Interesting Flora and Fauna

Okay, nature lovers! It's time to identify some unique South Carolina flora and fauna. Okay, maybe not unique to just here, but I sure never found it UP NORTH. If you don't care about the plants and the animals, please proceed to the next waterfall post, haha.

Mountain Laurel

To quote Wikipedia: The plant is naturally found on rocky slopes and mountainous forest areas. The plant often grows in large thickets, covering large areas of forest floor. In North America it becomes a tree on the mountains of the Carolinas but is a shrub further north. Mountain laurel is poisonous to several different animals, including horses, goats, cattle, sheep, and deer. This is the state flower of Pennsylvania and Connecticut.
It pretty much grows all over the place here, and it's blooming right now. PS. Don't walk your goats by it. Not even on a leash. :) These two pictures were taken in DuPont State Forest, NC.

Brown Thrasher

This is the state bird of Georgia. It hops along under trees and in thick brush, rustling in the leaves for insects and worms, which is how we found one. Personally, I think it looks like a cross between a hummingbird (head/neck) and roadrunner (body). What do you think? See:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zm5PMzqOuFQ for a cute video of how this bird hops like a little bunny....

Southern Magnolia

An evergreen tree that grows from Virginia south to Florida, and west to Texas. In the spring, 30 cm flowers open on all the branches and smell like citronella. I LOVE THEM. Why are there no magnolia candles??? The above picture is the huge bud right before it opens into the flower.



TO BE CONTINUED...