Friday, April 29, 2011

Flower Finale

Welcome, I'm glad you came back.  We've plenty to see today.  If you are new to this blog, be sure to read the entries from earlier in the week to see what the rest of us have seen this as we have traveled  up Newell Run in search of wildflowers.
We'll start with Roundleaf ragwort, standing tall with a handful of sunshine mounted atop a strong stem. 
Like Ragwort, the flower below is extremely common in the spring woods of eastern United States. 
Cutleaf toothwort (Dentaria laciniata).  It is always a welcome sight in my own woods.
   Less common is Twinleaf (Jeffersonia diphylla). Though not particularly rare, I had never before seen one and was thrilled.  I think this one has just finished blooming but some of our group were convinced that this was an unopened bud. What do you think?
So soon it is time for lunch. We open our lunches at the group's traditional stop, Columbine rock.  With sandwiches in one hand, we wander back and forth gazing at the rock outcropping to see what it offers.   Trilliums are almost everywhere but there is more.  Violets bloom among other common plants hanging off the rock.
More interesting is the columbine, just starting to bloom. It clings tightly to the rock's edge along with tiny ferns, Wild ginger and Stonecrop.
A Rue (meadow rue?) grows next to some pussy toes in a sunny spot.
Once we finish eating we pile back in our cars to find more blossoming beauties.  This included a diminutive Stonecrop:
a spent Trout lily,
. . . a Cohosh (Cimicifuga)
and a Solomon's seal just opening.
Well,  that's it for today.  Thanks for joining me and being such good company.  While there are many more flowers to be seen along this creek, I have shown you what we found blooming or nearly blooming.  The Fire pinks were not yet out but maybe I'll get lucky and find them on a later trip.  I have a couple more entries for this trip but no more flowers.  








4 comments:

MadSnapper said...

W VA looks a lot like what i find in our woods here in FL. about the banana trees, i just like the way they look and don't like the fruit, i love bananas but not the ones that grow on our trees. hubby eats them i think they taste funny. we don't get them every year, only about every 3 or 4 years,

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floweringmama said...

Those are just wonderful. I was mowing this week and spotted some that I need to get a picture of. They weren't there last year.

Thanks for sharing!

MadSnapper said...

I would so love to travel up Newell Run, I love all things wildflowers and trees and plants and bushes in the wild, not in a garden that is primped and prettied up, but growing wild. your photos are beautiful and I enjoyed the walk