We were in the land of my dreams as we moved along the cool forest floor past huge thickets of rhododendrons, savoring the shade of hemlocks. This nature preserve encompasses sixteen hundred and forty untamed acres and is said to have the state's largest concentration of rare and endangered species. They include an interesting mix of rare and endangered plants, an endangered long-tailed shrew, and the native arrow darter. They are a reverse contrast in topography, since Cumberland Mountain's steepest side is its south-facing slope. I admit I'm often confused about whether I'm seeing mountain laurel or rhododendron.
Mountain laurel has small leaves.
Names change with the territory, though. You sure can. There's one misconception here, though. People come here with the idea that Bad Branch is an undisturbed wilderness, but it was logged in the 1940s. The trees were so huge that it took years to get them all out.