What’s that Flower: Snead Farm Loop Part 6


By Richard Stromberg


[continued from last month]


This is a description of some of the plants to look for as you hike the Snead Farm loop in the North Section of SNP. Starting from the Dickey Ridge Picnic Area in SNP, this is a three-mile hike with 500 feet elevation gain. 


At the junction of Dickey Ridge and Snead Farm Trail, turn left onto Snead Farm Trail. Elongated yellow Perfoliate Bellwort (Uvularia perfoliata) flowers seem to hang from the middle of leaves in spring. You may see Pawpaw flowers on small trees (Asimima triloba), fruits to follow in the fall. Under the doubly-divided leaves of Wild Sarsaparilla (Aralia nudicaulus), each plant has a ball of flowers arising from the ground with no leaves on the flower stem. Just before the trail emerges from the woods at the white Snead Farm barn are Red Currant (Ribes rubrum) bushes left from the old farmstead. Strings of small, yellow, five-petaled flowers become strings of green berries that ripen red. The Currants are being overgrown by invasive Multiflora Rose (Rosa multiflora).


Following Snead Farm Road back to Skyline Drive, you will see the buildings of Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute across the valley. Many invasives thrive along this road, but look for Miami Mist (Phacelia purshii). It is common in southwest Virginia but known north of Rockbridge County only in Arlington and this population.



<< Previous Article     Back to Home      Next Article >>


By Tom Moran June 27, 2025
Hoodlums May Outing: Bees, Rodents, Snakes, and Poison Ivy--Another Beautiful Day in the Park By Tom Moran
By Ray Barbehenn June 27, 2025
"What on Earth?" Articles and Photos by Ray Barbehenn
By Jim Fetig June 27, 2025
President's Logbook By Jim Fetig
By Iva Gillett June 27, 2025
VolunteerFest 2025 By Iva Gillett
By Nancy Doyle June 27, 2025
SNP Maps Now Offered in Digital Format By Nancy Doyle
By Kirsten Elowsky and Barbara Cook June 27, 2025
What Makes a Cadillac Crew Trail Work Trip Memorable on a Memorial Day Weekend? Kirsten Elowsky and Barbara Cook
By Marian Styles June 27, 2025
Camping, Kayaking, and Camaraderie in the Forest Marian Styles
By Tracey Heibel and Patricia Westenbroek June 27, 2025
Prince William Forest Park: An Urban Oasis Where Nature and History Meet By Tracey Heibel and Patricia Westenbroek
By Jess LaPolla June 27, 2025
Getting Starry-Eyed at Glass House By Jess LaPolla
By Richard Stromberg June 27, 2025
What's that Flower? By Richard Stromberg
More Posts