Saturday, March 25, 2006

A special place

One of my wildflower society friends took us to explore her friends' land.


There were hundreds of young Trout Lily leaves (Erythronium americanum).


Close-up of the bloom.


Shooting stars! Tons! (Dodecatheon meadia.) I've never seen so many in one place.


So cool.


I wasn't familiar with these, but was assured that they are Carolina Lilies (Lilium michauxii). Not blooming yet.


Not your ordinary ginger. Shuttleworth's, I think. (Hexastylis shuttleworthii.)


Cranefly orchid leaves. (Tipularia discolor). Waaaay more than usual.


I'd heard of Yellowroot before - it's a traditional medicinal plant - but had never seen it blooming. I love the burdundy color. (Xanthorhiza simplicissima.)

Also in the area...


No idea what it is, except a pretty white tree.


Bloom where you're planted...? Yellow wood sorrel (Oxalis stricta).


A Verbena, growing in a roadside ditch.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Spring has not come yet so I have to live through Spring vicariously through you.

Green things, yellow things, flowery things...deep sigh.

R.Powers said...

I would guess your white tree is a wild plum in bloom. Here we would call those "hog plums". Mine was a mass of blooms just like that about 2 weeks ago.

Really nice wildflower post. Not the usual roadsiders.

KatKit13 said...

Beautiful photos... shows me spring truly is around the corner. I love the yellowroot.

You have such pretty plants in the South.

JLLove said...

Thanks for sharing wonderful images. Brings to mind lovely memories of early spring hikes in mountains.

Rachel said...

Great pictures! You have a good eye for these lovely things and photograph them so well.

robin andrea said...

Now that's a lot of spring-time flowers. Wow. How beautiful.

Anonymous said...

That "pretty white tree" might be a Bradford Pear, which is an overplanted ornamental in my neighborhood.

meresy_g said...

The tree could be Serviceberry too, if the range extends South that far. Really cool wildflowers that I've never seen before. I love spring ephemerals. Here and gone so quickly makes them special.

Anonymous said...

The unidentified tree looks like cherry blossom to me. Let us know if you ever find out!

Anonymous said...

What a remarkable range of wild species you have there! As you know, I like the yellowroot too! I could do without the oxalis but it certainly has found a suitable place.

I'm really hoping to find some trout lilies around here, but haven't seen them.

Rurality said...

Thanks y'all. One of the gals on this trip knew trees, but wasn't with us at the time I took these last pics. She had pointed out a Serviceberry to me earlier, but I didn't have time to study it much. I clearly need to work on my tree identification skills!

I actually like oxalis (and violets!) quite a bit, even though most people seem to enjoy yanking them out. :)

Anonymous said...

You have to yank them out, dear, not all natives are nice (I hate to say it!) :-)

On the other hand, if you have a native serviceberry, you have a jewel. I had to plant my own, and I'm still waiting for them to make their first flowers (and thereafter, delicious berries, if you can get them before the birds do).

Serviceberries are the epitome.

Rurality said...

Et tu, Waynus?! No I still love the wood sorrels, especially the violet one. Keep in mind I don't have an actual garden yet per se, so it's easy for me to say that!

I know there was a serviceberry not far from this tree, but I haven't seen any here on our property. There are a few white flowering trees but I think they are the "wild plum" variety though I'm not sure. I sniffed this tree and it smelled different than the serviceberry. In fact it smelled kind of like the ones on our property - like apple blossoms. The serviceberry didn't have a smell that I could detect.

Sunny said...

BEAUTIFUL photos!

Anonymous said...

Re oxalis, I should have been more specific. Mine own nemesis is the O. stricta. I love the woods sorrels, and would *never* pull them out. We have such a fantastic population 'way down in the woods that I've dug up some to replant their little tubers and have enjoyed them closer to the house.

Serviceberries: I planted a number of little ones a few years ago. I keep looking at them this year, hoping that this might be the year they'll make flowers!