Thursday, April 7, 2011

Golden-star, Erythronium rostratum, in Scioto County

...continued from the Adams and Scioto County wildflower posts.
Our next stop on the wildflower tour was the beautiful wooded hillside along Rocky Fork road in Scioto County. There, we were hunting out the very rare Golden-star, Erythronium rostratum...

Golden-star, Erythronium rostratum, makes a valiant attempt to open despite the overcast and cold conditions.

...raindrops bead up on a leaf of Erythronium rostratum.

...working harder! We had high hopes that the sun would push through and coax the blossom open.

...anthers carrying pollen.

...makes me think of a sleeping dog opening one eye to make sure all is well.
The sun didn't come out until later in the day, so we didn't get to see this incredibly rare wildflower fully open.

A remnant raindrop magnifies the dotted pattern on the Erythronium rostratum leaf.

To get an idea just how rare this plant is in Ohio, and to learn how to tell Erythronium rostratum apart from the much more common Yellow Trout Lily, Erythronium americanum, (plus read about the newly discovered population in the Edge of Appalachia Preserve), hop over to this post on The Natural Treasures of Ohio Blog. This afternoon I took a walk on the Little Miami Trail and found Erythronium americanum growing there! It definitely looks different...its flowerhead was drooping down and the petals were all reflexed (curving back) like the White Trout Lily in this earlier post.

P.S. I just visited Jim's blog, and he's posted on this beautiful flower too, so if you haven't already seen his post, make it your next click!

19 comments:

Lois Evensen said...

Incredible images. Just fabulous!

dwaynejava said...

Great photos!

Montanagirl said...

Just amazing photos!

Andrew Lane Gibson said...

Thanks for the link to my post, Kelly :). It was a very exciting discovery and definitely one of the coolest moments of my botanical life!

Nicole MacP said...

Beautiful, beautiful!

Elaine said...

Fantastic series of wildflower macros! It's amazing the beauty you can find if you take the time to look close enough.

Elva Paulson said...

Beautiful photos, Kelly. I especially like the closeup of the water droplet.

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Gorgeous photos, Kelly... Even if the Erythronium Rostratum didn't open all of the way up for you--you saw quite a bit of it. It is beautiful...

Love the drops on the leaves also.
Hugs,
Betsy

The Hairy Birder said...

Lovely photos Kelly. Cheers, Seumus

forgetmenot said...

Lovely photos. The raindrops on the leaf are wonderful. Have a nice weedend. Mickie :)

Wanda..... said...

I believe I only have white trout lilies here, but will keep looking, meanwhile I will enjoy your great photos.

Unknown said...

Wishing I had a macro lens and it was warmer here to get out. Kelly you are a tease for me. Love the photos!

FAB said...

Excellent macro images Kelly. Makes me want to sit and watch and wait to see the petals open.
P.S. Must put a macro lens on the Xmas wish list!!

Out on the prairie said...

I just got back from a nice wildflower hike.These are real nice.

Carol Mattingly said...

These clos ups are absolutely beautiful Kelly. I bet it was so much fun going on this walk and looking for those tiny flowers. Carol

Dave said...

Wow...flowers! I remember those.
The snow is gone up here at last, buds are budding and the birds are getting birdier!
Woo-hoo, spring at last!

Kelly said...

Thanks, everyone!! ...I keep seeing more and more wildflowers (and I'm learning more and more about them too). The Little Miami is full of them. I found Yellow Trout-lillies the other afternoon. I had never seen them before (probably because I had never gotten down on my knees in the mud to search them out.) So many cool things are out there...

Sarah Knight said...

Those are fabulous shots - I love the contrast in focus that macro gives!

kathy said...

Love your nature photos and your impressionistic oil pastels! Thanks for your comment on my white cyclamen!