These are so amazing looking, I decided to appreciate them with three pictures.This blooms in my yard every year. In all the time we’ve lived here (17 years), it’s never spread beyond this one little plant. Family: Buttercup (Ranunculaceae). Native. Flowers April to July.
Good fact from illinoiswildflowers.info: “Because the foliage is toxic, it is little bothered by mammalian herbivores.”
Wild Red Columbine, Rock Bells (Aquilegia canadensis)
Another variety of violet emerges in my yard. I love their colors and their beautiful faces. The history here is that I got this from Dr. Whiteside’s garden in Illinois, who got it from his botany teacher who discovered it by a golf course in Rock Island, Illinois.
Common Blue Violet (Viola sororia)
Thanks to Alert Flowerophile Donna for noticing a flock of these little lilies at Wilson Mountain. Sessile means sitting or resting on the surface — these have sessile leaves, which means the leaf comes directly out of the main stem, but the leaf itself has no stem of its own. From the Lily family. Native to this region.
Sessile Bellwort, Wild Oats (Uvularia sessilifolia)
The dark purple violets have withered, but new kinds are opening! This white violet has none of the blue smudge of the other white violets I have. I hope I’ve identified it correctly:
Small White Violet (Viola macloskeyi)
Newly blossoming at Centennial this week. As far as I can tell, this is Garlic Mustard, which sounds good, but evidently it’s a terrible weed that crowds out native plants. (Introduced from Europe.)
“Garlic mustard poses a severe threat to native plants and animals in forest communities in much of the eastern and midwestern U.S. Many native wildlflowers that complete their life cycles in the springtime (e.g., spring beauty, wild ginger, bloodroot, Dutchman’s breeches, hepatica, toothworts, and trilliums) occur in the same habitat as garlic mustard. Once introduced to an area, garlic mustard outcompetes native plants by aggressively monopolizing light, moisture, nutrients, soil and space. Wildlife species that depend on these early plants for their foliage, pollen, nectar, fruits, seeds and roots, are deprived of these essential food sources when garlic mustard replaces them. ” -Plant Conservation Alliance
Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata)
Another tiny stunner from Dr. Whiteside’s garden, now mine. I’ve never seen any others like it.
“Blogs were the new black two years ago. Now everyone has one. They aren’t particularly fashionable, but you can’t live without them. Blogs are the new sweat pants.” – Jenny Lawson
I was so pleased to spot this in my yard. Count it as wild but not local. They’re native to the west. The bulbs and roots make palatable food. But mainly, just look at them!
Checker Lily, Chocolate Lily (Fritillaria affinis)
This has to go in the category of wild but not local. (It’s one of my carry-on violets from Dr. Whiteside.) He said it was collected growing wild near his high school in Coal City, Illinois. I presume it’s a variety of blue violet, because it has that sort of leaf, but I’m not sure.
These violets aren’t strictly local, because while they’re in my yard, they were a gift last April from Wesley Whiteside, gardener extraordinaire from my hometown of Charleston, Illinois. I complimented him on how many varieties of violets he had blooming, and he offered to give me samples. I told him that was very kind but I was flying back. He said not to worry, they would be fine in a plastic bag for awhile. Soon I was amazing the security people at the little Champaign airport with my nine varieties of carry-on violets.
Right now, only the deep purple one is open. (Native.)
Common Blue Violet (Viola sororia)
