Flower for the Day Wingstem 9-30-2020

Wingstem (Verbesina alternifolia) is a perennial forb (herbaceous non-grass  flowering plant) that is in the sunflower family. It is also called yellow ironweed. It is messy and wild.

Its claim to fame is that it grows and grows. These are 8-9 feet tall.

Flower for the Day Spotted Touch-Me-Not 9-29-2020

Here is another new flower which we found on a recent hike. It is a colorful wildflower which lives on a large bush, a spotted touch-me-not (Impatiens capensis). It has orange flowerhead with red spots. It is

is also called orange jewelweed, common jewelweed, spotted jewelweed and orange balsam.

Impatiens is Latin for impatience which refers to the seed which bursts on touch when ripe. This is called explosive dehiscence or ballistochory and results in its name touch-me-not.

Flower for the Day Azure Blue Sage 9-25-20

Azure blue sage (Salvia azure) is a herbaceous perennial that began blooming in August. It is also called azure sage, blue sage, and prairie sage. The blue flowers have sepals (calyxes) that are tubular and furry.

Its fun to find a new flower. The little spikes are interesting.

Flower for the Day Texas Palafox 9-23-2020

This flower bloomed about three weeks ago in several places where I have put wildflowers seeds over the years. I have never seen it before. It is Texas  palafox (Palafox texana). There are at least three large plants.

Palafox is in the aster family. It is a drought-tolerant annual herb that grows on sandy plains and rangeland.

How it appeared is a mystery. This genus is named after Jose de Palafox y Melzi, Duke of Saragossa(1776–1847), a Spanish captain-general, in the war against the invading armies of Napolean.

Texas palafox is mainly found in south Texas but I am happy too have it even though it is described as ephemeral here.

Flower for the Day Slender False Foxglove 9-22-2020

Slender false foxglove (agalinis tenuifolia) is flourishing on a shady hillside. It is a small plant with 

miniature flower heads. The flower buds are white.

Its flower head stands out from the other false foxgloves with two petals forming a hood and the other three flaring out. The corolla is lavender with five rounded lobes. The lower

interior of the corolla has dark purple spots and a pair of faint yellow lines. Near the upper interior of the corolla there are four stamens with hairy white anthers and an undivided white style with a pale yellow tip.

 

 

 

 

 

I love miniature flowers with spots like this one and the Depthford pink.

Don's Blog Mushroom II 9-22-2020

This mushroom is Witches Hat(Hygrocybe conica). It is also called conical waxy cap, blackening wax cap, and the ever popular conical slimy cap. It is a gilled mushroom whose cap (pileus) is 1-9 cm across and whose stalk (stipe) is 3-10 cm tall. These mushrooms develop blackish discolorations ending up looking damaged.The gills of the Witch's Cap start out white but eventually turn yellow and then orange before finally turning black.

          They are edible but no one eats them because they are waxy and slimy. I wouldn't eat           them because I don't eat wild mushrooms whether they are named or not. It does have           a shiny and perky look.

 

Don's Blog Mushroom I 9-18-2020

I have been looking at mushrooms for years but had no clue what kind they were. I didn't care if they were edible - I would never eat a wild mushroom. Recently a friend got a mushroom identification app that seems to work great for her. Its fun to learn more about these 'shrooms'.

This little red mushroom is called scarlet hood (Hydrocybe coccinea). Its also called scarlet wax cap and righteous red waxy cap. The top of a mushroom is called the cap.It acts like an umbrella for protection of the gills and spores that are below the cap. The  gills (spines or pores) hold the microscopic seeds of the mushroom.

 

It is reportedly edible but you won't see me scarfing it down.

    Since I have been looking  for   mushroomswhat surprises me is how quickly they grow.

                     

 

Don's Blog Trilobite 9- -2020

You might know that my home gardens are mostly edged with Missouri creek rock. Sometimes as I look down to admire the rock I see something of interest. This rock has several imprints of trilobites. A trilobite is an extinct marine arthropod, an invertebrate crustacean.  Trilobites have been extinct since the age of the dinosaurs, about 251 million years ago. It is always fun to 'discover' something that has been in my creek rocks that long.

Flower for the Day Tick Trefoil 9-17-2020

In the early 1970's we took an Acclimatization Workshop at the Shaw Arboretum with Steve Van Matre.

It was life changing. I had been hiking,backpacking, trekking, and paddling for most of my life starting in the pre-teen years. Most of the time my view was macro as I enjoyed the overall experience of being immersed in the woods and mountains  and on the lakes and rivers.

Steve's workshop was about a micro view - looking down at what was under your feet. In one exercise we were each assigned a three foot square of woodland meadow and we were asked to create a  guided nature walk through our kingdom to show what was there. It was powerful and I think was the genesis of my love for miniature flowers.

Tick trefoil (Desmodium perplexum) is a perennial in the bean family. Although the the plant stems can grow to 1-2 feet tall, the flowers are small - less than a centimeter. They are so small that it is sometimes difficult to see their origin.

These flowers have a typical structure for members of the Bean family, consisting of a hood and projecting keel. Near the center of each flower is a patch of white that is surrounded by a thin line of purple. The plant re-seeds itself.

Flower for the Day Ageratum 9-16-2020

Two of my woodland wildflower gardens are brimming with ageratum. It is also called Floss Flower and 

is in the aster family.

These are a pleasing lavender color.

Haiku

I kiss the corner of your smile

And I can taste laughter

In your soul

JS Parker

Flower for the Day Fall Yellows 9-15-2020

My field gardens are ablaze with yellows. This is Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta). It has many forms but is always pleasing.

This is perky little native is called brown-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia triloba). It is also called a Branched Coneflower or a Thin Leaved Coneflower. It is a clump forming densely branched biennial. A biennial takes two years to come to fruition from seed.

 

This flower creates a carpet of yellow on the edge.

It is Tickseed Sunflower (Bidens aristosa) which looks a little like plains coreopsis. They have bright yellow rays and golden discs. They are in the aster family.

Flower for the Day Butterfly Weed 9-14-2020

We have a small stand of late blooming butterfly weed (Asclepius tuberosa). The seeds came from my med school roommate several years ago and it comes up yearly. As I approached it the other day there were two

monarchs on one of the clumps. I got my camera out as quickly as possible and took several pictures. I saw one fly away but felt good to get one still in position. When I checked the images later I found that I had captured both of them. There is a monarch flying center right. The surprises are the best part of the process.

The depth of color of butterfly weed is amazing. I would like to hop on there and get some nectar.

Flower for the Day Globe Amaranth 9-12-2020

I purchased some globe amaranth (Gomfrena globosa) from my entrepreneurial great nephew many years ago. 

It is still going strong. It grows in the garden or in a container. I put the dry seed heads in a sack and replant them yearly. 

Who doesn't love little purple balls?

Flower for the Day Showy Milkweed 9-9-2020

We tried to lure  monarch butterflies with showy milkweed (Asclepius speciosa). It grew and grew and then grew some more. Finally it was close to 6 feet high but it never bloomed.

This is the closest it came to blooming.

The rain storms would blow it over and I would straighten it up and finally staked it. The lower leaves started to die and finally only the top 20% was still green. I cut it down and only then noticed three large monarch caterpillars on the underside of several of the leaves. It turns out that one of my neighbors has a monarch butterfly nursery for caterpillars and chrysalis's. I took the caterpillars across the street and hopefully we can show some progeny after awhile. We shall see.

Don's Blog Surprise Visitor 9-4-2020

Its been quite a week: the pandemic as usual - redhot politics heating up more - food deliveries - we 

finally got some rain - fall flowers are beginning to show up - sadly a good friend and neighbor passed away at  home down the street - this was Eye Week so I had shots in both eyes for my macular problem - saw my new doctor as my second straight doctor retired ( I guess its good to outlast them) - went with Jan to her physical therapist - Labor Day weekend is about to start - and oh yes our friend Elizabeth from across the pond came by for a surprise at 7:30 this morning.

She did not have much to say but it was great to see her. She is a calming influence. How would you feel if you found her at your back door? We have always felt that she was larger than life. In person, she really is. 

It was such a surprise as we know that Queens do not come to the back door. Please let us knowif you know who arranged this visit. We think it might somehow be connected to Silver Girl. It certainly made our day.

Flower for the Day Moon Vine 9-1-2020

At the same time that the Queen of the Night (NBC) has been opening up we have another night bloomer.Our moon vine (Ipomoea alba) has been flowering. It is also called white morning glory or moonflower. It blooms in the dark of night and is withered by sunrise. The bloom lives for one night only. The flowers are large and impressive. It is the night before a full moon.

Haiku: Moonflower

my darkened garden –
the moon appears here and there
as a white flower

 June 12, 2018 / Isabel Caves