Robin's Plantain

Do you know this wild flower? It is also known as Blue-spring daisy. I was stumped when I found this flower in the meadow. I didn't recognize the plant, so I took one flower for identification purposes. It had a tiny piece of root. I stuck it in Ed's latest bed to see if it would survive. That was several years ago, and since then it has become a dense patch.

I never found the flower in any of my recent books. I did find a line drawing and description in Mrs. William Starr Danas', How to Know the Wild Flowers, 1897, and I think the plant is mentioned by John Burroughs.

Although I've never seen the plant anywhere else, I'm told it is common. The patch certainly is growing at an exponential rate. I think we will make a place in the meadow and put it back where the competition from other plants will keep it in check. Well, maybe I'll replant just a little piece where it is. I still think of it as a rare and beautiful wild flower.