Swamp Leatherflower

 
Another new plant from Alabama. And this isn't even the last of them.

This is a southern wetland plant. It's actually a wild clematis, Clematis crispa. It has a ton of common names: marsh clematis, swamp leatherflower, blue jasmine, blue curls. That flower is almost 2 inches across. Nice and showy!



This is actually a native plant, so I can say I'm happy to see it. Pretty common in the SE, from southern Illinois on down to the Gulf.

The bud is as pretty as the blossom.



It's actually poisonous. I'm not sure to what extent. It can even cause a rash in some people from touching it. Apparently, I can get away with handling this one, since I did with no ill effects.

As usual, common names can get one in trouble. I've linked to posts about completely unrelated leatherleaf and leatherwood.

In other news: Did laundry, worked on the Long Distance Hiker files, transferred the rest of the notes about Dead Mule Swamp Mistletoe that I had made in the car to my writing files. The weather was delightful, and I am not sad about that!

	See Leatherleaf See Leatherwood
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Fern Fun- Spleenworts

 
One of these ferns was brand new to me, and I now know (barely) enough ferns to recognize that I didn't know it. We saw this one in Ohio, at Rock House. This is lobed spleenwort, Asplenium pinnatifidum. In ancient times, it was believed that these plants had a medicinal use for treating the spleen. Wort just means plant.



The sori (spore cases) on the backs are clumpy and long.



Also on this trip, in Alabama, I saw Ebony Spleenwort, Asplenium platyneuron. This one isn't new to me, but now I think I might be able to be sure of this one, as compared to some similar ones. The fertile frond sticks up straight while the sterile ones recline on the ground.



The sori are arranged in nice even chevrons. Rachis (stem) is completely dark.



Just to round things out (and because I needed to get all these on my nature picture pages), here is Maidenhair Spleenwort, Asplenium trichomanes, from the Catskills of New York from a few years ago. It also likes rock walls and has dark stems. Notice the pinnae (leaves) are similar to northern maidenhair fern (but not related).



The sori are in little bars.



It takes a long time to add photos to my nature pages, but it's one of my ongoing goals. I'm up to 1055 pictures there.

In other news: more bookwork, laundry, putting stuff away, but all on my time. Woke up slowly, savoring the quiet and coolness. Lovely!

	See Northern Maidenhair Fern
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Top Commenters, and a Strange Coincidence

 
In May there were 44 different people who left messages, and a total of 262 separate comments (not counting my own responses to them).

The top 10 commenters for May are:
Ann's Snap & Edit (Ann- 30 comments)- Ann's in danger of meeting me in person some day on a trip to NY
Carmen's Chronicles (Carmen- 23 comments)- a great photographer- she likes to share her city and flowers
The Joys of Simple Life (Betchai- 17 comments) mountains and zoos and great times outdoors, tied with
Secondary Roads (Chuck- 17 comments)- we really hope to meet him and wife Sylvia this year
The Best Parts (Ferd- 15 comments)- bird lover
My Journey (rainfield61- 14 comments)- rainfield shows us hidden treasures of Cerok Tokun, tied with
Spinning Lovely Days (Ivy- 14 comments)- planning for a baby boy to join them in September
String Too Short to Tie (David (vanilla)- 12 comments)- another midwesterner
Duxbury Ramblers (Carol- 12 comments)- a lover of botany and birds
Be a Lifesaver of Goodness (borris- 11 comments)- a new dad and and EMT

Isn't it odd that 3 of these 10 people live within 300 miles of me? Is there some connection of regionality happening? No matter. Thanks so much friends!

Now for the coincidence. Loretta (SIL) was getting ready to send me a picture to ask what bird was visiting her birdbath. But then she saw my posts about the brown thrasher, and realized that she has one at her home in Alabama!

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