Blueberry

My hope is that you will click on the photo to see how beautiful this flower is. And so unique. Isn't it charming? It is early for the blueberry flower ...but this one was nestled up next to an old log and in full sun. The star shape is what probably inspired the Native Americans to call them Star Berrys. The five points are also on the blue fruit. They grow very well after a fire and I think it was Robert Frost that wrote that he could taste the soot when he ate Blueberries. Wild bees are the most common pollinator.

Where I found it: In the woods where a logging company had recently been through.

Sweet White Violet

T. S. Eliot wrote that "April is the cruelest month".  I don't agree.... though, we are having an unusual Spring in the Northeast, I am thrilled with the nine flowers that I have found so early in the month of April. I am saying this is the Sweet White Violet because of its reddish stem and the cut of the leaves.... but the more I read and try to narrow it down, the more unsure I am. It is indeed fragrant as the Sweet White Violet should be, very sweet.
In reading up on the Sweet White Violet, I read and interesting thing about the insects that go to violets for their nectar..... some cheat! Instead of following the guiding lines on the face of the violet, and going in through the front... some insects cut through the spur, behind the petals and sneak the nectar out that way. Some violets such as the Sweet Violets have sepals that cover the spur and so maybe protecting themselves from insects that would take the violets nectar without helping to pollinate the flower.

Where I found it: In the yard.

Periwinkle

 This flower has not been included in my flower count of previous years, because I thought it was a garden plant not a wild flower. This year I have noticed it included in lists of wild flowers so I will add it to my list. It goes by other names, as I found out on a hike with some friends.... one name is Myrtle and another is Vinca Vine. Different cultures have viewed this flower in different ways. In Germany, in times past, it was considered the Flower of Immortality.  In Italy it was known as the Flower of Death. And in France, the Flower of Friendship.

Where I found it: In the yard.

Dandelion

 I may be part of a dieing breed, but I really enjoy these jolly looking flowers. They come early in the Spring and stay with us, flowering all the way through the Fall. Their name in French is, Dents de Lion, translating .... teeth of lion.This, some believe, is because of the deeply toothed leaf margins. The Dandelion  is actually made up of 100 to 200 rays, which are really tiny-tube shaped flowers, and because there are so many tiny nectar holding flowers on one head, I have read that 93 to 100 species frequent the Dandelion for its nectar. Another delightful thing about this flower is ...  remember blowing on them and making a wish when they were in their seed stage.  So, when life gets to be too much, do what Opus the comic strip penguin use to do, go and sit in a lawn that still has Dandelions in it, and take a "dandelion break".

Where I found it: In the yard

Trailing Arbutus

 I was reminded yesterday that this little flower is out.....  Arbutus has such a lovely scent which only intensifies with age. It is easy to miss, because these little flowers (less than half an inch) grow low to the ground barely sticking their heads above the leaf litter. It is the state flower of Massachusetts and is protected by law. Some may be surprised that this is our state flower.... I think the confusion lies in the fact that it goes by more than one name. May Flower being one. In Massachusetts there is another flower that is also called May Flower, though its full name is Canada May Flower. The later flower is much more plentiful, growing everywhere, and it is easy to see how a resident of this state could assume that when the state flower is mentioned, the Canada May Flower is what comes to mind. Trailing Arbutus has been called May Flower for a very long time.... John Greenleaf Whittier even wrote about them in a poem. Folklore has it that it was the first flower the Pilgrims saw after their very difficult first winter in New England.  It was at that time, referred to as a May Flower. Maybe... named after the ship that brought them safely through their long hard journey to the new world, not unlike the long hard journey through their first winter..... or so the story goes.


Where I found it: road side

Marsh Marigold

 I have been watching these in a wetland area of the woods. They have been up and in bud for a week or two. Today revealed a single flower willing to brave the early Spring.The Marsh Marigold is also called Cowslip. Thoreau called them Cow's Lips.This flower attracts more than 40 different kinds of bees. It reflects light in the ultraviolet range and looks yellow to humans but purple to bees. If you click on the photo you will see the "nectar guide" lines that leads the bee to the center of the flower.

Where I found it: wet, swampy spots that have sun exposure during the early Spring.

Bloodroot or Deadman's Fingers

 Today's find is such a treat. It grows up out of the leaf debris, cuddled in its leaf. I was told years ago that this flower also goes by the name ... Deadman's Fingers. Being the amateur naturalist that I am.... I thought I should find a little more information about this nickname, and I found no reference to this flower going  by that name. I have taken children on nature walks and told them the gory story behind this nickname and it is often the flower they always remember. If you could see below the leaf debris into the soil you would see an underground stem that resembles the shape of a finger, and if you happen to slice off a piece of that underground stem you would notice how red and, excuse me for saying
this, juicy it looks. I can almost hear the children groaning with delight.
 I have included the entry of Bloodroot from my nature journal so you can
 see the root and what it looks like when it has been sliced.

Where I found it: In the woods, on a sunny, sloped site.