Friday, June 1, 1951

Route: U.S. 33 from Elkins to Harrisonburg, Va, U.S 11 &
211 to Luray, Va. Side trip at top of Cheat Mtn
(gravel rd S. 4 mi from Elkins) to find a. arborescens not yet
in flower & up Spruce Knob to see what there might be.
Nothing right on the top but roseum a little lower just
coming into flower & a grand mixture of roseum, nudiflorum
& calendulaceum at about the ½way point. This was
the last calendulaceum seen. Apparently it does not
get much farther East in this region. None was seen
on Shenandoah Mtn & none are reported in the Blue
Ridge. All of these mountains, however, had roseum &
nudiflorum—though none of the roseum very glandular.
Still a blank on the small yellow azalea.

Saturday, June 2, 1951

Collected at two elevations on Pinnacle Mt., Shenandoah N.P.,
& calend. hybrid near Spitler Knoll Overlook. Talked with
Paul Favour, returning key, map etc. Then took U.S. 211 to
Warrenton, Va. & U.S. 17 & Va. 626 to Middleburg. Looked
up Gordon's family. Mr. Seipp accompanied me on a run to
the Catoctin Mtn. just N. of Point of Rocks in search of a
"low white" reported by Forberg. No luck on this but
secured nudiflorums from the same region.

Sunday, June 3, 1951

A terribly hot day. Collected mass nudiflorum with
Harry Tyrell near Middleburg & decided to stay for the
rest of the day, putting in time between gasps refixing
the drier, checking specimens & preparing a package
of plants for shipment to Philadelphia.

Monday, June 4, 1951

Route: U.S. 50 to Winchester, U.S. 11 to Christiansburg
for the night. Shipped plants from Winchester but
made time on the road rather than collecting
along the way. It seems more important now to
catch more of the southern material before it is
completely ruined by the very dry weather.
Visited Carol Woods folks for a few minutes
in Salem. Carol not yet home from Harvard.

Tuesday, June 5, 1951

Route: U.S. 11 to Wytheville, U.S. 58 via White Top Mtn. &
Damascus to Abingdon, U.S. 19 & Va. 70 to Norton, Va. for
the night. Calendulaceum was out on the lower slopes
of the mountains & halfway up White Top, not at the
summit, however where they are not only late but seeming
in appearance rather close to the reds of Black Mtn., Ky. —
cascading hybrids of this red type.

Wednesday, June 6, 1951

Collected on High Knob just outside of Norton where the
same late complex was found. They run to true yellows,
however & are far from pure cumberlandense or what—have
you. Taking U.S. 23 to Appalachia, west up Big Black
Mtn., meeting a group (Hotchkiss—et al.) from the Univ. of Ky. on
top. The real reds are scarcely out — will take one or
two weeks longer but the yellow (apparently normal
calendulaceum) was in full bloom on the easterly slopes
below. Even better red were found across the main highway
which will bear revisiting. This red in its best forms makes
a low, twiggy bush with glossy, glaucous leaves —
definitely distinct from calendulaceum. The flowers too are
considerably smaller. Still no small yellows.

Thursday, June 7, 1951

Route: From Cumberland Ky. 119 & 15 via Pine Mtn. &
Whitesburg to Hazard & Jackson, Ky. 30 & U.S. 25 to
London for the night.

Azaleas of the small red complex were found on Pine
Mtn. — a status which was later found to be mentioned by
Lucy Braun. The earliest out seemed to run considerably to
orange. Some plants were stoloniferous. Plants past flower
(presumably calendulaceum) were found in Perry, & Breathitt
Cos. & a curious narrow-tubed orange in full bloom in
Owsley Co. It had all the earmarks of a diploid & the yellow
tube suggested hybridization of perhaps cumberlandense with a
diploid yellow. This section needs search in mid-May
another year for the occurrence of such. A very heavy
thunderstorm towards late afternoon & a lousy cabin
for tonight. Will retire early.

Friday, June 8, 1951

Route: From London E on route 80 into Clay Co. Back to
London & S. via U.S. 25 E to Pineville. Up Clear Springs
Rd. to Log Mtn. & Pine Mtn. Back to 25 E & into Middles—
boro for the night. The Cumberlandense complex is
evidently exceedingly common on the higher ridges of S.E.
Kentucky. Have struck it with little effort in 7 counties so
far. Suspect it to be a diploid complex with the yellow
still to be found & probably in the same region. They were
abundant up Laurel Mtn. this afternoon, tho' not at the
top & also on Pine Mtn. this is a region to strike in
early- to mid-May on some future occasion.

Saturday, June 9, 1951

Route: From Middlesboro via Ky. 74 & Tenn. 90 to U.S. 25
W. from Williamsburg W to Pine Knot & N. to beyond
Whitley for the Yahoo Ridge collection. Then S. into Tenn. &
Oneida on U.S. 27. Chiefly Cumberlandense material
from the high points. They were seen in fair number in
McCreary Co. on Ky. 92, but not collected. Yahoo Ridge
itself has probably overgrown a great deal since Miss
Braun's time. Hard to find except where the woods have
been cut, in this case near the road & the fire tower.
They are evidently extending well into Tennessee.

Sunday, June 10, 1951

Route: Oneida to Elgin via U.S. 27, Tenn. to Jamestown
for the night. Cumberlandense in several places in Scott Co.
but hunted unsuccessfully so far in Fentress Co. Found, however
a bunch of probable hybrids with arborescens as well as
the latter itself — in full bloom. The hybrids were
disappointing in that the pale yellows first seen gave
promise of a diploid yellow at last. Will still watch the
swamp, however. Packed plants.

Monday, June 11, 1951

Route: From Jamestown on Tenn. 28 to Grimsley — Tenn. 85
to Wilder & back, 28 to Crossville & 70 to Sparta for
the night. Obtained good Cumberlandense outside Jamestown, finally
&excellent collecting just below Wilder. At Crossville looked
up Mr. Adams, the florist, & went on to Bon Air hoping to find it
around there. It is probably in the vicinity but could not spend
long enough to search the woods. The natives seemed unfamiliar
with the orange color. Shipped plants from Crossville.

Tuesday, June 12, 1951

Route: 70 to McMinnville. Just beyond McMinnville for
a swamp type. Back & up Tenn. 8 (not on map) to
the plateau again. Followed 8 via Dunlap to
the foot of Signal Mtn. for the night.

Visited the Forest Nurseries in McMinnville,
talking especially with Mr. & his son who
had some advice on azaleas as well as kindly finding a
source for 35 sheets of waterproof wrapping paper. Rain commenced
on top of the plateau & got thoroughly soaked finally finding a good
spot (near Spencer for a mass collection of cumberlandense. They are
all throughout the woods if you can just take time to find them —
usually on a slop above a stream with often nudiflorum type
& arborescens near the stream itself. Arborescens in bloom at this
spot. More cumberlandense on way down to Sequatchee Valley
& also on Signal Mtn. Locally abundant but take a lot of
between nights. A foul night. Also lost an hour through
the time change.

Wednesday, June 13, 1951

Route: Back to Signal Mtn. to finish a mass collection, then through
Chattanooga & on U.S. 41 to Dalton & 76 via Elljay to
Morganton & Ga. 60 to Murphy, N.C. for the night.
Found Cumberlandense abundant on the top of Fort Mtn. &
essentially the same as all the way from Kentucky. It is
evidently heading for the Smokies. Definitely a plant of
the higher elevations — better than 3,000 ft.

Thursday, June 14, 1951

Talking plans with Nicholls, got off to a rather late start.
Intended doing Wayah Bald & heading for Neal's Gap but
at Andrews decided to have the car thermostat removed &
also got a grease & oil job. This meant further delay so
that it was noon when the first gap (about 3500 ft.) was reached
on the way to Wayah. Just below the crest noticed what looked
like normal, but late calendulaceum. Investigation showed
an extraordinary mixture — a few calendulaceum with a good
small stand of Cumberlandense surrounded by the kitchen
sink of varying heights, colors & flower sizes — all the way
from flowers 85 mm to about 35. Evidently either
a hybrid swarm of the two or cumberlandense gone wild in
producing polyploids. Probably the former. Some of the largest
may well be tetraploids, however. Gathering &
recording an extra large mass collection, 10 or a dozen
plants with photographic studies in color & B & W, however
took until 5 o'clock, so returned once more to Murphy
for the night. Will hope to do Wayah tomorrow.

Friday, June 15, 1951

With seeming difficulty finally made the top of Wayah
Bald today & down the other side to Franklin for the night.
Azaleas on the Mtn. are more confusing & more time consuming
than any population so far met. Yesterday's "Cumberlandense —
calendulaceum" complex was found today to cover the
whole extent of the Wayah region. While at first these
seemed some sorting in normal calendulaceum & normal cum.,
this was completely lost after passing Nantahala Lake. It
settled down to a complete blend of the two which covered the
summit of the mountain — all colors, intermediate-sized flowers,
fairly late bloom, considerable leaf glaucesence & more
or less intermediate height, What the cytology of such a
mix can be it is impossible to guess. It was noted
that the normal calendulaceum in flower 3 weeks ago &
photographed has now completely gone. The first
arborescens were in flower on the summit but will need a
visit in 10 days time for best effect.

Saturday, June 16, 1951

Route: N.C. 28 to Highlands, 106 & U.S. 23 to Clayton,
U.S. 76 & 19 to cabins near Vogel State Park.
Talked with Rev. Morgan in Franklin who suggested revisiting Wayah in
about 3 weeks for a late type of orange. At Highlands tried
unsuccessfully to find Henry Wright for information on local plants.
Collected late calendulaceum just W of Highlands & also my
first viscosum. Mass collected Bakeri at Vogel State Park
in the evening. Similar to Cumberlandense but rather tall, rather
large-flowered & less leaf glaucous. A few other mountains
nearby may tell the story.

Sunday, June 17, 1951

Route: To Neel's Gap, back to Vogel State Park & via Ga. 180 (?) & 60
to Porter Springs. U.S. 19 to Dawsonville, Ga. 53, 183, 136 & 108 to
Jasper, 53 to Calhoun for the night.

A wet early morning. Photographed & collected plants at Bakeri
type locality. Collected again just beyond Woody Gap. They are quite
plentiful in this general high region & it is suspected that they may be
found on most of the high spots of northern Georgia. Certainly still
abundant around Brush & Oglethorpe Mtns. where they seem to be
sorting out again more towards the dwarfer, glaucous-leaved
type. It will be interesting to find whether the good type
can be unearthed in Alabama.

Monday, June 18, 1951

Route: Ga. to Rome, 27 & 48 to Valley Head, Ala., via
Pisgah & Dalton to Section & Scottsboro. Return trip to
Kyles in Jackson Co. Night at Scottsboro.

This has been chiefly a search of the high spots for the
Cumberlandense complex. Various ridges in Ga. yielded
nothing — neither did Lookout or Sand Mtns. None were seen
& several likely natives were questioned — all with negative
results. Back on the Cumberland plateau, however, in Jackson Co.
Ala. the story was different. The first homeowner on the plateau
said "plenty of them — help yourself behind the house". Just
beyond this place a small valley was filled with them. They are
extremely plentiful — here. We will see tomorrow if they still
go farther south. Unfortunately that few not sorted sit anymore
that's over the rest of their range. Plenty of arborescens along streams
at fair altitudes. Almost invariably, though, either not yet out
or past bloom. Almost impossible to get any sort of a mass>lb/> collection. Also picked up a few of the nudiflorum complex
from this part of Alabama.

Tuesday, June 19, 1951

Route: Ala. 32 & U.S. 241 to Oxford via Guntersville,
Gadsden & Anniston, unnumbered rd. SE of Oxford to
Cheaha State Park on top of Cheaha Mtn. From there
S.W. to Talladega for the night.

Well, this was pulling a long shot today. Decided to
try Cheaha Mt. before heading once more for Cullman Co.
— & it paid off! Cumberlandense abundant on the top. But
it is still mixed — with its apricot colors & orange blotches
& glaucous & non—glaucous. Would swear that
this, at least, is an isolated spot. If so, the mixing
must have occurred a very long time ago. Some very low,
twiggy glaucous reds are here too. This surely is one of the
types, if I can only somewhere find it in a pure state!
Decided to have a bust tonight & enjoy the
hospitality of the "world" famous Purefoy Hotel of
Talladega. Quite enjoyable but not so much of a bust as
was expected. $2.50 for the room. All you can eat from
30 dishes for supper — for $11.65!!

Wednesday, June 20, 1951

Route: From Talladega on U.S. 241 & Ala. to
Childersburg, Ala. 91 to Birmingham, U.S. 31 to Cullman, Ala.
69 & back roads via Arley to Addison, Ala. 112 to
Double Springs & 5 to Russellville for the night.

No collecting today. Mostly a fruitless search for
Cumberlandense. No signs of it on Double Oak Mtn. S. of
Birmingham or in Cullman or Winston Cos. or the Bankhead
National Forest or even on the west escarpment of the
plateau approaching Russellville. The plateau is evidently
too low in this region. The forest ranger, Mr. Cranston, however,
will keep on the lookout & let me know if he should learn
of it. Picked up a couple of plants of alabamense hybrids.
Surprised at finding no arborescens — canescens, along
the streams of the region.

Thursday, June 21, 1951

Route: Ala. 5 to Tuscumbia, U.S. 72 to Memphis, Tenn.,
U.S. 70 via Little Rock to Hot Springs & 220 to Mt. Ida
for the night — a total of 408 miles for the day. No
collecting for today. Stopped, however, at Warm Springs for
advices from the Ouachita Forest Headquarters & secured a
map of the areas — also visited the hot springs & found
them rather unimpressive. Hydrangea & other flowers seen in
much the same stage of flower as in Alabama so there
is a good chance that at least some azaleas should
show up tomorrow. A very hot day for driving but
cooling somewhat tonight.

Friday, June 22, 1951

From Mt. Ida to Mena via U.S. 270. Skyline Rd. over
Rich Mtn. to Okla. 63. Side rd. N. to Page. U.S. 270 &
Okla. 63 to Mansfield, Ark. U.S. 71 & Ark. 23 to
Booneville, Ark. 10 to Havana & rd. N. to top of
Magazine Mtn. for the night.

Azaleas seen in only 2 places & both apparently the more
typical (roseum) phase of oblongifolium. Many swamps
examined but nothing seen of the viscosum or serrulatum
type — as yet. The region is drier than expected & scarcely
congenial, one would think, for azaleas. Yet they were
quite abundant in one spot. Magazine Mtn. looks like the most
promising so far as other vegetation is concerned but no
azaleas at all have been seen.

Saturday, June 23, 1951

Ran down the N side of Magazine Mtn., after finding nothing on top & inquired
if azaleas from a farmer on the rd. — a Mr. Lee of Flat Top Mtn. He kindly came
with me to his old homestead in Heath Hollow where there were loads of azaleas
evidently both pink & white. A good mass collection. He claims these to be the only
ones around Magazine Mtn. Back & on to Paris for lunch. Then via
Ark. 22 & 23 to Cass & the rd. W. to the top of White Rock Mtn. Down
on the west side & out another rd. striking U.S. 71 just S. of Winslow.
Stayed nearby for the night. Azaleas seem much more abundant in
the White Rock region & must be a picture at the top of the Mtn. (N. side)
perhaps a month earlier. Evidently the roseum phase. Nothing else
of special interest seen. The stay at Magazine Lodge was very
pleasant & made especially so by the courtesy of the manager,
Robert Wilson of Winslow who gave much information concerning the
Boston Mts. There seems nothing special to hold me here longer, however.

Sunday, June 24, 1951

No collecting. A straight run through from Winslow, Ark., to Fairview, Ky.
via U.S. 71 & 64 to Bald Knob, 67 to Poplar Bluff, Mo.,
60 to Paducah, Ky. & 68 on. A miserable humid hot day
complete with Sunday drivers at their very worst & a rather
wretched "modern"!! Hotel for the night. I doubt if the room
will cool at all by tomorrow morning. 575 miles for the day!

Monday, June 25, 1951

Another straight through job with only two pauses — the
first early in the morning to get a flat front fixed (another rim
wear) & the second for a "short trip" at Mammoth Cave —
rather a waste of time — particularly since it resulted in
sufficient delay to have the post office closed on this end —
at Appalachia. Another terrifically hot day with
wretched winding roads at this end of Kentucky.
Route: U.S. 68 to Bowling Green, 31 W to Mammoth Cave, Ky. 70 to U.S. 68 & Edmonton, Ky. 80 to London; U.S. 25
& 25 E to Pineville, U.S. 119 to Harlan; U.S. 421 to
Pennington Gap; Va. 70 (58 alt.) to Big Stone Gap &
Appalachia. Total 451 miles for the day. Did not
see an azalea.

Tuesday, June 26, 1951

Route: Appalachia to Norton & Va. to Lebanon, U.S. 19 to
Tazewell for the night.

Spent to early afternoon collecting on Black Mtn. which was
still in excellent shape though some bushes were a bit past.
Evidently a hybrid group much like those of Wayah Bald.
Cumberlandense is plentiful throughout Wise Co. on the higher
points. It was not seen beyond.

Wednesday, June 27, 1951

Doubled back from Tazewell over Va. 91 to Marion
which crosses 3 Mtns. around 3000 ft. elev. Only calendulaceum
seen, however, no cumberlandense. From Marion followed U.S. 11
to Va. 114 & U.S. 460 with a side run in to
Mountain Lake. A good mass collection here of viscosum
& for arborescens & a little calendulaceum but still no
Cumberlandense at 4000 ft. on Bald Mtn. Followed back
again to U.S. 219 & on to around Marlinton for the night.

Thursday, June 28, 1951

Did not get very far today. Drove on over 219 to
Elkins, picked up Mr. Goddin & ran out W. Va. 4 to
Cheat Mtn. for a mass collection of arborescens. Back to
Elkins & spent some time getting odd items on the truck checked,
including a new set of spark plugs — this time J11s instead of
the wrong J7s which it had. P.M. ran out to the Cheat
Mtn. plateau again on U.S. 250 to Durbin. Mountain Laurel
was in full flower but not an azalea of any kind to
be seen — no blueberries either. Seems a typical Canadian
flora with cornus canadensis, sorbus, viburnum alnifolium &
pure spruce forest on the peaks. Accordingly spent
remainder of the afternoon making up a package of
plants for shipping to Philadelphia.

Friday, June 29, 1951

Started at 7:15 with Mr. Goddin for a 46 mile drive to a
mountain in the Allegheny Front (N of Spruce Knob) to find a
"plum red" azalea. We found it — on a high Canadian zone
plateau — in fair quantity — a. roseum! Got a mass collection,
anyway, although it is rather poor roseum at that.
Returning to Elkins, sent off the plants & headed S. on 219
to Valley Head, then S.W. on routes 15 & 20 to Craigsville
(much arborescens around here), W. on 41 & S. on U.S. 19 ‸ to Beckley for
the night. No signs of cumberlandense in spite of very high
territory much of the way, especially on rt. 15 from soon after
Valley Head practically to Webster Springs. The New River
cuts into the plateau in a very deep gorge around Prince.
Will cruise a little further west tomorrow.

Saturday, June 30, 1951

Route: from Beckley over W. Va. 3 to Ivy Knob fire tower. Back
to Glen Daniel & over to Jesse, up W. Va. 10 to Oceana &
over terrible dirt rd. via Kepperton over mountain, through
Bald Knob etc. & out eventually at Madison. Down U.S. 119,
52, 119, 460, 19 & 11 to nearly at Bristol for the night.
A very disappointing day with only 2 calendulaceum, no
cumberlandense or arborescens, bad roads, quantities of rain
& no cabins until 10:30 p.m. Heaven spare us from any
more of West Virginia!