I'm not going to be able to get all the great pictures ready even for tonight. And I went for another hike today! The weather is too perfect, and I need to get in shape for backpacking in May anyway.
The first picture is a small, early flower called trailing arbutus, Epigaea repens. The leaves are often seen, as in the picture below, but it's easy to miss the waxy flower trumpets.
This was a really awesome find! I'll have to go back in July and see if I can find the flowers. This is downy rattlesnake plantain, which is a wild orchid, Goodyera pubescens. It's leaves are unmistakable, but I've never seen the flower. I may have pictures of the seed pod taken a few years ago.
I'm really tired tonight. I think I have to stop here. Tomorrow... ducks, frogs, birds, fungi, moss! Well, we will do some of those.
10 comments:
not familiar with E. repens but I would be getting the camera out. We do have your wild orchid's cousin Goodyera repens, it grows in our pine woods mainly Scotland, our local name for it is Creeping Lady's Tresses, after googling found you call it Lesser Rattlesnake Plantain.
The good weather is getting us all moving - preparing for the longer hikes, I try and do my blogging early morning, don't think I could blog later.
Carol.
Love the patterning on the orchid leaves!
What a tomorrow that is full of ducks, frogs, birds, moss...
Love the leaves on the rattlesnake plantain.
It's always a joy to find the first woodland plants in the spring! I'm still under snow in CO, but I am eager to see the Pasque flowers bloom!
Wild orchids with crazy cool leaves!
I hope you do go back and take pictures of the flower. I'd be most interested!
I really like those last leaves. Such great patterns.
It seems we all like the wild orchid leaves...they are so pretty with the white veining. It would be nice to see the flower.
Variegated leaves are always favorites for me! And it's an orchid too. I am still kicking my self to get out with the kids this spring. We are out of sync somehow with getting on the trail. And it started raining again which makes for tough hiking with the little people. *sigh*
Hi Carol- Hmmm, another morning person. I'm really useless in the a.m. I know... it's pretty awful for a nature freak, but there you have it. I'm crepuscular.
Dennis- I think it's one of my favorite leaves.
rainfield- I only got to the birds today. I think tomorrow will be fungus.
Ann- they are just scrupmtious! The leaves die back, so that makes it harder to identify the orchid later. But now I know where this one is.
Barb- welcome! You DO still have a lot of snow. Do the pasqueflowers grow wild where you are?
Ferd- I sure hope that I'll be home (maybe... July looks good... not August), and that I'll be able to get there.
Ratty- now I just want to find its cousin the checkered rattlesnake plantain and the dwarf one too.
Carmen- I really want to see it too, so I'm going to try really hard. I am pretty sure I can find the spot again.
Julia- hey... W just likes to be wet and muddy anyway... what's the big deal? wink
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