Buffalo Mountain Natural Area Preserve (which I will at times refer to as BM), is known to be the home to 19 rare plants and 2 rare animals. Here is a link to the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation which has some published materials on the different species and varieties that may be found at BM: https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/natural-heritage/document/pgbuffalo.pdf
Although what I was able to see and photograph during this trip are not the rare plants, the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources has a list of the plants and also mentions that BM is the only site in the WORLD where the Buffalo Mountain mealybug can be found (https://dwr.virginia.gov/vbwt/sites/buffalo-mountain-natural-area-preserve/#description)! All this as well as some beautiful wild birds, mammals species such as white-tailed deer and black bear make up a small but richly diverse environment of living things.
I thought through this and came up with my own definition of biodiversity: The vast entirety of all living things residing on Earth from single-celled organisms to the tallest Redwood trees. It also refers to the simplest to most complex micro to macro habitats and ecosystems all living things form and all the richness of diversity contained within them.
I am in the process of planning another hike to the summit at a different time of year to hopefully locate some of the more rare plants.
On one trip up, I was able to photograph some plants- not all are super rare, but at the time of late summer, this is what still had blooms!
This photograph is of White Wood Aster, native to the US and an ecological indicator and pollinator magnet!
The next plant is a Wrinkleleaf goldenrod, another plant native to the US and in the herb category.
Here is a Great Blue Lobelia, another "herb" native to the United States.
The native Jewelweed is also classified as an "herb" but is toxic when eaten by humans. These are annuals but are able to spread their seeds when the seed pouches are disturbed so they can continue to regrow every year.
Here, a Late Purple Aster was blooming in bright fuscia colors. It too is considered an "herb" and is native to the United States.
These were the only blooming plants I saw during this one trip and I did not see any animals or rare insects. I look forward to trying again this late spring to see if I can identify different types of plants and animals.
***The information I provided for each of the plants mentioned in this post came from an app on my phone called "Picture This". I use an Android and this app has been extremely helpful in plant identification, history, origin and uses!***
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