Recent Articles from BRMC Newsletters
Trail Talk
by Jennifer Helwig
Winter is a wonderful time in the Bull Run Mountains. Even though
we didn’t see much snow until the first of March, the air was crisp
and cold during the winter months. With no leaves on the trees and
little under-story growth, hikers are able to see ridges, valleys, and
rocky outcrops that normally go unnoticed. You really get the feeling
that you are in the mountains. One of the nice surprises in the winter
woods is stumbling upon flowering Skunk Cabbage, Symplocarpus
foetidus. Found in swampy woods and wet meadows, the flowers are
small, ball-like clusters almost entirely enclosed by a hood-like
spathe that exhibits various color patterns of lime green and purple.
On the preserve, we observed the first blooming Skunk Cabbage at
our Winter Nature Camp in late December. Peak bloom appeared to
be in mid-February. Look for Skunk Cabbage along Catlett’s Branch
below the Dawson’s Cemetery and also along the Quarry Trail north
of Catlett’s Branch.
See you on the trails!
