Evergreen from a distance, that turned out to be...
American holly (Ilex opaca).
We've only found two of these on our property, and neither one has berries. Possibly the birds ate them all before we found them, though.
Beechdrops (Epifagus virginiana)
I've never actually seen this one in bloom, since I don't venture into the woods a lot in late summer. (100°+ heat, dewpoint over 75°, thousands of bugs that bite, poison ivy galore, whine, moan, complain, etc.)
Spotted Wintergreen (Chimaphila maculata), a.k.a. Pipsissewa.
I have pronounced this incorrectly for years, saying Pippessewa instead of Pipsissewa.
The botanical name always makes me think of chimpanzees. (According to Wikipedia, though, "from Greek: cheima 'winter' and philos 'lover', hence 'winter lover'".)
I just found your blog--it's great!
ReplyDeletesuch wonderful evergreen things you were able to find! Thanks for sharing and I probably pronounce many things wrong! LOL!
ReplyDeleteI am really enjoying watching spring happen on your blog. I am weary of the ice around my place.
ReplyDeleteps...I sometimes forget and say pissgetti instead of spaghetti..
HG, thanks for visiting!
ReplyDeleteTom, I keep meaning to do a post on all the green things here in winter, but just haven't gotten around to it. I think most of the green comes from Christmas ferns - there are a jillion of them!
Cyndy, and I kept hoping for snow all winter... :)
Those are truly interesting winter finds. It's easy to snap a picture of a bloom you've planted, but these require a closer look at nature. They are very interesting. I'm guessing you got some bad weather yesterday - it moved from us over your way -- hope it wasn't too bad.
ReplyDeleteFirst, I hope none of the AL tornadoes were in your area and that all is well.
ReplyDeleteSecond, I have that holly in my woods too, also without berries.
Age? Mine are both young.
or
Male? Do hollies have male/female trees I wonder?
Haven't researched that idea.
I know my domestic muscadine vines are all girls who date the local wild boys.
Perhaps our hollies are lads.
So nice to see Spring creeping in (and always great to see the view through the game-cam) on your blog. Thanks for posting all of this! I really appreciate how detailed your pics and posts are.
ReplyDeleteI've always understood them to be male or female--like mulberries.
ReplyDeleteWe have 2 trees, one with berries, one without.
It could be that yours are males, or that they're both females and no males are in the area so they don't bear.
Our holly bushes - and cherry laurels - didn't have berries this year. The late April frost killed the blossoms. I've been putting out raisins with the bird seed all winter so they berry-lovin' birds won't all move away!
ReplyDeleteI love finding wintergreen!
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad to see you on the web...I was worried about you after all that awful weather. Love the pics...my wintergreen isn't quite as pretty as yours (well, it's under 3 feet of snow right now). I can't wait to see green outdoors again!
ReplyDelete