In the steamy heat of summer, it's easy to imagine the rich old woods along the Glade Run Trail as a tropical rain forest, which is not such a far-fetched notion. The cove forest along Glade Run is similar to the temperate rain forests of the Southern Applachians, lush and damp and overrun by moss, lichen, and fungi, which consume everything that falls to the forest floor. My hike along the trail earlier this morning made me appreciate the richness of these woods even more. Along Glade Run's shady stream banks, shinleaf (Pyrola elliptica), also known as waxflower, is in bloom, its pale green racemes sporting the most unusual waxy, nodding white flowers. I also found the newly-shed skin of a timber rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus) along the stream, although the owner was long gone. The distinctive chevron pattern and strongly-keeled scales are dead give-aways. Along Messenger Lake, the American water willow (Justicia americana (L.) Vahl) is in in beautiful form; its colorful, clustered flowers have a distinctive bee guide on their lower petals.
