This post isn’t about any special place or thing-it’s more me rambling around the countryside taking pictures of things that I thought were beautiful, for one reason or another. I hope you’ll think so too.One of the places I visited was a forest near my daughter’s house. This forest is mostly white pine with some spruce, red pine, larch and hardwoods. I saw some interesting things there. This ancient log caught my eye.
I saw large stands of Pipsissewa, Foamflower, and Trailing Arbutus there. Pipsissewa (Chimaphila umbellate) hangs onto its woody seed heads from last year, which aids in identification. It’s a low growing evergreen also known as Prince’s pine and Bitter Wintergreen. Pipsissewa is a Native Cree name meaning “It-breaks-into-small-pieces.” This is because it was used as a treatment for kidney stones and was thought to break them into pieces.
I thought this aged hemlock root was beautiful. It looked like an artist had carved it and then sanded it smooth and stained part of it. I worked as a gardener for an artist who did similar things with odd pieces of wood. I still have some of them today and consider them beautiful art objects. I wanted the hemlock root to come home and join them but it was still attached to the living tree.
The fuzzy, maple like leaves of foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia) make it easy to identify even without flowers. Before too long there will be foot long spikes of small, white, star shaped flowers. Nurserymen have developed many new hybrids from this native flower. They spread by underground stems and are excellent for shady spots in the garden.
Vinca has escaped gardens and is doing just what it wants to do, but nobody seems to care. That’s what invasive plants count on-apathy. The plant is a native of Europe, Asia, and Africa. The Latin vincire which the name comes from means “to bind,” and the long, wiry stems seem like they would be good for that purpose. In gardens either Vinca major or Vinca minor are seen. Vinca major is just a larger, more robust version of Vinca minor, and there are few noticeable differences. These low growing evergreens make excellent groundcovers in shady spots. Even though flowers are blooming I can’t stop looking for lichens. I bought the book Lichens of the North Woods but still don’t feel confident enough to try to positively identify many lichens. The book has taught me that this is most likely one of the beard lichens, and one way to identify which one is by the color of the lichen at the point where it attaches to the branch. Unfortunately, I didn’t pay any attention when I took this picture. The book points to this one I found growing on a larch limb being fringed wrinkle lichen. Though descriptions say it is brown I always see pink in these.Turkey tail bracket fungi (Trametes versicolor) are so colorful that I can’t pass up a chance to take pictures of them. I see a lot of pink in these too.
This bracket fungus had little color but it and the sunbeam that fell on it seemed to have been posed, ready for picture taking at just that moment.Bluets (Houstonia caerulea) bloomed in patches of afternoon sunlight. Though they are called bluets, these are often white or very pale blue. They can also be shades of purple and pink. They always have a yellow center and 4 petals, no matter the color. Each flower may be only one inch tall and 1/4 inch across, but their habit of growing in colonies improves their chances of being seen. These are common in lawns everywhere and I always mow around them when they grow in mine because they tell me spring is really here. Watercress (Nasturtium officinale) can grow under water in the winter, and in this photo we are looking through 4 or 5 inches of creek water to see it on the creek bed. This is an introduced species from Eurasia that likes to grow in slow running water. It is an edible herb in the mustard family and has a peppery bite to it. False Hellebore (Veratrum viride) grows in wet places just like skunk cabbage. One way to tell it from skunk cabbage is by the deep ribs on the leaves that skunk cabbage doesn’t have. Foragers should beware of this one because the plant is extremely toxic and can kill. Trout lily grows among the hellebore; these are the smaller spotted leaves in the photo which some say look like a brook trout. I’m anxious to see if the flowers are white or yellow and hoping they are yellow (Erythronium americanum). It is said that undisturbed trout lily colonies can be hundreds of years old. I’d guess that the same is probably true for false hellebore.
Coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara) bloomed happily in the wet soil beside a drainage ditch. The easiest way to tell this plant from a dandelion is by the red scales along the stem. Dandelion stems are smooth. The old original Latin name translated to “Sons before fathers” because the flowers appear before the leaves. With dandelion the leaves always appear before the flowers. Colts foot isn’t native; it is supposed to have come over from Europe with early New England settlers.
Part of today is going to be spent plant hunting in some different areas. Thanks for stopping in.
I am beginning to really like this wandering through nature style of post. It sort of draws me into the walk, and allows me to see thing that I would not normally get to see. Well done!
Thanks, I’m glad you like it that way-I do too. I’m trying to show that flowers aren’t the only reason to commune with nature and i’m glad you’re seeing that.
I especially enjoyed the lichen and fungi images- I’m still learning my wildflowers, so it’ll be a while before figuring out the harder stuff. Wonderful images as always!
Thanks! I like the lichen and fungi too. I try to squeeze a few into each post if I can.
Bluets already! Wow. I found some coltsfoot today, and lots of trailing arbutus. Thanks for taking us along on your walk.
You’re welcome. I was surprised to find bluets this early too. Violets can’t be far behind here. I’m glad you found some coltsfoot-you should do a post on it. I’ve also seen tons of trailing arbutus this year-enough so I’m thinking it’s not very endangered.
Very nice, the sunlight in the pines looks so peaceful. The different pieces of aged wood, so interesting. The lichens and fungi cool. I thought the watercress was just in mud, the water is so clear. I been looking for the False Hellebore, but I don’t think I found it yet, maybe I’m just thinking Skunk Cabbage. Coltsfoot I’m not sure if we have that here? Lovely wandering, thanks. 🙂
It was a peaceful place. I’m glad you liked it. You’re so far ahead of us that I would think you would see false hellebore by now. It likes the same conditions that skunk cabbage does. According to the USDA, Coltsfoot grows in Minnesota. From a distance it looks like dandelion, so you’ve got to look closely at the stem. Here it likes moist places. Here is the USDA map http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=TUFA Thanks for stopping by.
Did I maybe miss the hellebore? Do the leaves last for a while like the Skunk Cabbage? I’ll be double checking every dandelion from now on.
🙂
I’ve never paid real close attention, but I think false hellebore lasts for quite awhile-weeks, I think. It also can get quite tall-sometimes 6 feet or more. The deeply ribbed leaves and bright shade of green make it easy to see before the leaves of shrubs come out. I saw one today that was maybe a foot tall with quite a few leaves. I’d guess yours might be three feet tall by now, judging by how far along the other flowers you’ve posted are. Good luck finding coltsfoot-the stem is the giveaway.
Yes, false hellebore persists all summer, and it does get pretty tall. Somewhere in my archive I have a photo of its blossoms. They are green, which doesn’t really make them stand out that well.
Oh – and I do plan to post pics of yesterday’s hike. I was just too tired to get around to it yesterday.
Thanks for the input. Before I started this blog false hellebore was just another plant that I never paid much attention to, but I have seen it blooming. I plan to visit the stand that I found regularly and keep a photographic record of their growth.
Looking forward to hearing about the hike.
Thanks for taking us along on that informative and beautiful nature walk, I can’t wait to see what we find on the next one!
You’re welcome. I never know myself-I’m hoping I find some wildflowers.
Lovely! It looks like spring is really here…
We’re hoping. Thanks for stopping by.
Enjoyed the wandering. Happy plant hunting.
Thanks!