Posted by wilde on June 9th, 2007 — Posted in Vegetable
Partridgeberry, Mitchella repens, blooming along woodland paths in central Pennsylvania lends a bit of color to the brown forest floor. Dark green foliage, accented here and there with white or light-colored veins, still bears crimson berries left over from last year.
Partridgeberry gives an evergreen feel to the mixed hardwood forests of Pennsylvania.
The white, tubular-shaped flowers come in pairs at the ends of creeping branches along the ground. The fringy blooms coalesce to create a single, edible fruit in the fall, which can last the whole year long.
The trumpet-shaped flowers may be pinkish to white and usually have four petals.
Nature guide books indicate that Partridgeberry, also known as Squaw Vine, has 4 regular parts, and so, most of us would look for flowers having 4 petals, 4 stamens, and so on, if we were looking for a specimen. Indeed, a majority of the partridgeberry flowers do have four petals, but I found quite a few examples having five petals.
The more common four-petaled variety of Squaw Vine.
A few examples of the five-petaled variety of Squaw Vine.
Growing along the same path, but not on the same plant, and separated by some 50 feet or more, this large grouping of five-petaled partridgeberry illustrates one of the tenets of nature that states diversity rules. Perhaps this small freak of nature will some day benefit the species to it’s continued survival.
At the least our five-petaled partridgeberry is a curiosity!
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Posted by wilde on June 9th, 2007 — Posted in Vegetable
Violet and Yellow Wood-sorrel are brightening up corners of the gardens and the edges of the yard, but their blooms are only out in the sun. Afternoon-shaded areas will have the ‘lucky clovers’ closing up their flowers.
Wood-sorrel flowers close up in the afternoon shade or at nighttime and re-open in the sunshine.
Yellow wood sorrel, Oxalis europaea, flowers arise in clusters on flower stalks that are separate from the notched, clover-like leaflets.
As kids we pulled off the erect seed pods and ate them for a sour treat! The leaves are edible, too. Just add a few leaves to salads or make an iced tea from the steeped leaves, sweeten with honey or stevia and chill. The yellow or pink blossoms make great looking garnishes.
Violet wood-sorrel, Oxalis violacea, flowers seem to flare open their violet-pink petals.
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