Another beautiful name. Saw these at Red Wing. Love the color and the smudges of pollen.
Common Blue-eyed Grass (sisyrinchium montanum)
Common Blue-eyed Grass
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Author Archives: Axie
Dwarf Ginseng
More from Noanet today, something I don’t remember ever seeing before. This is not the ginseng used in herbal medicine but it’s the same family (Ginseng). Native. The flowers are white and turn pale pink with age. Has yellowish clustered berries in July to August. US Forest Service: Native Americans “used tea of the whole plant for colic, indigestion, gout, hepatitis, shortness of breath, fainting, and nervous debility. Its distinctive tubers can be eaten raw or boiled.”
Fringed Polygala
Part of my amazing walk at Noanet. “Besides the showy flowers that are insect-pollinated, there are also inconspicuous flowers that are borne underground and which self-fertilize without opening.”-US Forest Service ! Native. Milkwort family.
Fringed Polygala, Gaywings, Flowering Wintergreen (Polygala paucifolia)
Jack in the Pulpit
The really exciting find at Noanet was… discovering the secret lair of the Jack in the Pulpits! In bloom! Brilliant name. Arum family.
Jack in the Pulpit, Indian Turnip (Arisaema triphyllum)
Starflower
Today was a red-letter day for wildflowers. I saw so many at Noanet today and I think I would miss them by half without this extra focus. I don’t remember ever seeing this kind before: Starflower. Evidently they usually have 7 petals, but can have 5 to 9. Primrose family.
Starflower (Trientalis borealis)
Mystery tiny flower
Growing in sandy dry soil by a mailbox on Walker Lane. It’s tiny. Maybe as it flowers more I’ll figure it out.
Tartarian Honeysuckle
This looks a lot like the Morrow Honeysuckle, but it’s pink, found on Fisher Street in Needham. It’s an exotic invasive bush honeysuckle. Evidently all native honeysuckle species are vines. This variety was introduced to North America as an ornamental in 1752. (I wonder what the story is there.)
Tartarian Honeysuckle (Lonicera tatarica)
Bluebird egg
This morning we went on a novice birding hike at Redwing Bay. The leader, Peter Oehlkers, is also the Trustees’ birdhouse monitor, so he could let us have a look at a nest, and it had an egg! It was very interesting hearing my familiar stomping grounds through new ears, listening to the bird calls. Beautiful morning! Bonus picture:
Burning Bush
There are lots of these at Centennial. In autumn, the leaves turn a ghostly pale pink in the shade. It’s an invasive and “its importation and sale is prohibited in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.” That must be a recent development, since they’re everywhere. Native to eastern Asia.
Anticipation
Something to keep an eye on at Centennial…