a walk in the woods

That same weekend I enjoyed a solitary walk in a nearby nature preserve.

I'm a sucker for wildflowers. This is one I didn't know right away, but its common name is so descriptive I won't forget it again: Starflower, of the Primrose Family, Tridentalis borealis. Isn't that Latin name lovely? Go ahead, say it out loud. With an Italian accent is better yet.
... Tridentalis borealis... Ahhh, bene.



(Remember, you can click on the photos to see a better version.)

These pink flowers carpeted the forest floor in some areas. I wasn't familiar with them either.



You wouldn't think anyone could get lost on such a well marked path, now would you?
Note how the paint marker color coordinates with the pink wildflowers. Do you think the trailkeepers did that on purpose? Everything on the Mission Peninsula IS so perfect ...



When I returned to the B&B, we found their wildflower guide wasn't where they'd left it (the house is full of bookshelves, my kind of place) but I showed Bob the photos on my camera (ain't digital grand?) and he recognised it as Fringed Polygala, of the Milkwort Family, Polygala paucifolia.
A rather common Michigan wildflower, I just haven't noticed it before. Another common name in the field guide was Flowering-Wintergreen obviously on account of the leaves, but the flowers are all wrong for that name to stick. Wintergreens flower with little waxy whitish bells.




In his classic wildflower handbook, "Michigan Flora", Dr. Voss wrote: "... the first few flowers and leaves at the summit [provide] a striking touch of color, often abundant in northern damp woods in spring. An old beach ridge carpeted with polygala, calypso, and dwarf lake iris is a feast of beauty not soon forgotten." I was "there".

Well, almost. I didn't see any of the endangered species, Dwarf Lake Iris' but I did find plenty of these, unnoticed at first glance in the leaf duff on the forest floor:



No, not Calypso. I'm still not sure which of the native Ladyslipper Orchids these are, another week along and the blossoms might have bloomed. I was so happy just to discover them. (Sorry for the blurry photo, it was beiginning to sprinkle.)




A peaceful pond. Not another thing to disturb the the sounds of bugs and birds and frogs.




And for a small lagniappe on the way out, a few Jacks waved goodbye.


If you go there, remember ... take nothing but photos, leave nothing but footprints.

A jumble of spring wildflowers

A bed of wildflowers, all in a jumble. Too many ferns, volunteer Forget-me-nots, thug Columbines but some goodies managed to settle in, too.


I'm very fond of this Early Meadow Rue: Thalictrum dioicum of the Buttercup Family. Bees love it and when the slightest breeze wafts by, it twinkles.


We always call these Canada Anemones: Anemone canadensis of the Buttercup Family.


These glossy flowered early bloomers are commonly called Swamp (or Marsh) Buttercups: Ranunculus septentrionalis of the Buttercup Family. Buttercups in general are garden thugs, but this one stays neat.


I'm pretty sure this one is False Rue Anemone: Isopyrum biternatum. Another member of the Buttercup Family. Too tiny to be a garden bully. The bigger leaves are columbines, and the purple leaves are Labrador violets.


Goldenseal, Hydrastis canadensis. Another member of the Buttercup Family. I wish this one was more vigorous in spreading. Too bad it's not as bumptious as it's Buttercup Family cousins, because the roots are collected for folk medicine and are becoming rare. The flowers are very temporary.


I love the way Trilliums turn pink when they're beginning to fade: Trillium probably grandiflorum. I say that because it turns pink with age, it doesn't smell, it doesn't nod, the flowers have stalks, and there is no marking on the petals. That's as far as my field guide goes, so I say T. grandiflorum. Same family as Wild Oats, the Lily Family.

How did that Wild Cranesbill geranium get there? I guess it wants to duke it out with the ferns. Geranium maculatum of the Geranium Family.


Jack in the Pulpit from the Arum Family: Arisaema triphyllum.


This one stumps me. I thought it was a skunk cabbage when I dug it up, but it hasn't bloomed - probably too dry where it's planted. Looks like some kind of Arum to me.


Now this one is Wood Poppy, a.k.a. Celandine Poppy: Stylophorum diphyllum of the Poppy Family. I'm pretty sure.


Mayapples under the quince in another bed, between the peony and some bigroot cranesbill geranium. Some people call Mayapples Mandrake, but it's not the hoo-hoo Mandrake of legend. Podophyllum peltatum of the Barberry Family. I just noticed in my field guide that Twinleaf, Jeffersonia diphylla is also in the Barberry Family.