Watson Rare Native Plant Preserve | Part 2

For the first installment: go here

There will definitely be at least one more, if not two, posts about this tiny little preserve. Had to do some digging to come up with names for some plants and then I still don’t know a few!

Had some fun chasing this ant around on what I believe is Rhynchosia tomentosa.

And then I spied this Passiflora lutea growing under the taller herb layer. Didn’t see a flowering plant.

And while I was down checking the passionvine out I decided to see how an ant feels and show how it looked like a mini-forest under there.

Looking down towards the pond in front of the property.

A variety of milkweed, Asclepias tuberosa. Good butterfly plant as any gardener should know!

Last fall while working in the Sabine National Forest, this plant was completely knew to me and all I could say was that it looked like cilantro or the like. Well, it is parsley hawthorn, Crataegus marshallii, so I was right on the weird description!

I think this is Texas azalea, Rhododendron oblongifolium. It was smelling heavenly and most of the flowers were on their way out, though.

I think this is a northern crescent butterfly, Phyciodes cocyta. Edit: 06/06/20: It’s a pearl crescent, Phyciodes tharos. Didn’t have the right lens for this but got as close as I could before it flew away. I always do the general “it was here” shot and then start working my way closer to get a better shot for any animal.

Love these guys when they cooperate!

It’s too bad some of the sitting areas have fallen into derelict.

Next time we’ll cross this bridge and head into the pitcher plant ‘bog’!