Third Winchester Revisited

We went out for a quick walk Sunday night on Third Winchester Battlefield, which we visited just a few weeks ago. Ann and I explored a trail that we had not been on the last time and when we emerged into the fields through the woods, we came upon an explosion of flowers. I mostly only took pictures of flowers that we did not encounter last time.

The Battlefield is Mostly Grassy Prairie

Emerging out of the woods onto the mowed trails through the grassy fields, we came upon stunning amounts of flowers in bloom, especially many, many kinds of yellow Asteraceae. I'm not very good at telling them apart and I even have difficulty in getting the correct genus, let alone taking the plant to the species level. Here are some of the more interesting ones that I think I have successfully keyed, but I always stand to be corrected.

Orange Coneflower, Rudbeckia fulgida

Vast Masses of  Tickseed Sunflower, Bidens aristosa

Close Up of Charming Tickseed Sunflower

Thin-leaved Sunflower, Helianthus decapetalus

Through the field, we took a side trail down to Redbud Run and encountered a different set of flora in the damp woods and swampy bottom, 50-100 feet below the fields.

Wingstem, Verbesina alternifolia

Great Blue Lobelia, Lobelia siphilitica

Orange Jewelweed, Impatiens capensis

New York Ironweed, Vernonia noveboracensis

Back up in the fields, we continued to work our way towards the Hackwood estate and found several plants of interest growing alongside the trail through the grass. Bonesets were very common and there were at least two species, Eupatorium perfoliatum and altissimum. The Tall Boneset (altissimum) was far more ragged looking and less photogenic.

Boneset, Eupatorium perfoliatum

American Senna, Senna hebecarpa

Spanish Needles, Bidens bipinnata

 The plant below I have speculatively called Sweet Everlasting, Pseudognaphalium obtusifolium rather than Pearly Everlasting, Anaphalis margaritacea, for the simple reason that the Virginia Plant Atlas lists no records of Pearly Everlasting in this county. That said, I have my doubts.

Sweet Everlasting, Pseudognaphalium obtusifolium??

Finally, before descending to the now broken bridge over Redbud Run, our path meandered by the exact same Osage Orange tree that I photographed from a distance previously, stating that it was the largest specimen that I have ever seen. Up close, I took a photo of the fruit which is significantly larger than a softball.

Osage Orange, Maclura pomifera