (Viola rostrata); wood anemone (Anemone quinquefolia), longing for a burst of sun to open its flowers; trailing arbutus (Epigaea repens), a ground-hugging shrub in the heath family; early meadow-rue (Thalictrum dioicum); and an Eastern red-backed salamander (Plethodon cinereus), a terrestrial salamander of rich, damp mountain woods.

The ancient bedrock that surrounds and underlies Hills Creek is in a constant state of change, as a soft layer of red shale steadily erodes underneath a harder layer of sandstone, eventually causing sections of sandstone to fracture, collapse and create waterfalls. The cool, damp environment of the Hills Creek gorge harbors a rich variety of life, including: Canada mayflower (Maianthemum canadense); early meadow rue (Thalictrum dioicum), whose male and female flowers are produced on separate plants; and two-leaf miterwort (Mitella diphylla), with its unusual flower structure, reminiscent of a bishop’s cap. The photos above were taken at the Falls of Hills Creek Scenic Area along the Highland Scenic Highway.  

Early meadow rue (Thalictrum dioicum), also known as quicksilver-weed, makes a graceful entrance along Quarry Run. The elegant leaves of this herbaceous perennial are 3-parted, and each part is 1 to 4 times compound; each leaf can be up to a foot long. The branches have three to five leaflets, each with three to nine rounded lobes. The complex leaf structure of this delicate beauty make it one of the most recognizable plants of the early spring forest.