Zebra Longwing Butterfly

Butterfly Exhibit at Desert Botanical Garden

Butterfly Exhibit at Desert Botanical Garden

The Marshall Butterfly Pavilion is home to two butterfly exhibits each year–a Monarch display in the fall and a butterfly extravaganza including sixteen different species of butterflies in the spring. We went to the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix to see the Chihuly Art exhibition when we were in Phoenix in April, and saw the butterflies while we were there. Double the pleasure!

I had never seen a zebra longwing–no surprise since its range is tropical, found in the southern US, Central America and the northern part of South America.

Wild Geranium

The Wildflowers are Here!

Pretty in Purple

The wild geranium marks the boundary betweem spring and summer, so says my reference book, Spring Woodland Flowers of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Arboretum. There is a profusion of purple along the paths of the Noe Woods in the Arboretum. Guess we’re on the boundary, so spring lasted about four weeks this year? Sounds about right.

The Devil’s Urn

AKA Black Tulip Fungi

AKA Black Tulip Fungi

The Devil’s Urn is a fungi often found in spring on sticks or small logs. It is most common east of the Rockies, but is also found in the Midwest. I found this cluster while checking out the Noe Woods in the University of Wisconsin Arboretum for ephemeral wildflowers. The reference I consulted noted that these fungi begin to fruit a bit earlier than morel mushrooms and continue through much of the morel season.

I love morel mushrooms (think dipped in egg and cracker crumbs and fried until golden brown) but since moving to Wisconsin, I have never found them in their natural setting. In western Illinois, I frequently went mushroom hunting with my grandfather as a kid, and it was not unusual to come home with 10 to 20 pounds of morels after a day out in the woods. I have found them at the Farmers’ Market in Madison, and they are sold at a premium price. I saw them last year for $30 a pound, and I will not admit to indulging at that price, though many people gladly pay that sum. The morels are usually sold out an hour or so after the market opens.

As far as eating the Devil’s Urn, I wouldn’t recommend it. There is little in the literature to suggest that this fungi is poisonous, but when eating mushrooms the rule is “Eat nothing you cannot absolutely identify as non-poisonous.” And with a name like Devil’s Urn, it sure doesn’t sound too promising.

More Crabapples in Bloom

Pink Dawn

'Pink Dawn'

More crabapples from the Longenecker Horticultural Gardens in the University of Wisconsin Arboretum in Madison.

Dwarf Siberian

'Dwarf Siberian'

Columnar Siberian

'Columnar Siberian'

Crab Apple Blossoms

Golden Hornet

'Golden Hornet'

I’ve been to the University of Wisconsin – Madison Arboretum several times in the past week. The spring flowering trees are making their annual color statement.

Spring Snow

'Spring Snow'

The crab apples are in full bloom; the lilacs are beginning to bloom. The trees are in the Longenecker Horticultural Gardens just north of the Visitor Center, a garden begun when the Arboretum was established in 1934.

Pink Spires

'Pink Spires'

With more than 2,000 plants on display, this 50-acre area is the premier collection of trees and shrubs in Wisconsin. Today the Gardens hold one of the most up-to-date collections of flowering crabapples in the United States.