In our area Mother's Day is associated with Fringed polygala for those who even know of this plants existence. We appeared here on that day but could find no trace of this plant. This is what we found five days later. The promise of seeing one of our favorite native plants then seemed highly likely.
Today we returned to this woodland rock and were delighted to find open flowers. Their visible structure is certainly unique. John Burroughs described them as looking like a flock of tiny purple butterflies that had gathered on the forest floor. In addition to the unusual appearance, these blossoms play no part in producing seed. These are exclusively for beauty while another plain appearing flower, located just at or slightly below the forest floor, is responsible for setting seed. Cleistogamous is the name assigned to this rather unusual method of reproduction. Violets also reproduce in this manner. In their case, I believe that the reproductive flowers appear much later than the beautiful blossoms. Perhaps we will look for Polygala seeds later in the year.
Many Mother's Days have been spent searching for this plant. Its flower is certainly different looking but I had never previously seen the beak protruding in the direction of the spiked sphere.
This plant is located on the other side of the lane leading up to the field that is totally separate from the rest of the original farm. We were pleased to find additional plants growing nearby as this is a rare native plant and we do not want to see it disappear.
1 comment:
Oh, very nice! I remember seeing them in Door County, Wisconsin, but I think that's the only place I've seen them. What a fun find!
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