Tulip dancing in the wind, laughing in the sun, shaking at the ecstasy of it all – the thrill of a Spring day in May.
Wildflowers, Out and About
Here are a few of the wildflowers growing in my neck of the woods this second week of May.
The White Campion, brought over from Europe, is now naturalized across much of the North American continent. The flowers open at dusk and close in the morning; they are pollinated by night-flying moths. This photo was taken about seven in the evening, so the petals aren’t fully open yet. They have an unexpected sweet fragrance. I used to ‘pop’ the bladders of these flowers when I was a kid, and hadn’t yet learned the rules of the forest.
This is a Wood Anemone and I think probably one of the last ones blooming this season. It needs sunlight to grow, and the plants are deep in the woods – the sunlight is now getting blocked by the opening tree canopies. This guy is somewhat poisonous, though I did read that the Ojibwe used the roots in a remedy to clear the throats of singers. I wouldn’t recommend it – maybe try a nice honey lozenge instead. 🙂 Or not sing.
Here’s another Jack; sometimes he’s called an Indian Turnip as his taproots were gathered as a vegetable by Native Americans. It is said to cause a strong burning sensation if eaten raw, but tastes peppery when well steamed. (I’ll pass on that, too.) I probably saw a thousand Jack in the Pulpits in the woods in a two hour period. I’ve never seen so many in one place – I was off path and kept nearly trampling them.
I had to search several guides to ID this rather quiet wildflower, though I’m pretty certain it is White Baneberry. The leaves are the give-away clue, because there are several plants with very similar flower clusters. I’ll come back in mid-summer and see if there are white berries growing – then I’ll know for sure. Supposedly the plant was once called Dolls’ Eyes because its berry has a black spot and looks like the eyes once set in china dolls.
I found four huge, densely-packed colonies of May-apples. Their umbrellas are fully opened now – in my photo of May-apples on May 2nd, they were still shriveled like puckered fingertips that have been in dishwater too long. No flowers as of yet. Native Americans used the roots to treat hepatitis and fevers and now a derivative of this plant is being used as a cancer treatment. It’s commonly known as poisonous though, and can kill a man in just a few hours after ingestion. BTW, its fruit isn’t poisonous and tastes like a banana-lemon mix. Odd.
Greening of the Hardwoods
I found a new area for hiking west of Madison and I am thrilled with my new tramping grounds. There is a rolling long field, overgrown with wild things, and currently covered with yellow rocket in full bloom. I know the plant is considered an invasive pest, but it was a rather pretty sight nonetheless.
On either side of the open land are woodlands, mostly Maple, Ash, White Oak, though quite a few Elm, and a large stand of Shagbark Hickories. The trees are just greening, as evidenced by these photos of their unfurling leaves.
This White Oak grows in eastern and central North America, 100 feet, sometimes up to 150 feet tall. This is one enormous, mind-boggling tree.
I love the unfurling of the Shagbark Hickory leaves. Take a close look at the marvelous structure of the tree and her leaves at this stage. The hickory is my favorite tree – the bark is a spactacular show of evolutionary wit. After the tree has matured-30 to 40 years-the bark begins to peel off in shaggy, curly strips. This presents a sharply angled obstacle course for the squirrels who come to feast and ‘squirrel’ away the acorn nuts.
And here is a leaf from a younger ash tree, just beginning to open-looks quite like a leafy green rosebud
I recognized dozens of different wildflowers, many in bloom – I probably saw a thousand Jack in the Pulpits. I’ve never seen so many in one place before, plus there was a carpet of Hepatica (Bloodroot) dropping down and across a large ravine, though not yet in bloom, and seas of Mayapples, their little umbrellas now fully extended. I’ll put the photos of the flowers in the next post. But now, I may just go take another short hike before the weather cools.
Tiny Orange Tulips
These sweet tulips pop out of the ground near my front door every May, but I have no recollection of planting tulip bulbs there nor do I have any idea what kind of tulips they might be.
They are only about 6 inches high and the tulip bloom itself is only about 1 inch in diameter. I love how the orange is fringed with the green. They are a dynamite garden addition in a rather small package.
Bright Blue Globes
A visit to the local garden center this weekend provided me with a two hour photo shoot. I pretty much emptied my wallet to do some replacement purchasing for foundation plantings for my home – six bushes and a European Filbert Tree that I was told was native to Wisconsin. (Go figure!) It looks like a giant corkscrew. So, as a result of my contribution to their economy, I felt it only right and proper that I get some photo subjects out of the deal.
The colors were wonderful wherever I looked. And after I became completely color blinded by at least a thousand kinds of flowers, I went over to the flower pots. I wasn’t disappointed there, either.
Even got a self-portrait in this photo, but you have to look carefully – or blow the photo to poster size. 🙂












