wild flower – Page 9 – Michael Stephen Wills Photography

Mesquite Flowers and Seeds

desert survival

June 4, 2023 MichaelStephenWills

Mesquite is the Sonoran Desert smell carried by distant rain, omnipresent and humble, a survivor with tap root extending 190 feet down to draw on the water table.

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Prosopis is the scientific name for about 40 species of leguminous trees. Present in North America since the Pliocene era, mesquite wood has been dated to 1300 BC.

I found this flowering mesquite bush in Finger Rock Canyon of the Catalina Mountains outside Tucson, Arizona.

They are thought to have evolved with megafauna in the New World. The loss of North American megafauna at the end of the Pleistocene era gave way to one theory of how the Prosopis spp. were able to survive.

One theory is that the loss of the megafauna allowed Prosopis spp. to use their fruit pods to attract other organisms to spread their seeds; then, with the introduction of livestock, they were able to spread into grasslands.

The plentiful legumes that develop from these flowers are edible when cooked. The shape and color of the seeds can be understood from this empty seed pod that happens to lie near a tarantula burrow.

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References:

“Mesquite,” Wikipedia

Disappeared

Very Rare

June 3, 2023June 2, 2023 MichaelStephenWills4 Comments

I was lucky enough to live near the site of these wild orchids back in the early 2000’s, close enough to enjoy serial visits, enough to find this perfect moment titled “After the Rain.” In recent visits there were no specimens to be found. The reasons for the disappearance are not clear.

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Showy lady’s slipper, scientific name Cypripedium reginae, is also known as pink-and-white lady’s-slipper, and queen’s lady’s-slipper, is a rare lady’s-slipper orchid native to northern North America. Although never common, this plant has vanished from much of its historical range due to habitat loss. It is the state flower of Minnesota.

Cypripedium reginae grows in wetlands such as fens, wooded swamps, and riverbanks. Cypripedium reginae thrives in neutral to basic soils but can be found in slightly acidic conditions. The plants often form in clumps by branching of the underground rhizomes. Its roots are typically within a few inches of the top of the soil. It prefers very loose soil and when growing in fens it will most often be found in mossy hummocks.

It can tolerate full sun but prefers partial shade for some part of the day. When exposed to full sun, the flower lip is somewhat bleached and less deeply colored. It is occasionally eaten by white-tailed deer.

Cypripedium reginae can be found in Canada from Saskatchewan east to Atlantic Canada, and the United States from North Dakota east to the Atlantic and south to Arkansas and Tennessee.

Cypripedium reginae is quite rare. Its increasing rarity is attributable to destruction of a suitable alkaline habitat; it is sensitive to hydrologic disturbances, and is threatened by wetland draining, water contamination, habitat destruction and horticultural collectors. Browsing by an exploding deer population stunts or eliminates the plant’s growth.

Cypripedium reginae contains an irritant, cypripedin, a phenanthrenequinone. The plant is known to cause dermatitis on the hands and face. The first report of the allergy reaction was in 1875 by H. H. Babcock in the United States, 35 years before the term “allergy” was coined. The allergen was later isolated in West Germany by Bjorn M. Hausen and associates.

Reference: “Cypripedium reginae” wikipedia

Images and captions Copyright 2023 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved

Common and Beautiful

Happy June First!!

June 2, 2023May 30, 2023 MichaelStephenWills2 Comments

False Solomon’s Seal, scientific name Maianthemum racemosum, is common in the Finger Lakes Region. I found this specimen during a walk with the grandchildren in a local fen among the post-glacial terrain of the Finger Lakes Region.

False Solomon’s Seal is a common, widespread plant with numerous common names and synonyms, known from every US state except Hawaii, and from every Canadian province and territory (except Nunavut and the Yukon), as well as from Mexico. What name do YOU know it by?

Because it resembles plants of the highly toxic Veratrum genus, this species should not be consumed unless identification is positive. The plant becomes fibrous and bitter after it completes flowering and seed-setting, but the tender young shoots can be stripped of their leaves, simmered in water and eaten. Their delicate flavor is somewhat reminiscent of asparagus. The ripe fruits are edible raw or cooked but may be poor in taste. They can be laxative if consumed in large quantities.

Ojibwa harvested the roots of this plant and cooked them in lye water overnight to remove the bitterness and neutralize their strong laxative qualities. Native Americans boiled the roots to make tea for medicinal purposes, including to treat rheumatism, kidney issues, and wounds and back injuries.

Reference: “Maianthemum racemosum” wikipedia

Images and captions Copyright 2023 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved

For Tiny Feet

Happy June First!!

June 1, 2023May 30, 2023 MichaelStephenWills

Yellow Lady’s Slipper, scientific name Cypripedium parviflorum, is also known as “Moccasin Flower.” I found these on a walk with the grandchildren in a local fen among post-glacial terrain. “All this swamp cabbage, phew!!,” said the youngest.

This is a wild orchid that grows all over, though picky as to habitat.

–Newfoundland to British-Columbia, south to Georgia, Arizona, and Washington; Europe.
–Newfoundland to Alaska and south to Oregon in the West.
–In the East along the Atlantic Coast, it is in every state except Florida and extends across to Louisiana and eastern Texas.
–New Mexico state: Catron, Colfax, Grant, Los Alamos, Otero, San Miguel, San Juan and Santa Fe Counties.
–Arizona state: Apache, Graham, and Greenlee Counties.

Habitats and requirements: A more upland plant preferring subacidic to neutral soils. Primarily in mesic to dry-mesic upland forests, woodlands with deep humus or layers of leaf litter, shaded boggy habitats, but also in hill prairies and occasionally in wetlands with organic, well-drained, sandy soils. Moderate shade to nearly full sun in fir, pine, and aspen forest between 6000 and 9500 feet (1830 and 2900 meters). Mountain meadows and on timbered slopes. Dripping seeps on steep to moderately sloped canyon walls.

Reference: “Cypripedium parviflorum” wikipedia

Images and captions Copyright 2023 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved

About to Open

wildflower among mosses

May 28, 2023May 26, 2023 MichaelStephenWills3 Comments

Unidentified wildflower growing on limestone ledge with mosses on aporil afternoon. Fillmore Glen New York State Park, Moravia, Cayuga County, New York

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Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills

Cactus Blossoms in Pima Canyon

Delicate buds develop into a flower, and then, into a cactus tuna

May 26, 2023May 25, 2023 MichaelStephenWills4 Comments

A set of photographs of buds and blossoms of the Prickly Pear Cactus taken in Pima Canyon of the Pusch Ridge Wilderness of the Catalina Mountains.

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Eight New Blossoms

Here are 8 flower bud growing from one cladode (pad). There is a 9th bud on a second cladode. What is interesting about these pads are the needle shadows. Although thin, each provides some protection from the sun.

Cactus Closeup

This delicate bud will develop into a flower and, then, into a cactus fruit (in spanish, tuna). The fruit retains those tiny spines, called glochids, which detach on the smallest contact. The pads are also covered with them.

Prickly pears are known for growing into thickets. The Cuban government created a “cactus curtain” of prickly pears around the Guantanamo naval base in the 1960’s, to prevent Cubans from escaping to refuge in the United States.

Cactus Flowers

Look closely at the anthers of these flowers. Each curls over when touched, depositing its pollen. The habit of prickly pears to grow together in thickets mean there are clusters of blossoms in springtime.

Copyright 2023 Michael Stephen Wills

Among the desert wildflowers

Among the grasses, cacti and lichen-covered rocks were many small wildflowers

May 13, 2023May 15, 2023 MichaelStephenWills5 Comments

See Evening on Two Bar Mountain for another chapter of my four-day solo expedition to Reavis Falls in the remote eastern Superstition Wilderness.

Campsite at Morning

On the late-morning of day three I climbed out of the Reavis Creek valley to camp on the slopes of Lime Mountain. There I watched the afternoon progress to evening, a full moon rise in a bright sky and other events featured in this blog. All around my campsite under a lone juniper the mountain side was blooming.

Grasses, Cacti and Flowers

Among the grasses, cacti and lichen-covered rocks were many small wildflowers. I was careful to avoid damaging them and otherwise enjoyed their beauty and plentiful blooms my entire stay. I capture some of them in the early morning light and spent some time identifying them for you.

Desert Hyacinth is a perennial lilly (Liliaceae).

It grows from an onion-like bulb used for food by pioneers and Native Americans. This lilly propagates through this bulb and, also, from seed that forms from these flowers.

The umbel-shaped flowers grow in clusters at the end of long, leafless stalks. Each blossom is an inch across and has six segments that are like petals.

Also called Blue Dicks, bluedicks, Papago lily, purplehead, grassnuts, covena, coveria.

Lupine is a pea, a perennial herb and a favorite of bees. Like other lupines, it improves the soil.
Their root nodules, with the aid of certain bacteria, allow lupines and other legumes to absorb free nitrogen from the air.

A member of the Phlox family (Polemonium), this five (5) petal flower bloomed in small groups on erect stalks with sparse leaves. The stamen heads are notable for a bright blue color.

Two Bar Mountain Views

Superstition Wilderness

May 11, 2023May 10, 2023 MichaelStephenWills3 Comments

Two Bar Mountain is only part of this view taken the evening of Day Three, my solo expedition to Reavis Falls in the Superstition Wilderness of Arizona.

The view encompasses most of the four day expedition, being the climb into the lower Reavis Creek Canyon from which I camped. I spent one entire day walking up the valley to the falls.

The patches of yellow on the far slopes to the left and into Reavis Valley are Mexican Poppy (Eschscholtzia californica) blooms.

To find lower Reavis Creek Canyon, look for the prominent cliff formation in the very center of the image. Follow the end of the cliff down to a dark shadow. The western canyon wall creates the heavy shadow. As you move to the right, in the image, the shadow becomes wider because the canyon wall becomes higher.

The view also encompasses a 2005 solo expedition over Two Bar Mountain using the Tule and Two Bar Ridge trails into the Superstition Wilderness around Pine Creek. See my blog “Racing the Sun” for an image Two Bar Mountain with the path of (most of) two days of that expedition.

An interesting feature of the full size image (lost in the small-scale reproduction of this blog) is the host of enormous saguaro cactuses marching up the sides of the canyon to the left, thinning out and ending on the western walls of the canyon (the slope directly beneath my viewpoint). Our course, each cactus is perfectly still, casting a huge shadow, and seems very tiny. The nearest is a mile away. We are seeing in this thinning host the lower Sonoran in transition to the upper Sonoran life zone.

All of this in one view from Lime Mountain. Here is another, taken just as the sun set.

Not Guilty

…for lack of evidence

May 5, 2023May 1, 2023 MichaelStephenWills6 Comments

Greater Bee Fly is reputed to be a nectar thief, making a cut in flower base to siphon off nectar without fertilizing the flower. This behavior is not in evidence here as it approaches this Carolina spring beauty on a late April afternoon along the South Rim trail of Fillmore Glen State Park.

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Instead, what we see is this fly using a long rigid proboscis, found in the front of the head, to probe and feed nectar from the flower base as would any other respectable bumblebee that is resembles and is commonly mistaken for.

Wild Sunflower

Composed of Ray Florets

May 4, 2023April 30, 2023 MichaelStephenWills2 Comments

As with other members of the family Asteraceae. Thinleaved Sunflowers are composed of ray florets. The scientific species name “decapetalus” is inaccurate on several counts. The flower is composed of 8-12 (not only 10, as in “deca”) of these ray florets, not petals. These ray florets are part of the flower reproductive organs, a flower petal is adjacent to, not a component of, a flowers reproductive parts.

Found growing August 24, 2019 along a sunny trail, The flowers attract many kinds of insects, including bees and butterflies, some of which, such as the painted lady and the silvery checkerspot, use the plant as a larval host. The seeds provide a source of food for birds. Muskrats eat the leaves and stems and use the stems in the construction of their lodges. Here we see a honeybee gathering nectar and pollen.

August 20129, Buttermilk Falls New York State Park, Ithaca, Tompkins County, New York.