wild iris hunting

 

I enjoy wild iris hunting, but I've only done it sporadically over the years.  One that's on my bucket list is finding Iris fulva in the wild in Kentucky.  It inhabits the extreme western edge of the state, but that's about 6 hours away and I'm not adventurous enough to go hiking that far from home not knowing where to look.

In years past I've found references to it in Obion Creek watershed, but that's a pretty huge area, and some parts of it have restricted access due to their nature preserve status.  Well tonight I found a Eastern Kentucky University herbarium entry that says in 1973 it was collected from a roadside ditch along KY-1282 2.9 miles east of KY-94.  Bingo!

http://goo.gl/maps/0PUIx

Except that was 40 years ago, and what are the odds those roadside ditches still have it?  Ooooh, it's so tempting, though!  That's as specific a location as I could possibly hope for!  It will give me something to dwell on for the next 4 months, anyway.

Dennis in Cincinnati (where the wind chill will reach -35 deg F tonight)

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