Posted by wilde on May 16th, 2007 — Posted in Vegetable
Before the rain got too heavy this afternoon we ducked into our Pennsylvania woods to see how the Pink Lady’s Slippers were coming along.
Right on cue — sometime between the First of May and Mother’s Day — the Pink Lady’s Slippers come out in full bloom. Each year we go to the same spots to see these beautiful and interesting members of the orchid family.
Because of the shape of the irregular flower Cypripedium acaule is also known as the Moccasin Flower. Indeed, the heavily veined, pink pouch identifies the Pink Lady’s Slipper.
Pink Lady’s Slipper growing in a mixed hardwoods forest in the mountains of Pennsylvania.
This plant is distinctively hairy, which is not noticeable until you get real close. All parts of the basal leaves, flower stem, sepals and the blossom have short, soft hairs.
Fuzzy Pink Lady’s Slipper showing short hairs and the deeply cleft, hollow pouch.
The atypical views of this pink orchid illustrate the three dimensional shape of the irregular flower.
Side view shows the heavily veined pouch of the Moccasin Flower.
The greenish-brown sepals and lateral petals are not very noticeable from a distance as they blend in with the background colors.
In a couple weeks the pink flower will fall away leaving behind the green, spade-shaped bract at the top of the long flower stem.
If you have an occasion to hike the woods of Eastern Canada or the Northern United States or the Appalachian Mountains down to north Georgia, keep your eyes open for the Pink Lady’s Slipper. It’s not every day that you get to see this beautiful orchid!
More wild pink flowers that we saw today were a group of pretty Pink Azaleas, Rhododendron nudiflorum, also known as the Pinxter Flower. We were surprised to see so many blossoms as this was the most extensive blooming witnessed to date.
Wild Pink Azaleas blooming underneath an oak tree.
Five petals are joined at the base making a long tube which has more color than the distal ends of the petals. The orange-tipped stamens are very long and project well beyond the petals. The green-tipped pistil is longer yet.
Close up image of pink azalea flower showing the long stamens and pistil.
Pink azaleas are practically odorless, but apparently the leaves taste good to some little green caterpillars. Most of the elongated leaves were already consumed, except for the midrib.
Notice the leaf midribs left behind by ravenous caterpillars in the lower right of this image of Pink Azaleas.
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Posted by wilde on May 16th, 2007 — Posted in Animal, Vegetable
A red spotted newt crossed my path today as we took a walk out back in the woods. It had been an overcast morning with a few sprinkles here and there. As it started raining lightly again I came across this little amphibian walking in the forest.
Red-spotted newt walking in the woods.
A few weeks ago when we had some warmer weather newts were rolling around together at the surface of the pond, which is about an 1/8 mile down hill from where I saw the newt today.
The bright orange color with red spots tells us that this little salamander is the terrestrial juvenile stage called a red eft. Both the younger, larval stage and the older, adult stage are aquatic in form.
Red-spotted newt, Notophthalamus viridescens viridescens, in the terrestrial juvenile stage — The Red Eft.
A favorite woodland plant of mine is blooming. Fringed Polygala, Polygala paucifolia, or Gaywings, has been blooming now for about a week. The blooms are unique with two hot pink sepals that flare to the sides and look like wings. Petals are united in a central pink tube having the lowest petal tipped with fringe.
Gaywings, or fringed polygala, is a cheerful sight on a woodland walk.
The unique flowers characterize this member of the milkwort family. Gaywings can also be recognized by the cluster of broad leaves that arise from underground stems.
Gaywings popping up from underground stems.
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Posted by wilde on May 10th, 2007 — Posted in Mineral, Vegetable
Returning last week from a holiday spent in North Carolina, we couldn’t help but notice that the trees are mostly in full leaf now. Departing a week earlier we saw the oaks just coming out of their winter buds and a few other tree’s leaves still bundled up tight, like the elms and mimosas.
The dandelions that were left blooming are now dusting their fluffy seeds wherever the wind will carry them. Probably more fodder for next year’s early spring ham and dandelion dinners that are popular around here in central Pennsylvania.
Driving south through Maryland we relished the sight of red bud trees in full bloom. On the return trip north the same trees were full of greenery and barely showed the beautiful purple-violet blooms from the prior week.
In eastern North Carolina the azaleas and dogwoods already finished blooming before we got there, thanks to a cold snap, while our PA azaleas have just enlarged their flower buds so that the color is showing, yet the blossoms are not quite open. Dogwood blossoms are out in their full glory.
Traveling 500 miles one-way is a long trip no matter who is driving or whatever the route. We celebrated our safe journey by visiting with dear friends, tasting some really fantastic grouper and triggerfish, and finding a car load of marine fossils that date back at least a million years.
If you’d like to find your own fossils and have an opportunity to be in eastern North Carolina, stop by the Aurora Fossil Museum where you can see a nearly complete ancient whale, lots of shark’s teeth, and many more fossils from this locality. On May 26, 2007 the annual fossil festival over takes the town with a parade, a pageant, fossil collecting, music, food, and even an auction. Visit the museum’s website to see the auction items, including a marvelous Carcharocles megalodon tooth that is being raffled!
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