Violets

I rarely take the time to identify violets.... they are like sparrows and finches soooo many similarities. So, last year I wrote about the flower and its history, mostly the European history. This year I will write an interesting tidbit about U.S. history. At the beginning of the 1900s when people everywhere were financially struggling, in Rhinebeck N.Y. people started building green houses and growing violets to supply New York City and other locations with nosegays. Rhinebeck N.Y, became very successful in this endeavor and became known as the Violet Capital of the World. Later, after World War One, when the Violets popularity was declining Eleanor Roosevelt continued to wear violets to try to keep their popularity afloat.

Violets, as you can imagine, were on Patsy's list of 1942.

Bluet/ Quaker Ladies

In the year 1942, Bluet was the very first flower on Patsy's list. She made note of it on April 1, 1942. Bluets seem like such a simple and humble flower ... thus the common name Quaker Ladies. The Bluet is really more complex than it appears. What you are seeing is a flower without petals... What looks like four petals are really just lobes of the corolla which is the funnel like base of the flower. Also these quaint little flowers are Dimophous, which means they occur in two forms. I have included two close up photos of the opening of the corolla so you can see what is meant by Dimophous. If you click on the photos to get a closer look you will see that one opening has a two lobed stigma sticking out, and the other has four anthers that seem to fill the opening of the corolla and not sticking out at all. The stigma is the head of the female part of the flower and anthers are the head of the male parts of the flower. Each flower has both male and female parts but they are out of reach from each other. In the flower where the two lobed stigma is so long that it goes beyond the opening of the corolla the anters are positioned only half way up the inside of the corolla and the opposite occurs in the other flower where the male parts are longer. This insures that they do not self pollinate and are dependent on insects for cross pollination. Now, to look at it, you never would have guessed that this flower is such a complex little beauty.

Bloodroot with a Twist

 Carol Gracie writes in her new book, Spring Wildflowers, that Bloodroot flowers usually have eight petals. The twist is that in 1916, in Ohio, the first and only Multiplex Bloodroot (the second photo) was found in the wild with many more petals. Gracie goes on with the story about the multi-petaled Bloodroot.... the plant from Ohio was divided and given to two people to grow... one of the plants died and the other plants location was a mystery for some time. It was revealed that some one in the Montreal Botanical Garden had it and had given many divisions of the plant away over time. Imagine my surprise when I happen to see one growing against the foundation of the farm house. Mary said it came from her sisters garden. The second flower photo you see is the Multiplex ... the difference is obvious, but what you are seeing is a Bloodroot that has converted all its pistils and stamen into petals thus making it unable to reproduce. In the first photo you will see the pistals and stamen in the center of the flower.

As I wrote before  Patsy did find Bloodroot in 1942, but not the Multiplex Bloodroot.

Check out Carol Gracie's new book Spring Flower of the Northeast , It is a very exciting read.

Trilliums

This Trillium is quite spectacular. It was pointed out to me by Mary, owner of Black Birch Vineyard. It surprised me because it appears to be a multiflowering Trillium. A rare occurance in nature. Only 15% of Trillium plants can store enough energy to put forth the one flower. I would hate to disturb such a robust plant but it would be interesting to see how old this plant is. This can be done by looking at the rhizome. The rhizome produces what are sort of like growth rings, and can be counted like the rings on a tree. Trillium can live to a ripe old age. Some have lived to 70 years.

This flower is found on Patsy's list from 1942

Sunday in Patsy's footsteps

 It was a beautiful morning as you can see in the upper field of what is now Black Birch Vineyard. At the back of this field, in the woods where it became quite boggy I found two flowers... The first flower photo is Gold Thread,  and is on Patsy's list from 1942. The second flower photo is of Dwarf Ginseng and this flower is not on her list.
Gold Thread was found in a rather boggy area near what I believe to be an animals den. This flower is interesting to me because, what you think are white petals are really sepals, and if you click on the photo you will see what looks like short yellow cup shaped lollipops that are nectar holding petals. The stamen are white and longer than the petals. The styles are bright green. This plant is called Gold Thread because if you dig up the plant you will discover a network of  gold colored fine roots coming from the rhizome of this plant. Early in this countries history, Gold Thread was used to make medicine by the American Indians and the Colonists, and that more medicine made from Gold Thread was sold in Boston than any other medicine.
The second flower is Dwarf Ginseng and is not the Ginseng that is used for medicinal reasons. Unlike its relative that has been over harvested and now considered rare in 31 states, this one is not in danger and if you dig up the tuber ...it can be eaten raw or boiled.

In my last entry, Sessile Leaved Bellwort, I wrote that Patsy did not find this flower on her farm in 1942 but actually she did. I discovered it this morning on her list.

Sessile Bellwort / Wild Oats

The Generic name is Uvalaria Sessilfolia which is said to be derived from the word Uvula, which is that small fleshy piece that hangs down at the back of our throats. If you look at the photos you will see where they were going when they named this flower. The Latin is Sessilis folium, which refers to the way the leaves are attached to the plant with no stem, thus the name Sessile Bellwort. The writer of Doctrine of Signatures ( "a means in which Divine intent was communicated to mankind" ) saw the resemblance to the way the Uvula hangs down and the way this flower hangs down and it was then assumed that this plant could be used to cure and sooth sore throats and/or treatment for the mouth cavity in general. Even our American Indians back in the 1700's were using this plant for the same purpose.
I didn't see this flower on Pat's list ... but some of her flowers have names that were used then and aren't used so much now so I will let you know if I find out differently.

Field Pansy

Often times I take the photo as close up to the face of the flower as I can. This is what I (and probably many others) call a "bees eye view". Today's Field Pansy is not much bigger than my finger nail. Click on the photo and you will see what the bee is looking for... the dark lines leading up to where the nectar is. The lines are to bees, what the lights lining the airport runways are to airplanes. It shows them in what direction to come in for a landing. The hairs around the opening lead the insect's proboscis down into the spur where the nectar is waiting. As I have written before this tiny plant has such big plans... Though you can't tell by looking at it, it has the potential to produce up to as many as two thousand five hundred seeds. And, if I remember correctly it has the strength to cast off those seeds as far away as thirty feet. I did not see this plant on Pat's list.... but I bet that in the year 1942 Pat and her siblings were gathering some of the flowers we have mentioned to fill May Baskets. Happy May Day everyone. Give someone a basket of flowers and remember each basket comes with a kiss.