Rare Georgia aster in Oaky Woods escapes endangered list

KATHLEEN -- A rich purple flower blooms in the deep recesses of Oaky Woods.

Feeding on a prehistoric bed of soil steeped with the remnants of a forgotten ocean, the Georgia aster thrives near the Grand Prairie about three miles from the Ocmulgee River.

The land is one of the best remaining examples of Atlantic Coastal Plain chalk prairie -- a globally rare habitat formed along a shoreline that stretched from near Perry up through north Alabama about 50 million years ago.

This secluded natural garden in south Houston County is one of about 118 known patches of the rare aster remaining in the Southeast and the only one in the Coastal Plain.

Successful management of the aster in a public-private partnership kept it off the endangered list again this year.

In 1999, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service made the plant eligible for the federal endangered list, but other species were higher priorities.

Half a dozen years later, botanist Tom Patrick set out in Oaky Woods to search for the elusive flower.

He found five flowering stems of the Georgia aster, which was only declared its own species in the 1980s.

“It’s been gradually increasing ever since because we’ve tried to do some prescribed burning to keep the prairie open,” said Patrick, who travels the state studying rare plants for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.

The aster thrives on sunlight.

For years, Weyerhaeuser owned the land and planted patches of pines that blocked the rays.

The state began leasing wildlife management rights from the company in the ‘60s and purchased more than 10,000 acres of Oaky Woods from developers in 2010.

Plans include controlled burns every couple of years to kill the woody plants and small pines that hinder the aster, which spreads underground and sends up new shoots when there’s plenty of sun.

“The Georgia aster is a woodland or a prairie species that does get a lot of benefit out of prescribed fire,” Patrick said.

Dozens of acres were burned early this year, but the fire did not get hot enough to kill the woody plants and small trees that shade and stunt the asters, he said.

In recent surveys of the Georgia aster that typically blooms in late October in Oaky Woods, Patrick found about 80 to 100 flowering stems. Many more shot up from the ground but did not get enough sun to bloom.

Under normal conditions in the open meadow, thick grasses cover the ground preventing saplings from taking hold and allowing flowers to shine through.

Earlier in the month, dozens of the more prolific smooth blue asters poked out between the tall grass, goldenrod waved in the breeze, but the Georgia aster waited along the tree line, holding onto its tiny buds.

A visit Monday revealed dozens of blooms, a little larger than a silver dollar and slightly bigger than their paler and more plentiful cousins that populate the prairie.

The white center of the larger Georgia aster, its sandpapery leaves that wrap-around the stem and its darker hue set it apart as a rare beauty.

“If we manage it properly, we know we can bring it back to a healthy population,” Patrick said.

About half of the Georgia aster patches are on public land, which means better control of the environment.

AGREEMENT TO PRESERVE

In May, DNR and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service signed an agreement with a network of public gardens, academic institutions, conservationists and utility companies to preserve the state’s endangered flora.

Georgia Power is helping by curtailing pesticide use and not mowing rights of way between spring and fall when the aster is reproducing.

Last week, conservation teams walked the north Georgia power lines in Stephens and White counties and found a couple of new patches of Georgia asters, Patrick said.

DNR will continue burn programs in Oaky Woods and remove some of the pines, which are not really suited for the limestone ground of the prairie that better supports hardwoods.

The soil rich in sharks teeth and shell fragments expands and contracts in between rains and can damage young tree roots struggling to take hold.

When moist, the soil clumps together in a sticky mess.

“See how the gumbo sticks to your tire?” Patrick asked, pointing to an inch coating of grassy muck. “The gumbo is the fancy word for the sticky soil. You get enough of that on, you’re not going anyplace.”

PESKY WILD HOGS

Work on the Oaky Woods habitat also has drawn unwelcome visitors in recent years -- wild hogs that root up many of the plants growing in the clearing.

“One of the biggest threats is the wild pig digging up roots and things of some of our prairie flowers,” Patrick said. “They dig up the big tubers that are about the size of an Irish potato, and they make little holes over some of the prairie, so it’s important that we have wild hog hunts and keep the population down as best we can.”

It is not an easy task.

DNR has teamed up with the Georgia Department of Agriculture to match hunters with land owners seeking relief from the boars. Farmers and hunters can register at www.agr.georgia.gov.

Biologists are also studying the pigs’ habits to better control them, especially in the 80 acres of the Grand Prairie at the peak elevation of Oaky Woods.

As Patrick made his sweep of the prairie Monday, he spotted the dark violet petals.

“Oh, I see some Georgia asters, big ones right at the edge,” he excitedly said, pointing to the flowers. “These are all Georgia asters reaching for the sun. This is the biggest cluster I’ve seen this year.”

Patrick hopes for even bigger clumps in the future and looks forward to removing the planted pines and restoring the prairie.

“Eventually by seed or rhizome sprouts or something, more areas of the prairie should have the Georgia aster if we continue the right management.”

To contact writer Liz Fabian, call 744-4303.

This story was originally published October 27, 2014 at 7:14 PM with the headline "Rare Georgia aster in Oaky Woods escapes endangered list ."