On The Trail With Mark

This is a Red Eft or an immature terrestrial stage of the Adult Red Spotted Newt.   This specimen was observed conspicuously out in the open along Johnny Moore Creek in Balmoral after a heavy rain.   

This delicate, graceful perennial is found in rich, moist soil in the woods and in moist limestone outcroppings and ravines.  Black stemmed fronds about 12″ long fan out in a whorl pattern that make it an easily recognizable plant.   In the Clifton area, the bluffs around Popes Head Creek are a good place to spot Maidenhair Ferns.

The leaves were once used as a remedy for coughs, nasal congestion, asthma, and fevers.  Steeped in hot water, the resulting tea or syrup was thought to be a coolant, expectorant, and antirheumatic.  The Indians made a decoction from the stems of the plant that was used to make the hair shiny, but that’s not how it got the name Maidenhair.  It is called that because of the fine, tiny hairs that are found on its roots.

I found this beetle in  our yard in Clifton, VA. The beetle came out of our flower bed next to the house. I think it is a Spotted Pelidnota. Other names for this beetle includes grapevine beetle or spotted June beetle. I think it is a female because this beetle was light-colored.

Yes a flower although often mistaken for fungus. This plant lacks chlorophyll, hence the white and not green color. This plant is considered to be heterotrophic that is it derives it’s nutrients from sources other than the sun usually by obtaining carbon from fungus.