PART ONE: CENTRAL KENTUCKY: THE INNER-BLUEGRASS AREA

When one thinks of wildflowers, Kentucky is probably way down the list of places to visit. This beautiful state in the mid-eastern USA is renowned for its horse farms in Lexington (much less known for its swathes of Phlox subulata growing naturally in any areas it cared to colonise), the Churchill Downs where the famous Kentucky Derby is run and the face that fills billboards throughout every first world country, that of Colonel Sanders and his Kentucky Fried Chicken. Little did I imagine, that I would be enraptured by its wealth of flora, so well hidden from the tourist but so plentiful to the trained eye.

I am indebted to Sherba Nelson for her spirit of adventure in helping me find many of the plants I only dreamed about, to her son Nick, who at the tender age of 18 years has the capacity to see nature through very mature eyes and to Linda Fugate-Blumer, wildflower photographer extraordinaire, whose passion for the Lady's Slipper orchids was only surpassed by my disappointment in not finding them in bloom. Without them, this article could never have been written and the richness of this diverse and beautiful flora would have forever remained in my imagination.

RAVEN RUN NATURE SANCTUARY

Our journey began in the cool morning of April 15th before the sun had time to penetrate the wooded areas of Raven Run, a favourite haunt of Linda's and the backdrop to some of her wonderful photographs. Raven Run Nature Sanctuary in Fayette Co. Lexington is owned and operated by the Urban County Government and is bordered on the east by the Kentucky River. This 374 acre reserve of woodland, meadow and parkland has 5 defined trails covering some 8 miles in total. There are flowers to be seen everywhere from the diminutive Field Pansy Viola rafinesquii along the roadside, to the majestic May-apple Podophyllum peltatum deep within the woods. We spent a little under 3 hours exploring this wonderland, when in all reality, a full day would have been eminently more rewarding but time was not as abundant as the flora on this particular occasion and the plants offered their own invitation for a return visit at a later date.

A first stop at the Visitor Centre provided trail maps of the area and an insight into some of the wildlife of the Sanctuary. The wardens provided help on where to look for certain plants and the beautiful but highly venomous Copperhead snake, slithering harmlessly in its glass tank, gave a gentle reminder that this was indeed untamed country which should be treated with the utmost respect. If nothing else, it taught one where to put ones feet, which can only be good for the flora too.


Armed with a map and loaded up with cameras, lenses and tripods, we set off to follow the Red trail around the perimeter of the woodland, heading in a North-Easterly direction to where the trout lilies Erythronium americanum were supposedly in flower. Alas, despite seeing hundreds of plants, we were a little too early to catch them in bloom. Violets were in abundance. The common blue violet V. papillionaceae was everywhere and growing in harmony with the field pansy V.rafinesquii and the smooth yellow violet V. pensylvanica (sic). Leaving the road and making our way to the beginning of the trail, we came upon out first trillium of the day, a single specimen of the toadshade T.sessile, with purple petals, sitting atop the whorled green leaves. Later we were to find colonies of these Toadshades ranging from 2 inches in height to almost a foot.

Following the path down into the woods, our next find was the stonecrop Sedum ternatum, nestled softly in the rock crevices, its succulent leaves giving rise to 4 inch stems of arching sprays of the most intense, white stellate flowers. Beneath the stonecrop, growing in a humus-rich soil were dozens of Sanguinaria canadensis, the bloodroot, providing ample shade in an otherwise open situation for the more vulnerable rue anemones, Anemonella thalictroides, with their whorls of tri-lobed leaves, giving backdrop to the 6 petalled (or more correctly, sepalled) florescence. (The False Rue Anemone, Isopyrum biternatum is found only on calcareous soils and is said to resemble Anemonella but they are quite distinctive and easily told apart).The bloodroots had long since flowered but still served a purpose in encouraging these beautiful woodlanders to put forth their blooms. Nature at its most accommodating.

Further along the track, it was hard to miss the Gill-Over-The-Ground, Glechoma hederaceae, the tiny member of the mint family with pale blue flowers over kidney shaped foliage, trying its best to become weedy but failing miserably to impress the endemics. Here and there, we were treated to a golden delight in the form of the wood poppy, Stylophorum diphyllum, only rarely seen in this particular area and only three or four specimens condescended to make an appearance during our walk.
Not so the Blue-eyed Mary, Collinsia verna. Prolific would be an understatement. This beautiful blue and white member of the Scrophulariaceae lit up the woods in every conceivable area of ground not taken up by a perennial herb. Stunning is the only way to describe this little annual. We saw this later in other locations but in far lesser profusion.




The blue phlox, Phlox divaricata also gave a splendid account of itself although we were probably a week or two early to see this at its best.
More trilliums were in evidence as we reached the creek, all T. sessile but this time the yellow form , no less attractive, was growing alongside the purple in rich leaf mould. Scattered amongst the trilliums, on the rocks and at the river's edge were stands of the dwarf Larkspur, Delphinium tricorne in shades from the deepest purple to pure white with much variation. There were many light blue and white forms, no less appealing.



This was indeed a rich area for flora but time had unfortunately crept up on us all and with other pressing commitments, it was time to say farewell to this wonderful sanctuary, leaving us with the impression that we had barely scratched the surface of the mouth-watering flora that carpeted the woods. It is undoubtedly a place I shall return to, if not on this trip, then sometime in the future.

Text, Photographs & Graphics © Alan Grainger 2000 unless otherwise acknowledged

The photographs listed below are © Sherba Nelson 2000
Podophyllum peltatum
Isopyrum biternatum
Collinsia verna
Delphinium tricorne

Coming Soon:

PART TWO: TENNESSEE....... INTO NORTH CAROLINA