Coltsfoot

Elinor, the 14 year old girl of 1942 grew up on a farm that has one of the most spectacular views in New England. The name of that farm today is Black Birch Vineyard... and even though the name has changed, and I may not find all the flowers that Elinor did, one thing remains the same.... the beauty of this parcel of land. I ventured down to the North branch of the Manhan River and found this Coltsfoot flower growing on its banks. One of the interesting characteristics of the Coltsfoot flower is that it comes up before its leaves. One of the names given to this flowering plant, and there are many, is filius-ante-patrem, which is Latin and means, son before father. What you are seeing are two different kinds of flowers on the same flower head. Ray flowers which resemble sun rays, and disk flowers which are in the center. (If you click on the flower you can see this more clearly) Even though it looks like a Dandilion it is really quite special... it is what is called monotypic, which means it is the only species within its genus.

Elinor did not mention Coltsfoot on her list.

This years blog starts on April 15th 2013, Spring! A new Beginning, is the title. If you would like to know the back ground story to this years blog, please go back and read about how Elinor became part of this blog.