To myself, mountains are the beginning and the end of all natural scenery; in them, and in the forms of inferior landscape that lead to them, my affections are wholly bound up; and though I can look with happy admiration at the lowland flowers, and woods, and open skies, the happiness is tranquil and cold, like that of examining detached wildflowers in a conservatory, or reading a pleasant book; and if the scenery be resolutely level, insisting upon the declaration of its own flatness in all the detail of it ... it appears to me a prison, and I can not long endure it.

—John Ruskin, Modern Painters (1850)

For me, those plants found here in the Smokies region that have verified practical human uses are, in the long run, of more interest than those with often overblown reputations for sacred or medicinal uses.

“Jimson Weed is featured in a set of mystic books recently popular, Carlos Castaneda’s tales of mind expansion with the Mexican Indian shaman, Don Juan. Seeds of this common weed do indeed contain an hallucinogenic component, but, as is so often the case, the same chemical is also highly toxic, and the line between ‘a trip’ and ‘the final trip’ is a fine one and one which varies from one individual to another.”

— Jim Horton, The Summer Times (1979)

I’m no expert on regional linguistics, but through the years I’ve delighted in the dialect English still spoken here in the Smokies region. One sometimes hears or reads that it dates back to the Elizabethan era — that is, to the second half of the 16th century, when Shakespeare appeared on the literary scene — or even earlier.

“The first large, successful American business run by a woman was said to be the Lydia E. Pinkham Medical Company, founded in 1875 by Lydia Estes Pinkham. Her main product was Lydia E. Pinkham’s Vegetable Compound, a patent medicine to treat “all those painful complaints and weaknesses so common to our best female population’ — in other words, menstrual pain. A main ingredient was black cohosh, but the concoction’s popularity might have been due to its nearly 20 percent alcohol content.”

— Jack Sanders, The Secrets of Wildflowers, (2003)

Five turtle species reside in Western North Carolina: snapping, musk, and painted turtles are primarily found in streams, lakes, and ponds. The elusive and rare bog turtle is found in the habitat for which it’s named. The eastern box turtle will enter water during dry weather, but it’s largely terrestrial. For that reason, they are the species with which we have the most contact.

Those who’ve participated in my natural history workshops know that that I’m not a very good source for information regarding edible plants. For the most part, I obtain vegetables at the grocery store or, in season, from our gardens. But there are exceptions.

Two weeks ago, we reviewed current theories about the uplift of the Appalachian Mountains about 250 million years ago, as well as opinions about how high the Appalachians might have been when originally uplifted. Last week, we took a closer look at the geographic area of the Appalachians in which we reside — the Southern Blue Ridge Province, which extends from the Roanoke River water gap in southwestern Virginia to Mt. Oglethorpe in north Georgia, including the mountainous portions of east Tennessee, Western North Carolina, and northwestern South Carolina. This week’s final excerpt from my Blue Ridge Nature Journal text surveys the forest zones of that region.

Last week, we reviewed current theories concerning the uplift of the Appalachian Mountains about 250 million years ago. And we also reviewed several theories about how high the Appalachians might have been when originally uplifted. Opinions among various authorities range from about 10,000 feet to 30,000 feet in elevation. This week, let’s take a closer look at the area of Appalachians in which we reside — the Southern Blue Ridge Province.

The inter-related geologic and geographic heritage of the Blue Ridge Province is a complex but fascinating and rewarding subject to consider. As part of the introductory portion of my natural history workshops, I give a presentation called “Where Are We?” This allows me to touch upon the basics of the region’s geologic history as well as its present day geography — thereby laying the groundwork for subsequent field trips, during which methods for identifying the habitats, plants, and animals of the Blue Ridge are taught. That presentation goes something like this.