Panola Mountain - Diamorpha Days (Rockdale County, Georgia)

This time of year is always exciting around the three monadnocks (Stone Mountain, Arabia Mountain, and Panola Mountain) southeast of Atlanta due to the blooming of the diamorpha smallii. This is a tiny rare reddish plant that grows in the solution pools of these granite behemoths. It provides a stark contrast to the white granite and green mosses that generally cover the landscape.

I arrived at the park and checked in with the ranger a bit before the scheduled 9:00 AM start time. I've hiked here before, but it's always a treat as the public is only allowed on the protected mountain in the company of a ranger. This is done to protect the undeveloped environment that is home to a number of endangered plant species, including diamorpha smallii. 

After a brief round of introductions, we headed into the woods with Ranger Veronica leading the way. Along our path, we stopped to discuss some of the fallen tree and the remnants of some long abandoned moonshine stills that were left here from an earlier era. Soon though, we hit the base of the mountain and begin carefully making our way up through the rich green moss and mint green lichens, trying our best not to damage these fragile plants. 

We stop a few times along the way as the rangers shares more information about the mountain, the ecosystem, the flora, and the fauna. She's quite knowledgeable. At one point, we encounter some trees that have taken shallow root in the soil created over the millennia as the moss and lichens convert the raw granite into something softer. Perched near the the top of one of the trees, a couple of buzzards hold their wings out sun themselves. I've never witnessed this behavior before, but apparently it's pretty common on cool days like today. They are effectively using the back of their dark-colored wings as a natural solar panel to raise their body temperature. It's quite a stunning picture to behold.

Further up the mountain, we begin to see some great examples of the diamorpha smallii beginning to bloom. It fill some of the largest solution pools at the summit of the dwarf mountain. It looks almost like a fairy wonderland with all of the marvelous colors. Really stunning. 

The hike continues around the top of the mountain and eventually back through the woods to the parking area, where we say our goodbyes and head to our respective homes. Our total hike was only about 3.3 miles, but we had to take it pretty slow on the wet granite to ensure no one slipped and injured themselves. This was another great experience that I would encourage anyone in the Atlanta area to take advantage of.