Posted by wilde on June 6th, 2006 — Posted in Vegetable
Striped Wintergreen, Chimaphila maculata, also known as Spotted Pipsissewa, is a member of the pyrola family. A perennial that attains 4-10 inches in height, spotted wintergreen can be found in colonies among the leaf litter any time of the year. The buds are relatively long-lasting and produce a nodding flower in the summertime.
The white midribs of the whorled leaves of Striped Wintergreen make it a distinctive plant.
Sometime in July look for pictures of the blooming flowers.
No Comments »
Posted by wilde on June 4th, 2006 — Posted in Vegetable
Spiderwort blooms are quite attractive with the contrast of the yellow stamens and bright purple petals. Alas, they are only open in the morning and close by the afternoon.
Spiderwort flowers have three bright purple triangular petals and six bright yellow stamens.
Growth habit of the spiderwort plant shows the long parallel-veined leaves almost folded in half which is supposed to look somewhat like spider legs for which it is named. Personally, I don’t see it.
Even though the spiderwort plant has bent leaves it gets to be about three feet tall.
Partridgeberry is found along some of the trails and in open areas of the woods. The leaves are evergreen and can be found under the leaf litter all throughout the year. The new growth of opposite leaves are a lighter green color than the established leaves. Partridgeberry, Mitchella repens, is also known as Squaw Vine because it was used by Native Americans for female reproductive problems.
Partridgeberry along a trail in the woodlands of Pennsylvania.
Some red partridgeberries are left over from last autumn on the same plant that is almost in flower.
Twin flowers of partridgeberry are hairy in appearance, a characteristic that is helpful in identification.
Hairy partridgeberry blossoms.
Partridgeberry also grows among the Tree Club Moss, Lycopodium obscurum, also called Ground Pine as it looks like a miniature pine tree only about 10 inches tall. The tree club moss spreads via underground runners and so may also be called Running Pines.
Tree Club Moss showing light green new growth.
Partridgeberry growing among the Tree Club Mosses.
The miniature shiny evergreen trees are a delight to see on the path.
No Comments »
Posted by wilde on June 1st, 2006 — Posted in Vegetable
Violet Wood Sorrel, Oxalis violacea, is blooming profusely now with several flowers on each stalk. The dark pink flowers rise above and contrast nicely with the light green, heart-shaped compound leaves. I was happy to see this plant bloom again this year as I transplanted it from North Carolina last year. We seem to only have the Yellow Wood Sorrel, Oxalis europaea, in my area of Pennsylvania. You might be familiar with Yellow Wood Sorrel by the name of Sour Grass. The leaves and fruit capsule taste sour due to the presence of oxalic acid.
Violet Wood Sorrel blooming in pink.
It’s nice living in the mountains in a rural area. Since we are not in a housing development created by completely raping the land of all its beauty and uniqueness, we are privy to parts of nature that many people don’t see. We get the neatest volunteers!
Daisy Fleabane appearing naturally at edge of a flower garden.
The daisy fleabane is past its prime, but you can still see many smilin’ faces!
OK, so peach trees aren’t exactly wild herbs, but I wanted to show off the quarter-sized fruits! If the dog or some other wild thing harvests the peaches before we can, I’ll be mad. Never ate my own homegrown peach before!
Fuzzy young peaches in the backyard.
A wildflower that I really noticed today was the Thyme-leaved Speedwell, Veronica serpyllifolia, a member of the Snapdragon family. A low-growing plant that snakes through the lawn, thyme-leaved speedwell has four light blue petals with dark purple lines running the length of the petal and two long stamens that are quite noticeable. The flowers are clustered at the tops of erect stems in snapdragon-like fashion.
Thyme-leaved speedwell forms mats in many grassy lawns.
Flower spike of thyme-leaved speedwell.
Without really trying we created a purple theme in our flower gardens this year. Part of the mix includes an outstanding Calibrachoa hybrid “Superbells’ Blue” and the native Spiderwort, Tradescantia virginiana.
Superbell’s Blue hybrid Calibrachoa.
The Spiderwort flowers are only open in the morning. By the afternoon the petals have wilted into a gelatinous mass.
Spiderwort flowers closed by the afternoon.
Stayed tuned for photos of open Spiderwort blooms!
1 Comment »
