The Trillium on the Web

The online newsletter for NARGS Piedmont Chapter

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October 2024

Featured Article

The Cradle of Southern US Horticulture in

My Grandmother’s Backyard in China

by Jerry Yu

Heraclitus once said, “No man ever steps in the same river twice”, and the same can be said for countries, homes, and ourselves. The last time I visited China, I was a starry eyed tween without a JLBG t-shirt or even a phone, and before, a toddler. Now, after the ebb of COVID, our family was about to go on our long awaited China trip. We would visit family, return to the places me and my family had grown up, and finally enjoy good Chinese food. I had my field guide, I had Inaturalist. I was ready.

Shenzhen (深圳)

I always marveled at the serendipity of my birthplace, the sprawling high tech metropolis carved out of rolling, lychee filled hills. Here, wide boulevards and hiking trails overfilled with bayan and palm seek to soften the jagged rise of glass towers, their cold glint softened with reflections of bougainvillea. Here, I was exposed to the best of tropical landscaping, and excitedly snapped pictures of various flora while driving around town with childhood friends. Of special prominence here were the various tropical mangrove species (Sonneratia sp.), Lagerstroemia speciosa, and Fagraea ceilanica, which perfumed the air around many malls. I also had the chance to visit the Xianhu (仙湖) botanical gardens, where I was able to see their Cycad and Gesneriad collections.

Hunnan (桃江，张家界)

This province is the ancestral home (“老家”) of my family, and where my grandparents still live and lease land. The last time I had visited here was when I was four, and all I remembered from that time was my bruised head, I wonder why. This leg of the trip thus proved the most exciting. Walking into my grandparents’ backyard was walking through a funhouse mirror of my Mom’s memories and Lowes. What a bizarre situation to travel across the world, only to be able to identify about as many plants as I could here! Growing wild were various species of Camelia, Loropetalum, Buxus, and Gardenia, which my grandmother picked for our dinner. With canopy of Cunninghamia replacing our loblolly though, it was a slightly more hazardous trek. Later, our family took our grandparents to see the legendary Zhangjiajie (张家界), whose karst landscape has graced innumerable ink brush paintings and James Cameron’s Avatar. Here, among the giant salamanders I saw many species of Arisaema, Begonia, and violet, as well as some truly impressive divided leaf Heptapleurum delavayi.

Yunnan (轿子雪山)

While this trip was primarily to visit friends and family, I made sure to take the trek to Yunnan. I had to. It’s Yunnan. Yunnan is similar to Ecuador: the cut flower capital of China, and home to a new plant community every 10 minutes or 100 meter elevation change. And I am glad to say that I got the Yunnan experience visiting Jiaozi Xueshan (轿子雪山), home to over 40 species of Rhododendron. And they were out in force! Whether it was the carmine red of Rhododendron delavayi, the creamy yellow of Rhododendron lacteum, or the tiny purple blooms of Rhododendron fastigiatum, we definitely received a dazzling show. While my dad climbed the mountain’s peak, I puttered around observing the emergence of various species of Potentilla, Oxygraphis, and Primula. And you can’t forget the black and white jail bar flowers of Arisaema aff. speciosum!
Returning to China drove home just how many of our most valued Southern plants grow wild in Hunnan’s hills. Hopeful immigrants, made good, thriving in the Carolina clay. May we strive then, in our gardens and in our lives, to grow with change, and remember that home is not one place.

Lasting Impressions’ Garage Gallery & Plant Sale
Saturday, October 26, 2024
10am-2pm
4904 Hermitage Dr., Raleigh, NC 27612

Please join us for our Fall sale, 20% off hypertufa troughs and concrete leaves. There will be plenty of plants too, just in time for fall planting. We hope you can come and enjoy the garden.

The August 3, 2024 Board Meeting Minutes, including Financial and Program Reports, submitted by Char Thomann, Secretary, are available at the link: NARGS minutes 8-3-2024

Chapter members are invited to submit articles, book reviews and photos for online publication to Cyndy Cromwell – find my email on the Members Only page. Travel, gardening techniques and stories, plant profiles and book reviews are some of the topics you might cover. Thanks for your contributions!

September 2024

Featured Article

Hidden Gems of the Southern Blue Ridge Escarpment

by Ryan Schiller

The Southern Blue Ridge Escarpment Region is an area of dramatic elevation drop that straddles the South Carolina/North Carolina border up into Western North Carolina. Typically, the Blue Ridge Escarpment is a North to South orientation but, in this region that changes to a more west to east orientation. Because of this orientation, it allows for significant orographic lift on and around the escarpment. Moisture lifts out of the Gulf Of Mexico and seemingly “piles up” in areas on and around the escarpment. One such example is Lake Toxaway, NC, which averages a whopping 91 inches of rain a year, according to the Greenville National Weather Service! This abundant moisture is coupled with mild winter temperatures especially in microclimates such as Rock Houses and Spray Cliffs. Other factors that contribute to the diversity of the region are the varying topographic features and their underlying geology. From deep humid gorges with towering Hemlocks, dramatic cliffs, and exposed rock faces, an astounding array of plant communities can be found!

There are many plant communities within the Southern Blue Ridge Escarpment that contribute to the region’s diversity. Here, I’ll spend a little bit describing a few of the many notable communities.

Cataract Fens are one the natural communities that often gets mentioned when one thinks of the Southern Blue Ridge Escarpment. Often these Cataract Fens are referred to as bogs which is incorrect. A true bog by definition has most of its nutrients and water derived from precipitation. This is known as an ombrotrophic wetland. On the other hand, fens receive their nutrients and water from seepage. To add further classification, fens can be “rich” and “poor. “Rich” fens are exactly what you’d think. They are rich in mineral content and tend to be more basic than “Poor Fens” which have a lower mineral content. In both examples, water is found sliding down smooth open rock outcrops creating a water slick, of sorts. The most iconic plants of these communities are Sarracenia jonesii (Mountain Sweet Pitcherplant) and Sarracenia purpurea var. montana (Southern Appalachian Purple Pitcherplant). Other notable species found include, Pogonia ophioglossoides (Small Spreading Pogonia), Parnassia grandifolia (Bigleaf Grass-Of-Parnassus), Fothergilla major (Mountain Witch-Alder), Eriocaulon texense (Texas Hatpins), Drosera brevifolia (Dwarf Sundew), and many more. Because of the unique conditions present, remarkably disjunct populations are present, including the latter two species.

Another community that cannot go without mention when speaking of the Southern Blue Ridge Escarpment are the various types of rock outcrops. These rock outcrops are smoothed exposures of varying geology. Rock exposures made of granite gneiss tend to be more acidic. Mafic rock outcrops where amphibolite is found are high in magnesium in calcium.

Species like Carex biltmoreana (Biltmore’s Sedge) and Sisyrinchium dichotomum (White Irisette) can only be found on these mafic outcrops. Typical plant species one may see on these outcrops include Bryodesma tortipilium (Twisted-hair Spikemoss), Hypericum gentianoides (Pineweed), Myriopteris tomentosa (Wooly Lip-fern), Myriopteris lanosa (Hairy Lip-fern), and many more.

Without a doubt most people’s favorite plant community is the Rich cove. Typically coves in the region are north to northeast facing, generally have a stream running down the middle, pH <6.0, associated with Amphibolite, and are extremely diverse.

On one mountain in Pickens County, SC, an astonishing seven species of Trillium spp. can be found all under a canopy of mature Cladrastis kentukea (Yellowwood), ancient Liriodendron tulipifera (Tuliptree), and many other woody species. The Carex spp. (Sedge) diversity is also absurd. Twenty species of Carex spp. can be found in one Rich cove area in Oconee Co. SC. Species like Carex austrocaroliniana (South Carolina Sedge) and Carex radfordii (Radford’s Sedge) are endemic to the Southern Blue Ridge Escarpment.

Trillium spp. such as Trillium discolor (Pale Yellow Trillium), Trillium vaseyi (Vasey’s Trillium), Trillium simile (Sweet White Trillium), and a few more carpet the cove floors with their dazzling ephemeral displays.

Ferns such as Diplaziopsis pycnocarpa (Glade Fern), Asplenium rhizophyllum (Walking Fern), etc, can be found with great abundance in some coves.

I hope you enjoyed a very short sampling of the diversity that can be found in this one of a kind region. There are many more plants and communities to be shown! If you want to further indulge and learn more about this fascinating region, join me at the J.C. Raulston Arboretum on Saturday, September 21, at 10 A.M.