Umbrellas In The Woods

We have  huge patch of Mayapples growing in our woods.  To date we have made no attempt to move any of them to our shade garden near the road.  The problem is with their growth habit that I have only read about.  Apparently all of these plants are connected by shallow roots that serve to transport nourishment harvested by a single deep root.  Without that tap root any transplant will perish.  We have encountered that problem with other native plants.  Wintergreen is just such a plant.  Written words describe a method for its successful transplantation.  One must expose the runner root just under the soil surface and sever it on both sides of the desired plant.  A marking flag attached to a wire will aid in finding the chosen plant the following year when a deeper root may have formed.

This newly opened flower caught my eye.  Having no idea of just what the name of this plant is, we will wait for Becky's return from her visit to New Paltz to identify this plant.   Without anything other than a quick look at the photo, Becky identified this as a Red elderberry and reported that the deer feed on this plant unmercifully.  We will soon return to see just how these flowers present themselves.

Just how plants are named is a subject rarely encountered in books.  Trout lily is the only plant where the naming process is known here.  In one of his many essays, John Burroughs describes his issue with two common names of a native treasure.  Dog's Tooth Violet or Adder's Tongue both seemed just wrong to him.  The flower in question is a lily as shown by its flower parts so identifying it as a violet would never do.  Any similarity to the interior of a snake's mouth seemed indefensible.  Burroughs suggested Trout Lily as a more appropriate name.

This pictured plant is frequently called Stinking Benjamin for reasons that remain unknown to me.  An unpleasant odor of the flower is possible but once again kneeling on the muddy ground to take a sniff did not seem wise to me today.  If a flower is seen higher up on the bank, a sniff test might be made.  That still leaves the connection to Benjamin unknown.  Wake Robin is another somewhat common name for this plant but it does not prompt a smile that frequently accompanies uttering "Stinking Benjamin".  

At a greater distance from the road, White trilliums cover the ground in impressive numbers.  These plants are just getting started opening their flowers so this picture showing mostly green will likely fail to excite anyone.  New posted signs have been placed so we remain on the public road.

 This is another photo that most people would see as little more than something green.  For reasons that remain elusive, Bloodroot grows only in one small piece of this wooded hillside.  Its flowers are always very short lived and harsh weather prevented the formation of any seed pods this year.  Since our visits to these woods have been nearly daily this year, the lack of seeds is an accurate observation.  At home our plants failed to open a single flower but some of the old seeds are pushing up new small leaves.  Fortunately we find that incredibly exciting. 

Mother's Day Wildflower Walk, Photos By Amy

What a fabulous Mother's Day today.  The weather was glorious! We decided that it would be fun to drive over to Irma's woods to look at the wildflowers.  It is a wonderful nearby place with many wildflowers to see.  The road runs along the base of the hill and a short walk gives you a chance to see lots of great wildflowers.  I think this one is red elderberry.

I thought this was a toothwort and I looked it up when I  got home.  It is Dentaria cardamine. 

The large patch of bloodroot, Sanguinaria canadensis, no longer has flowers, but the leaves are huge. Almost all of this plant is concentrated in a small area.  Something about the spot provides the perfect conditions for this plant.  I've tried to grow it at home with difficulty.  I wish I knew its secret!

 

Many white trilliums, Trillium grandiflorum, can be seen here.   Some years this hillside is covered with white.  It seemed like their numbers were down, but they are still pristine white and show no signs of the pink color that they develop as they age.  Perhaps more of them will open soon since the weather is warming up.

We saw several large patches of these lovely Bird's Foot violets, Viola pedata.  The coloring and markings on these are amazing, but the shape of the flower is what makes it fascinating!

I have been watching for spring beauties here at home.  I watch for those little oval leaves with a narrow neck.  At least Amy managed to get a shot of one.  Their beautiful markings are hard to capture with a digital camera.  Notice the part of a ramp leaf across the upper left hand corner of this picture!

The fringed flowers of early meadow rue, Thalictrum dioicum are dainty and festive looking. They are only half of the story as this lacy fern like plant has male and female plants. 

This plant is smooth Solomon's seal, Polygonatum biflorum.  It is an interesting member of the lily family.  Amy and I love to look at wildflowers.  I always think where ever I go I will find some new plant that I have never seen before.  I did find one this time too, but I still have not found  the answer to the mystery. Perhaps I never will.  Soon it was time to go.  What more could a Mom ask for than to spend time with  her family doing something they love?  It was a perfect day!