On today’s trip up Vestovia trail, I noticed the fern-leaved goldthread (Coptis aspleniifolia) was blooming along with some of the blueberries in the set of switchbacks between the Verstovia stairs and the last section before the viewpoint.
It was interesting to see them blooming here relatively early. It’s possible there are some blooming down closer to sea level (I think this was probably around 600-700 feet), but I’ve not noticed them. It’s a south facing slope, and there’s enough of a gap in the canopy for sun to shine through and warm the ground, but still covered enough to keep from cooling off too much at night due to radiation cooling.
My iNaturalist Observations for Today
