May 21, 2011 Late Arrivals

In the past week new flowers came into bloom.  Today in a walk around Bowen Lake at Chain O' Lakes State Park there were five flowers we haven't shown yet in the blog.  They are some of the latest of  woodland spring flowers.  As the tree leaf canopy gets heavier, less light reaches the forest floor, and fewer species bloom.

Blue-Eyed Grass, Sisyrinchium angustifolium

Blue-Eyed Grass is actually a small (1/2 inch flower diameter) Iris, not a grass, even though the leaves look like grass.

Doll's-Eyes, Actaea pachypoda

Dolls-Eyes' tiny flowers cluster at the end of the stem.  Their name comes from their late summer white berry with a black spot, which looks like dolls eyes.

Dolls-Eyes berries, August 16, 2007

Wild Columbine isn't in many of the local woods we frequent.  I was happy to find it today.

Wild Columbine, Aguilegia canadensis

Wild Columbine up close

Several species of Solomon's Seal flowers bloom locally in May: Hairy Solomon's Seal, Smooth Solomon's Seal, False Solomon's Seal and Starry FalseSolomon's seal, which is the least common.  All four were flowering today on the Bowen Lake trail.  Below is Starry False Solomon's Seal

Starry False Solomon's Seal, Maianthemum stellatum

Green Dragon is a close relative of Jack-in-the Pulpit.  Jack is about done for the season, but the Green Dragon is at its peak.  This is mot a common flower and is easy to miss.  It grows in wet environments.  We've seen it in only 4-5 local woods.

Green Dragon, Arisaema dracontium

Notice the long thin spadix that sticks out of the spathe like a tongue.

Below are the native flowers in bloom, other than those pictured above:

Golden Ragwort, Packera aurea
Wild Geranium,  Geranium maculatum
Wild Phlox, Phlox divaricata
Sweet Cicely, Osmorhiza species
May-Apple, Podophyllum peltatum
Hairy Solomon's Seal, Polygonatum pubescens
Smooth Solomon's Seal, Polygonatum biflorum
False Solomon's Seal, Maianthemum racemosum
Common Blue Violet, Viola sororia
Cleavers, Galium aparine
Large-Flowered Trillium, T, grandiflorum  (almost over)
Rue Anemone, Thalictrum thalictroides