2011 spring wildflower thread

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Fringed Looststrife Lysimachia ciliata

6040562790_8fc0620626.jpg


Asiatic dayflower Commelina communis

6040013781_c0570df235.jpg


I also found some Virgin's Bower Clematis virginiana along the path yesterday but it took me until this morning to identify it. I had forgotten that the flowers were in a spread-out network of vines.

6041945368_30225ff471.jpg


JohnL
 
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Need some help from our resident botanists out there.

I was out photographing more of my favorite Cardinal Flowers on Saturday but since I had previously posted a photo of a Cardinal Flower I decided to hold onto these. However in sorting & filing I noticed that I had a flower (below) with four lower lobes instead of the usual three. Does anyone know if this is rare, unusual or fairly common? I have noticed two flowers so far in my Saturday shots with this same peculiarity. Thanks.

JohnL

6043600730_c126b8681f.jpg
 
JohnL, if you search through VFTT you'll find several previous examples of plants with non-canonical numbers of petals and/or leaves. Four-leaf clovers are just the most well-known example. I don't know anything about cardinal flowers in particular; some species have more variety than others, but in general this sort of thing turns up with some regularity if you look for it.

Speaking of not being an expert, anybody wanna try to ID the species of this goldenrod?


And do we have an entomologist in the house? I'm nearly sure this is a Luna Moth:


How about an arachnologist? Some kind of orb-weaver:


Finally, back to the topic of flowers: we've seen these in this thread already but I liked this shot:
 
Yeah, I kinda figured. But I was too lazy to shoot the leaves/stem, and now I don't remember what they looked like.

How 'bout this gentian? G. Clausa?
attachment.php
 
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nartreb said:
Yeah, I kinda figured. But I was too lazy to shoot the leaves/stem, and now I don't remember what they looked like.

How 'bout this gentian?
attachment.php
Click to expand...

hmm, which state? in NH the blue closed gentians are Gentiana linearis / andrewsii / clausa. Probably linearis, probably not clausa (leaves would be fatter). I'm not sure about andrewsii.
 
This was in Vermont (Stowe area, fairly low elevation). Linearis is called red-stemmed gentian and the photos I see online match that moniker. These ones were green-stemmed.

Here's another photo that shows the leaves a little better - they don't seem remarkably narrow to me.
attachment.php


I chose the previous photo because the petal tips are in clear focus - I don't see the fringes that would be diagnostic of Andrewsii.
 
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You people do know that Spring is way past, and Summer is more than half over! :D

It will be time for a Fall Wildflower Thread soon! :p ;)

But they are all still gorgeous!
 
grass-of-Parnassus
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not a clue! reminds me of pearly everlasting, but of course, its not!
2918941180099656796S425x425Q85.jpg


Kalm's lobelia I think
2249817580099656796S425x425Q85.jpg


northern green orchid (pretty sure)
2900906190099656796S425x425Q85.jpg


luna moth caterpillar! It just feel out of a tree right in front of me today!
2591301450099656796S600x600Q85.jpg
 
arghman said:
Aha, you were at a calcareous riverside seep. You folks in the CT river valley are lucky. :)

That's boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum)
Click to expand...

Thanks! And, yup, you deduced exactly where I was! I was on the West edge of the CT River Valley in Corinth. The woods were FULL of calcareous plants. And caterpillars falling from the sky. And snails. The view wasn't bad either. I could see (s to n) Cardigan, Smarts, Cube, Moosilauke (and Benton Range), Kinsmen, Franconia Ridge, Bond?, Northern Presies, Kilkenny. Pretty sweet spot! Of course, I was in the woods all day on Monday getting soaked to the bone as well.....it all evens out.:)
 
Impatiens spp.:

I. capensis


I. pallida


Oligoneuron album (upland white aster)

This is a good time to post a reminder about IDing asters -- if you want ID help, when you're at the plant in question, take pictures of three things:
  • the flowers and their arrangement w/r/t the rest of the plant
  • the leaves
  • if at all possible, get a close-up of the flower bracts (those overlapping green things on the back of the flowerhead, see 2nd picture above) -- useful for IDing asters, joe-pye-weeds, + several other groups in the Asteraceae family.

some other examples of aster floral bracts (pics from prior years):

(from left to right: Eurybia spectabilis, Sericocarpus asteroides, Sericocarpus linifolius, Symphyotrichum laeve, Symphyotrichum patens)
 
Yesterday from the open scrub land near the house:

Wild Lettuce; Canada Lettuce Lactuca canadensis

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Wandlike Bush Clover; Milk Pea Lespedeza intermedia

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From a couple weekends ago on the Nancy Pond Trail:

False Violet; Robin-run-away; Dewdrop Dalibarda repens

6019633283_44a013799b.jpg


JohnL
 
More ID help?

Some kind of mint... (click for bigger) Tastes kind of like oregano.


Harder one: damp location and bladelike leaves had me thinking this was an iris, but could it be a lily instead? I wasn't really paying attention to the leaves and didn't get a photo.
 
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