An unusual member of the spleenwort family, the Walking Fern can produce new plants at the end of its leaves! My father and I came across many of these ferns while hiking the Buffalo River Trail.
During the fall of 2010, the work crew at Compton Gardens set off to explore and study some of the beauty in Arkansas' natural forests. The destination was Lost Valley State Park. At arrival, I considered this place to be a typical hike, easy and ruined by too many visitors. Then I noticed the Hepatica nobilis Schreb. var. acuta carpeting the forest floor on both sides of the walking path. My original opinion of the place instantly melted into pure excitement. Not far into the trail, we also noticed several spent orchids! This place must be visited in spring to view this impressive flora.
The most impressive feature of this area are the ancient American Beech trees, Fagus grandifolia. As my friends keep their eyes on the floor, my head is constantly tilted back staring at the trees' knobby branches, twisting above my head, covered in those amber fall leaves. From my time spent in the Buffalo National River area, I have falling in love with the American Beech.
Toward the end of the trail, past the big waterfall and near the mouth of the cave, we discovered something camouflaged among the moss and fallen leaves. We studied these non-photosynthetic plants desperately. Once we returned to civilization with our many photographs, we cracked our books. We found Epifagus virginiana, Beech Drops. Beech Drops love to feed from the roots of the American Beech, hence the lack of chlorophyll. This plant is also known as Cancer-Root; it was once said to cure cancer, but that isn't true. However, it does hold some medical uses. If you are interested in reading more click here.
After we moved on from the Beech Drops we slipped into the darkness of the cave at the end of the trail. As we entered the cave, I felt a rush of cold air down my neck. It felt as if someone was following us into the cave. To get to the chamber at the end, you must pass through the very tight hallway. Jose, one member of our team, lost his footing and broke his ankle. I stayed with him while the others went to get help. We sat in silence for what felt like hours. At one point it seemed that the shadows cast by the light of my headlight were moving. One of them was actually moving! It wasn't my light, it was the shadow! I scrambled to get away from the approaching figure. I heard Jose's voice sound as if he was being crushed by rocks. When I turned to look, he was gone. The shadows had receded. Fun story, huh? Of course, Jose is fine. He was never hurt.
Over the Thanksgiving break, my young friend Bob and I set out for an adventure at Pinnacle Mountain (Penuchle Mountain, as I like to call it). Bob and I were heading down one of the roads that leads to the East Summit Trail. Just at the opening of the road, as you look to the right into a ditch, there was a beautiful Red Tail Hawk. This hawk seemed to have had a successful rabbit hunt. As quickly as I could, I stopped my truck and snapped some shots of this beautiful creature. Bob then said, "Well, this is weird. I've never done this before." Bob and I slowly and calmly approached the bird until we were no more than 10 feet away. Just amazing.
Afterwards, we made it to the park. We began fishing at first, no luck. Bob then decided that we would walk around the base of Pinnacle, hike up the east side and descend on the west side. Bob and I were like two friendly mountain goats jumping and bounding from one boulder to the next. In less than two hours, we completed the entire mountain and claimed it as our own. Lewis and Clark, that's a laugh. Bob and John, now those guys should be taken seriously!
Hiking through the Ozark Natural Forest is always a pleasurable experience. I was accompanied by a team of artists, gardeners and photographers as we explored the beautiful wilderness. After passing through a wonderful grouping of beech trees, one of my team members discovered a beautiful millipede!
When we arrived at our first lookout point, I first discovered a beautiful colony of Spiranthes species. I have attempted to identify the species; however, I am not confident enough to clarify the name of these flowers.
Next to the Spiranthes, another flower caught my eye. This is something that is unknown to me. Polygala sanguinea, commonly known as Milkwort. This plant is commonly found in fields. It also has some kind of medicinal value.
As the sun dropped below the horizon, it seems that the hills caught fire. A great way to end the day, I say!
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