Native Hikes Project
By: Doug Lockard
There are many wonderful trees native to our ecosystems here in South Carolina, and as such, are beneficial to the wildlife that evolved her alongside them. This list below is compliments of the US Forestry Service here in our state. These trees, if propertly planted, will very likely live longer, require less maintenance, and bring more benefit than the wide variety of non-native trees available commercially here.
My wife Patty and I love to hike at Paris Mountain State Park. It’s close by and affords great cardio exercise in a beautiful setting. We hike all the trails throughout the year, but our favorite is a combination we call the ‘Mutt Trail’. It links four trail sections beginning in the upper parking lot, then proceeding north on the Brissy Ridge trail, then west at the intersection with Kanuga, and then south for a short piece on the Fire Tower Trail, and the last (and downhill) leg on Sulphur Springs back to the parking lot. It’s about 3.3 miles with a gradient of only 195 feet (mostly on the second leg) and the signage is easy to follow. Because this trail combination is a virtual circle you get to experience a nice range of plant communities with their corresponding native plants that thrive in each.
Over the month of August, I began experimenting with a new picture identification phone app called ‘Picture This’ while hiking the Mutt Trail and I recorded over 75 native species with reasonable confidence. It occurred to me that with a little help from others, we could map more trails throughout the Upstate with seasonal updates as part of an anecdotal observation project. There are other plant identification aps we could also experiment with as part of the same project and compare notes on these as well. If anyone is interested in this project, drop me a line at [email protected].
FERNS, MOSSES, & CLUB MOSSES
Bublet Bladderfern Cystopteris bulbifera (2)
Christmas Fern Polystichum acrostichoides
Western Brackenfern Pteridium aquilinum
Broom Forkmoss Dicranum scoparium
Common Hairmoss Polytrichum commune
Juniper Haircap Polytrichum juniperinum
GRASSES, SPURGES
Flowering Spurge Eujphorbia corollata
HERBACEOUS PERENNIALS
Basketgrass Oplismenus hirtellus Considered an invasive native
Beetleweed Galax urceolata
Blue ridge Blueberry Vaccinium pallidum
Butterfly Pea Clitoria mariana aka: Atlantic pigeon wings
Butterfly Weed Asclepias tuberosa
Bursting-heart Euonymus americanus aka: Strawberry bush
Canada Giant Cane Arundinaria gigantea
Goldenrod Solidago canadensis
Carolina elephants foot Elephantopus carolinianus
Common Blackberry Rubus allegheniencis
Grass-leaf Golden Aster Pityopsis gramminifolia
Greater Tickseed Coreposis major
Goldenrod, White Solidago bicolor
Goldenrod, Wrinkleleaf Solidago rugosa
Goldenrod, Early Solidago juncea
Hairy Sunflower Helianthus hirsutus
Hartweg’s Wild Ginger Asarum hartwegii
Highbush Blueberry Varrinium corymbosum
Hoary Mountain Mint Pycnanthemum incanum
Longleaf summer bluet Houstonia longifolia
Northern Dewberry Rubus flagellaris
Northern Seaoats Chasmanthium latifolium
Pale Indian Plantain Arnoglossum atriplicifolium
Poke Milkweed Asclepias exaltata
Rattlesnake Weed Pilosella venosa
Smooth carrionflower Smilax herbacea
Joe Pye Weed Eutrochium purpureum
White Snakeroot Ageratina altissima
White Turtlehead Chelone glabra
Whorled milkweed Asclepias verticillata
Yellow False Foxglove Aureolaria virginica (1)
TREES
Buckthorn, Carolina Frangula caroliniana
Dogwood, Flowering Cornus florida
Gum, Black Nyssa sylvatica
Hickory, Shagbark Carya ovata
Hickory, Pignut Carya glabra
Hickory, Bitternut Carya cordiformis
Holly, American Ilex opaca
Locust, Bristly Robinia hispida
Locust, Black Robinia pseudoacacia
Laurel, Mountain Kalmia latifolia
Maple, Red Acer rubrum
Oak, Northern Quercus rubra
Oak, Chestnut Quercus montana
Oak, Black Quercus velutina
Oak, White Quercus alba
Oak, Swamp White Quercus bicolor
Oak, Blackjack Quercus marilandica
Persimmon, Common Diespyros virginiana
Pine, Virginia Pinus virginiana
Poplar, Poplar Lirodendron tulipifera,
Sassafras, Common Sassafras albidum
Sourwood, Common Oxydendrum arboreum
VINES
Muscadine Vitis rotundifolia
Roundleaf Greenbrier Smilax rotundifolia
Summer Grape Vitis aestivalis
St. Andrews Cross Hypericum hypericoides
Note (1) pretty rare, found only under White Oak trees where it takes it’s nourishment from
Note (2) pretty rare in our area
Special thanks to Janie Marlow and her Name That Plant database at:
http://namethatplant.net/index.shtml
For more information on Paris Mountain:
https://southcarolinaparks.com/paris-mountain
Trail Map Source: https://southcarolinaparks.com/files/State%20Parks%20Files/Paris%20Mtn/PM-Trail%20Map3-9-2012.pdf