2012 Spring Wildflower Thread

[Mohamed Ellozy]

ID help please

It's a place to ask questions, identify species and learn.

A couple of days ago I saw these flowers on a small tree in the field at the start of the Indian Head Trail

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Would much appreciate help with ID.

Thanks!!

 

[Jason Berard]

Hi Mohamed. It's Shadbush.

 

[Mohamed Ellozy]

Thanks, Jason!!

 

[Kevin Judy and Emma]

Early

Early spring in Southeastern NH.

Pink Lady's Slipper Cypripedium acaule

KDT

 

[Kevin Judy and Emma]

Fledglings...

Not exactly a flower, but certainly a sign of Spring!

Immature Great Horned Owl Bubo virginianus

KDT

 

[Jason Berard]

early saxifrage


long-spurred violets


spring peeper


spotted salamander egg masses

 

[Kevin Judy and Emma]

Some Early May Shots from Southeastern NH...

Starflower Trientalis borealis

Fringed Polygala Polygala paucifolia

Sunday May 6th marked the return of the Baltimore Orioles and Ruby-throated Hummingbirds!

Ruby-throated Hummingbird Archilochus colubris

Nodding Trillium Trillium cernuum

KDT

 

[Elizabeth]

A few from Lyme, NH


Albino trillium by Elizabeth W.K., on Flickr

I think that the above is an albino of the purple trillium rather than a true white trillium.


Ostrich fern fiddleheads by Elizabeth W.K., on Flickr

Ostrich fern fiddleheads. Delicious!


Yellow fungus or eggs by Elizabeth W.K., on Flickr

Does anyone know what this yellow gelantinous mass is? A fungus? Insect eggs?

 

[Jason Berard]

Northern woodlands had a picture of that a while back in their "what in the woods" series. It is a fungus. I can't remember more than that, but of you look at their site, you'll find it. A few years back I found an albino painted trillium, as well as a painted trillium with 4 petals,etc, instead of three. Cool find on the albino purple trillium!

 

[Kevin Judy and Emma]

Trillium

I could be wrong but that trillium looks like Nodding Trillium to me. The fungus is known as Witches Butter Tremella mesenterica

KDT

 

[nartreb]

Elizabeth's trillium is definitely purple trillium, T. erectum.

Compared to nodding trillium (T. cernuum)
- the flower is above the leaves, not below
-the pistil is dark red, not white

I've seen some pale ones but that one is remarkably bright white.

 

[Kevin Judy and Emma]

Trillium

Possibly Snowy Trillium (Trillium simile)

KDT

 

[JacobH]

Another bouquet from the girls. This time they found them in a field behind the local rec center. I'm not great with identifying flowers but I think I got this one.

Pheasant's Eye Narcissus (Narcissus poeticus)

(also a buttercup thrown in there for good measure)

And yes... we still are celebrating Valentine's day, St. Patrick's Day and Easter on our windows...

 

[nartreb]

Possibly Snowy Trillium (Trillium simile)

KDT

Hm, tempting, but
- snowy trillium is usually a little more erect, with a bit more width to the petals (though that's hard to tell for sure in the photo)
and more importantly
-northern limit of snowy trillium is North Carolina. Was this spot near an old garden?

 

[1HappyHiker]

I saw this on 11-May-2012 on the Mt. Tremont Trail at an elevation of about 1,200 ft. Would this possibly be just a common tree sprout of some sort, rather than a wildflower?
Whatever it is, it had no visible leaves attached to it. As seen in the composite snapshot below, it had a stalk + a "bloom", and that's all!
The photo quality isn't the best, but perhaps good enough for someone to make an identification.

 

[Elizabeth]

Thanks for all of the responses on my white Trillium erectum and for the answer to the fungal mystery - witch's butter.

I should note that the trillium is near the site of an old farmstead (last occupied in the 1950s). However, all of the other trilliums in the area are the purple variety. I am guessing that the poor form of the white trillium is related to the albinism. Sorry not to have provided a better photo. It was starting to rain, and I was trying to get a shot in while shielding my camera from the wet.

 

[nartreb]

1happyhiker, that's an early shoot - the two "petals" are cotyledons, the modified leaves that store nutrients inside a seed. (Take a close look at a chickpea - it splits easily between the two cotyledons, and the joint between them is a tiny stem that will grow a root at one end and a shoot at the other.) In some plants, the cotyledons expand into a "baby leaf" pair that doesn't resembe the adult leaves. (The root grows first and lifts the cotyledons out of the ground, then the cotyledons enlarge.) That might be what your'e seeing here, except that those cotyledons don't look like they've changed shape much. I'm assuming those are normal-sized beech leaves in the background, so that's a good-sized seedling. Maybe it was a pretty big seed (nut) to start with. I could probably find it if I started googling for beech seedling, oak seedling, hazelnut...

The reddish stuff with rough edges will become adult-shape leaves.


Meanwhile, in the Boston area, I'm learning how to use flash to make the background seem dark so that flowers stand out:

but natural light is still useful:

 

[1HappyHiker]

1happyhiker, that's an early shoot - the two "petals" are cotyledons . . . I'm assuming those are normal-sized beech leaves in the background, so that's a good-sized seedling. Maybe it was a pretty big seed (nut) to start with. I could probably find it if I started googling for beech seedling, oak seedling, hazelnut. . .

Thank you, Nartreb . . . very much appreciated!

As you suggested, I did a google search for "beech seedling" and came up with a few images that somewhat resemble the image that I posted. The resemblance was close enough so that I'm convinced it is indeed a beech seedling, albeit a very robust one! If it survives being trampled, it should grow to become a very handsome beech tree!

 

[Elizabeth]

Trout Lily with stamens by Elizabeth W.K., on Flickr
Trout Lily in Dorchester, NH For some reason I have had a hard time getting a good shot of trout lilies.




Jack-in-the-Pulpit by Elizabeth W.K., on Flickr
Jack-in-the-Pulpit in Lyme, NH

So I tried using the flash. No dark background effect, though. Still learning . . .

 

[J&J]

A handful more...

Toothwort.

Jack-in-the-Pulpit.

Northern White Violet.

Lungwort Lichen.

Green Frog.

Eastern Garter snake tasting to see what I was.

A Spring rainbow over North and Middle Sugarloaf.