Who got some rain today? We got .29″. Yeah! I know from looking at the radar some of you got more. Now we wait for the cold and wind tomorrow, eh. In the meantime more from Jan. 4th. In fact a 4-fer; four fern species!
So starting with the rare Southern Grape Fern or Sparse-lobed Grapefern (Sceptridium biternatum syn Botrychium biternatum). At least it is for Wise County. I believe it is fairly common in the east.
Counting over a 100+ plants! Indeed they can be hard to see because some plants in the winter take on a bronze colored leaves. So this was same patch I found back in December. However Jeanne was there to help with the count this time. 🙂
After finding the Jack-O-Lanterns yesterday, next we spotted the Ebony Spleenwort (Asplenium platyneuron)! Now we were up to two fern species. It seemed like a self-imposed challenge was in order. LOL
The 3-fer, Common Woodsia (Woodsia obtusa)! This was turning into a great fern day! As we progressed along I was wondering if we were going to find the Purple Cliff Brake. It and the Woodsia are probably the most common to find on the LBJ NG. Well, we found a small ravine to follow. Surely this would lead us to a Purple Cliff Brake.
In fact the ravine did the trick! Here was the Purple Cliff Brake (Pellaea atropurpurea).
Here were the two most common ferns on the LBJ grasslands together.
However there are more species of ferns on the grasslands. They include Maidenhair Fern (Adiantum capillus-veneris), Grape Fern or Rattlesnake Fern (Botrychium virginianum), Wooly Lip Fern (Cheilanthes tormentors), and the Southern Shield Fern (Thelypteris kunthii). And heck maybe some day I will found another species. 😉
Great ferny finds. Especially the rare one. That reminds me I need to check my one species now that we have wet weather. Soil stays wet in that shaded area a bit longer but it grow up on the upper edge of a drop off. Myriopteris alabamensis.
We had rain too down here and horrendous wind.
Jeanne has found the Myriopteris alabamensis on her place. So maybe I will find it on the grasslands someday! Fingers crossed, eh! Our high wind gust was 43mph. A few more snags got their tops knock off. 😉
Agreed, Judy – The mouse is the cutest! Cool news about the salamanders. I recall reading stories about people helping them cross the road in their habitat range by various means, including buckets and bussing trays. I love seeing your fern bonanza!
Fun critter stories! And hooray for those folks in Amherst!
Great ferny finds. Especially the rare one. That reminds me I need to check my one species now that we have wet weather. Soil stays wet in that shaded area a bit longer but it grow up on the upper edge of a drop off. Myriopteris alabamensis.
We had rain too down here and horrendous wind.
Jeanne has found the Myriopteris alabamensis on her place. So maybe I will find it on the grasslands someday! Fingers crossed, eh! Our high wind gust was 43mph. A few more snags got their tops knock off. 😉
That’s the cutest mouse video ever. The wind here is horrendous tonight so you sent it our way Kathy😉
I agree and would it be nice if I had a helper like that. Ha ha ha ha!
Agreed, Judy – The mouse is the cutest! Cool news about the salamanders. I recall reading stories about people helping them cross the road in their habitat range by various means, including buckets and bussing trays. I love seeing your fern bonanza!
Those folks are to be admired for their dedication!
A good fern day!
Love the salamander tunnels! Highly recommend a book we just listened to about road ecology and road impacts in the environment. Crossings by Ben Goldfarb: https://www.npr.org/2023/09/11/1198822462/from-massive-squishings-to-the-insect-apocalypse-roads-are-terrorizing-nature
Claire, looks like very informative book! Thanks!