Jack-in-the-Pulpit 2


Today I found their secret Red Wing Bay lair. Had to take a couple more photos because they are so photogenic. Arum family. Separate male and female plants, females ones larger, pollinated by flies.

The air was full of birdsongs — I was thinking, if the bird walk man were there he would be reading them like a story, but to me… it was like looking at a page of a foreign language that I don’t speak… beautiful but I couldn’t read it. Also when we came out of the woods onto the grassy trail, we scared a big wild turkey who had been ambling along at his leisure.

Jack-in-the-Pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum)

Thyme-leaved Speedwell

I originally posted this picture April 27, but I just now identified it. Quite tiny. Plantain family.

Thyme-leaved Speedwell (Veronica serpyllifolia)

May-apple

Also called Mandrake. The leaves are like little umbrellas hiding the flowers. Fruit is a yellow berry — the pulp is edible when ripe. Name refers to the May blooming and the flower resembling an apple blossom. These plants are in Alert Flowerophile Donna’s garden. Barberry family.

May-apple, Mandrake (Podophyllum peltatum)

Purple Deadnettle


Also called Purple Archangel. Native to Europe and Asia. It is often found near Henbit Deadnettle (see earlier post) and they look a lot alike. “Though superficially similar to a NETTLE in appearance, it is not related and does not STING, hence the name “deadnettle.” Hm. Young plants have edible tops and leaves!

Purple Deadnettle (Lamium purpureum)

Common Blue-eyed Grass

Another beautiful name. Saw these at Red Wing. Love the color and the smudges of pollen.

Common Blue-eyed Grass (sisyrinchium montanum)

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.”

Dwarf Ginseng (Panax trifolius)

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)