Orchids

Last weekend I had the pleasure of hiking with my friends Tricia West and John Howard in Adams County, OH. We had lots of great botanical finds including four species of orchids.

Yellow Lady's Slipper, Cypripedium pubescens. We almost walked right by this beauty. This one has a double bloom.

A straight on shot. Its reddish sepals look almost like a weird wig.

Another favorite, Pink Lady's Slipper, Cypripedium acaule. Its delicate pink blossom reminds me of a ballerina's slippers.

An interesting tiny orchid, Spring Coralroot, Corallorhiza wisteriana, is only a few inches tall. These would be easy to miss, if one were not paying special attention!

And a personal favorite, Showy Orchis, Galearis spectabilis. Each year I look forward to finding these tiny wonders.

Here is a close-up of the flowers. They have such an interesting shape. So "spectabilis". What a name! It sounds like Daffy Duck trying to pronounce spectacular. It actually means "showy". One can't argue with that!

Clifton Gorge and John Bryan State Park

Friday, we visited Clifton Gorge and John Bryan State Park which are located near Yellow Springs, OH. The wildflower display was absolutely phenomenal. I was like a kid in a candy store.

Bloodroot, Sanguinaria canadensis, was at its peak. Get out there now, if you want to see it, because the petals drop off after a good rain.

This gorgeous Bloodroot is named after the deep red sap that oozes out of its rhizome when it is broken.

Above is a photo I shot two years ago of the root. This traditionally was used as war paint by some tribes and as a dye for cloth.

We found one lone Rue Anemone, Thalictrum thalictroides. Such a delicate little flower.

Hepatica, Hepatica nobilis, is always a crowd pleaser. The hillsides were carpeted with these little beauties, in various shades of blue, lavender, pink and white.

Another one, the flowers even vary in color within the same clump.

Another shot-I never tire of these. I kept thinking, "Oh, I have plenty of Hepatica shots", then I would find another one that would catch my eye. So lovely!

The plant I was looking forward to seeing. Snow Trillium. It is an early bloomer, sometimes pushing forth when snow is still on the ground. There were hundreds of these at John Bryan State Park.

On a warm, sunny bank, we found the first Wild Ginger, Asarum canadense, bloom. Pollinated by beetles, flies, and even slugs, its unusual blossom is close to the ground.

Purple Cress, Cardamine douglassii, is also called Douglass's Bittercress and is named after the botanist, David Bates Douglass. It is in the mustard family and related to the peppery salad green watercress. In the left corner of the photo, you can see Virginia Bluebell in bud.

Dutchman's Breeches, Dicentra cucullaria, is another one of my favorites. Oh, who am I kidding? They are all my favorites! Dutchman's Breeches are so named because they look like the old-fashioned bloomers lined up on a clothesline. The bee is trying to get to the nectar, but only the bumblebee has a probocsis or tongue long enough to reach the nectar. Smaller bees will many times chew through the side of the blossom to reach the nectar, leaving behind a little hole as evidence of the crime.

Flora-Quest

Hear ye! Hear ye! One of the most enjoyable botanical gatherings is open for registration. Flora-Quest is one of my favorite events. Below is the press release from my bud, The Weedpicker, Cheryl Harner.

Wildflower Enthusiasts Gather for Flora-Quest

Many of Ohio’s foremost botanists will be leading field trips the weekend of May 1-2, 2010 in the beautiful hills of Shawnee State Forest in southern Ohio. Flora-Quest is a botanical retreat geared towards learning, meeting like-minded people, and above all, appreciating the most spectacular flora in all of Ohio.

The rugged, hilly landscape and steep forested slopes are blanketed with an incredible array of flora. Botanically, Shawnee represents the northern most outposts for many Appalachian plants that one would otherwise have to go to the Great Smokey Mountains to find. Early May is peak for wildflowers, and the hills will be cloaked with trillium, over a dozen species of violets, native magnolias, wild azaleas, orchids and many more. As an added bonus, well over 100 species of birds occur in the forest in spring, including scores of our most colorful jewels like Scarlet Tanager, Hooded Warbler, and Rose-breasted Grosbeak. Bring your binoculars!

Guest speakers representing Ohio State Parks, The Nature Conservancy and the Ohio Heritage Botanists will highlight recent efforts for botanical conservation. Jenny Richards and Pete Whan know their subjects well, as they live within this region and are intimately familiar with the flora. Dr. Harvey Ballard will present an evening program on Violets, including Ohio’s arguably most beautiful and rare Bird-foot Violet, Viola pedata. Greg Schneider from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources will also present on the fascinating work of the Ohio Heritage Botanists. A special FREE program Friday evening April 30th will preview the diversity of Shawnee State Park.

Bird-foot Violet, Viola pedata-photo by John Howard

There will be other bonuses, too, such as special evening field trips, vendors, and an optional trip to The Eulett Center and more. The center of activities will be the beautiful Shawnee Lodge and Resort, located in the heart of the forest. Take this opportunity to hike the newest properties in TNC’s Sunshine Corridor, visit a private preserve, improve your photography skills or kayak the Scioto Brush Creek. You will be amazed to discover the diversity in southern Ohio!

Please, visit the website at http://www.flora-quest.com/ for more information. Registration and complete trip descriptions are available on-line.

Tree Quiz-the answers

Not many people submitted answers for my tree quiz. Hopefully some of you are just playing at home. For the ones that did, here are the answers.

1. Silver Maple (Acer saccharinum)
2. Sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua)
3. Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum)
Bonus 1: Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Bonus 2: Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia)
The small disks on the ends of the rootlets give it away.

4. Black Cherry (Prunus serotina)
5. Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis)
6. Tuliptree (Liriodendron tulipifera)
7. American Beech (Fagus grandifolia)

Winter Tree Quiz

Wintertime is a great time to exercise the old noggin with a quiz. It is also a great time to learn your trees based on the bark. Soooo, I decided to combine the two into a handy-dandy tree quiz. See how you do. These trees are all native to Indiana.

Tree #1

Tree #2

Tree #3

Bonus Question 1: Name what critter made the holes. (This will probably give away the tree.)

Bonus Question 2: Name the vine climbing the tree. You can tell if you look closely.

Tree #4

Tree #5

Tree #6

Tree #7

I will post the answers Jan 3rd. Good Luck!

If you like trees, check out the Festival of the Trees blog carnival hosted at xenogere. It will be up on Jan 1st.

What in Tarnation Photo Quiz Answers

Photo 1-I think everyone who guessed got this one right (I had a few from e-mail, as well.) This is a dragonfly wing, and the amber wings with reddish-brown spots points to Halloween Pennant, Celithemis eponina. This crop was taken from where the wings intersect.

Photo 2-This is one of the individual blossoms of the Common Milkweed, Asclepias syriaca. This is a crop of the center blossom.


. Photo 3-This is the wing or elytra of a Eyed-Click Beetle, Alaus oculatus. I thought the speckled pattern and the ridges made for an interesting photo.

Photo 4-Sorry, Kathy, this is not my tongue, LOL. This is a Rosy Maple Moth, Dryocampa rubicunda. This crop was taken near the second leg on the right side of the moth. Photo by John Howard.


Photo 5-Yellow Warbler was on the right track and I can totally see the honeybee guess. It is a Prairie Warbler's, Dendroica discolor, flank. Photo by John Howard.


Photo 6-Shooting Star or Pride of Ohio, Dodecatheon meadia. This one and many others grow in a patch along the White River behind my friend's apartment complexes. Such a striking flower!




Photo7-And finally, many of you guessed eggs. These are actually Eastern Bluebird eggs. We have quite a few nestboxes on the property here at Southeastway Park, and this was one of the successful broods.

With all the correct or close to correct guesses, I will have to work harder on a future quiz! Thanks to all that participated.

What in Tarnation is That?

I thought it would be fun to play a game. I have cropped a few of my photos, and will let you all take a stab at what they are. Everything is nature related and can be found outside here in the Midwest, so no kangaroos, octopus, etc... I will post the answers and show the original photos in a couple days. Good luck!

Photo 1

Photo 2

Photo 3

Photo 4

Photo 5

Photo 6

Photo 7