I am in Ashe County for the NC Native Plant Society's Spring event. All indoor functions are held at the community building at the 221 Access area of New River State Park. Last night we listened to a presentation given by State Park Ranger Doug Blatney, on the New River controversy over a dam proposed by Appalachian Power back in the 1950s. A grass roots opposition started a battle which eventually involved the states of NC and VA opposing each other, congressional acts and the development of conservation efforts we take for granted today. The dam would have backed up the river 26 miles and inundated many special places we enjoy today.
The fern walk today is led by retired State Park Ranger Paul Bailey at the Wagoner Access. He says we will be seeing about 12 species of ferns on our walk. At one spot on the walk, we actually counted 10 species, so I think we saw at least 15 altogether. I'm just learning ferns, so my IDs may not be correct and I can't recall all the ones we saw. We did see one of my favorites, Walking Fern. We also saw many Canada Violets, various Trillium, Stonecrop, Iris, and lots and lots of Jack in the Pulpits. There were so many botanists on the hike, the inevitable botany debate surfaced. Is it Sensitive Fern or Broad Beech Fern? I looked at the references this morning - it was Sensitive Fern (not pictured)
Imagine seeing nothing but Maidenhair ferns. Well, that is what we have here.
I think this is Interrupted Fern. What a great display. This hike had more ferns than I have ever seen in one area. Looking up slope and down slope, ferns were everywhere.
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