American Barberry Found on our Johns Creek Land (Blog 456)

Monday evening neighbor John Hudson and I went on a photography foray in Botetourt and Craig counties in Virginia. We stopped first on Elaine's and my 30-acre parcel on Johns Creek in Craig County. I wanted to determine if the oaks had produced acorns with deer season approaching.

When John and I were leaving, we took photos of various plants on the way back to the vehicle. I took some shots of interesting looking plants with bristle-tipped leaves that were growing in small colonies. When I arrived back home, it occurred to me that the plant was American barberry, a native Southern Appalachian plant that is endangered.

I sent a photo of  the plant to friend James Hancock who confirmed that it was indeed an American barberry. That identification is one more reason I'm glad that Elaine and I put the land under a conservation easement with the Virginia Outdoors Foundations and the Blue Ridge Land Conservancy. We have a vernal pool on the land, a spring, and the land also adjoins Johns Creek - so there is much to preserve about the land, now, including, an endangered plant. Also, in the November/December issue of Virginia Wildlife, I am supposed to have a story on conservation easements and their importance to hunters, anglers, birders, and anyone who values wildlife and wildlife habitat.