The official 2010 Spring wildflowers thread...

[grouseking]

A few from a recent trip to Chocorua.

Not sure of this one?

I think that is a bog laurel.

 

[Mark Schaefer]

I think that is a bog laurel.

cooperhilll and grouseking , I believe it is Sheep Laurel (Kalmia angustifolia) rather than Bog Laurel (Kalmia polifolia). The flowers of Bog Laurel are at the end of stems. On Sheep Laurel the stems terminate with leaves, and the clusters of blossoms are further back from the terminal leaves as is the case in cooperhill's photo.

And yes everything appears to be flowering early this year. In the Catskills and mid-Hudson Valley of New York flowers are blooming about 19-21 days ahead of last year.

 

[1HappyHiker]

Although it's not a spring-flower, I thought this was a picturesque patch of lichen that was spotted on a ledge at about 2,600 ft while hiking on 11-Jun-2010 in the vicinity of Kearsarge North.

 

[w7xman]

Trudged through a small, unmarked bog in Strafford today with some folks who knew where they were going, cause I sure didn't. But we found what we were after...the Rose Pagonia orchid!

Complete blog post and more pics here...

 

[Kevin Judy and Emma]

Beautiful Find!

Worth the effort, great blog report and great shots!.

KDT

 

[RickB.]

Bearberry Willow, Little Monroe, 6-9-10.

 

[DougPaul]

Not really a flower, but...
British Soldier Lichen:

Pixie cups:

The overall scene:

Found near summit of Mt Carr, Jun 9, 2010.

Doug

 

[DougPaul]

Water Lilly, Sudbury River, Jun 15, 2010

Doug

 

[audrey]

Doug, the british soldiers and pixie cups are two separate species in the genus Cladonia. They tend to associate with each other, perhaps because they like the same growing conditions.

 

[DougPaul]

Doug, the british soldiers and pixie cups are two separate species in the genus Cladonia. They tend to associate with each other, perhaps because they like the same growing conditions.

OK. I was told the cups were fruiting bodies and I presumed they were part of the British soldiers.

I had seen pictures of British soldiers many years ago--I didn't realize they were so small... I didn't spot them myself--one of my co-hikers was a botanist and she pointed them out.

Anyhoo, I thought they were interesting and sufficiently "flower-like". Hopefully some others did too.

Doug

 

[Elizabeth]

Anyone recognize this ~3' high shrub, found at about 4,000' on the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail?

 

[nartreb]

Possibly an Amelanchier (a.k.a. shadbush, serviceberry, and several other names), though those usually have narrower petals and more flowers per cluster. It's obviously in the rose family, and off the top of my head I can't think of another suitable shrub - genus Prunus (cherries) have similar flowers, but I think they all flower before the leaves show; genus Malus (apples) have less obvious serrations on their leaves.

 

[JohnL]

I had no idea what these were when I took this image but I liked their striking red color. Thanks for the identification.

Another battalion of British Soldiers with Pixie Cups alongside:

JohnL

 

[Elizabeth]

It's Bartram's shadbush...



Yes, and yes -- Amelanchier bartramiana

Thanks! I had thought that it might be one of the hawthorns. Glad to be set straight.

 

[JohnL]

I'm amazed every time I go back under the power lines. There are so many wildflowers in what you would think is a wasteland.

Common Milkweed

Red Osier

Spreading Dogbane

Whorled Loosestrife

Purple Loosestrife

Deptford Pink

Swamp Rose

Unidentified - Need some help on this one.

JohnL

 

[arghman]

Unidentified - Need some help on this one.

Penstemon sp. (but there are about a hundred zillion species of them, so good luck)

p.s. great photo -- it illustrates why the common name for penstemon species is "beardtongue"

 

[arghman]

Wild Madder

are you sure? that looks like a dogwood (Cornus sp.), the leaves are very distinctive

 

[JohnL]

are you sure? that looks like a dogwood (Cornus sp.), the leaves are very distinctive

I'm fairly certain of the identification. It matches all the descriptions and photos I have of Gallium mollugo. I don't recall the leaves looking like C. stolonifera but I can go back tomorrow night and check with more photos.

JohnL

 

[forestgnome]

John L, awesome images...nice work! Thanks for posting. Tried to reward you with a greenie but the system is intent on egalitarianism. I'll have to instead reward someone else for their pulse.

Thanks for sharing your beautiful images ...awesome colors, crisp focus yet a soft, warm overall feel...nice

happy trails

 

[JohnL]

are you sure? that looks like a dogwood (Cornus sp.), the leaves are very distinctive

I stand corrected. Thanks for catching the error. When I went back out to look at them last night I could see from 15 feet away that my ID was incorrect.

JohnL