Evening Primrose

You have probably heard of evening primrose oil, and all of its wonderful benefits - from aiding skin conditions to lowering blood pressure to helping reduce cramping and breast tenderness in women.  Here's the source of that oil:

Visually, this wildflower really comes into its own in the fall, when its pretty yellow blossoms stand out against the dead and dying grasses around it.

It's a biennial plant, like mullein.  In its first year, it forms leaves close to the ground, in a rosette.  During the second year, the stems grow quite tall ( 6 feet or more) and the blossoms appear, as in this stand that Hyperion is examining, below:

Evening primrose has distinctive, barrel-shaped seed pods, which spiral their way up the stalk like little stair steps.

Another identifying feature is the color of the buds.   They are first green, and then take on a rusty color before blooming.

Parts of the plant are edible, but do your homework first!  Some people are allergic to compounds in the plant.  

The blossoms open in the evening, hence its common name.  The blossoms apparently give off a lemon scent but I did not notice that at the time I took these pictures.  The blossoms open in the evening, hence this plant's common name.

To see very cool videos of blossoms opening in real time, check out this website for Yosemite National Park: 

 http://www.yosemitehikes.com/wildflowers/evening-primrose/evening-primrose.htm

The scientific name Oenothera refers to wine generally.  I read that this name means everything from "wine-scented" to "wine-imbibing".  The jury is also still out on whether this is truly a native species.  Some claim it originated in Europe, but this seems unlikely.

Thinleaf Sunflower

Have you ever heard of thinleaf sunflowers?  I had never heard of them, until today.  However, I've SEEN them dozens of times.  

Here's a picture:

See the thinner, sharply pointed leaves?

These sunflowers are also called "ten-petal sunflowers", although they can actually have 8 - 12 petals.  They are woodland flowers, and I found these in western Illinois.

Butterflies seek out this plant to lay their eggs, and muskrats favor this plant as well.  

The species name is Helianthus decapetalus.  Isn't that perfect?  Helianthus comes from Helios, god of the sun (that equates with Hyperion of Green mythology), and decapetalus represents the ten petals. 

Jewel Weed Blossoms

These are spotted jewelweed blossoms.

They have a trumpet shape and rich coloring, making them most intriguing!

These blossoms are little beauties, but I also liked the way the droplets of rain formed beads upon the leaves.

Below is the yellow form of jewelweed, which is a little more rare.






















You are most likely to find jewelweed along creeks and streams.  They like to keep their roots wet.  They are also often found in the same neighborhood as stinging nettle.  Jewelweed is said to be a good antidote for the sting of the nettle, and for poison ivy and insect bites.  But if all else fails, they are still simply beautiful to look at.

Autumn Still Life

It's been so bleak lately that I looked back for some fall flowers and found this still life from autumn:

Those warm days will come again.  This winter cannot last!

Dancing in November

I saw these yellow flowers along a weedy hedgerow a few weeks ago.

What were they thinking - blooming so late in the year?  Didn't their plant genes tell them that the killing frost would be here soon - that they should hunker down?

Instead, they flaunted their delicate blossoms, richly colored, and laughed into the teeth of winter.

Bravo!!!

I have know people like this, who gave their all - even as the sun rapidly set on their span of days.  They donned their best gowns, and finest fabrics - and went to the ball!  They refused to be told that it was "too late" in the season for what they meant to do.

 I hope we all dare to dance in our Novembers.

Pollen Baskets

I came across a field of pea partridge the other day, out at Nahant Marsh.  It is such a pretty plant that I couldn't help but stand there and admire the beautiful yellow flowers and the perfect, feathery leaves with their alternately compound pairs of leaflets.  I've blogged about it before, here:

http://foundonthetrail.blogspot.com/2012/09/pretty-pea-partridge.html

As I took in the beautiful field full of flowers, I noticed a bumblebee by the plants nearest me, quickly buzzing into blossom after blossom.  That guy was fast!  He would no more than stick his fuzzy head into one flower when he would be off to the next, lifting himself as if on an elevator made of air.

I realized there were a few more bees nearby.  And then, as I lifted my eyes across the tops of the plants, I realized that the whole field was percolating with thousands of bees.  That did my heart good!

I decided to see if I could photograph one of the bees.  They were so fast that it was hard to get a fix on them before they moved on.  They were often obscured by portions of the pea partridge plants.  Finally I got a few decent pictures.

Even with my naked eye I was able to distinguish a yellow glob on the hind legs of the bees.  "That  must be pollen," I thought  Sure enough.  What I was seeing, and what you can see in these pictures, is thousands and thousands of grains of pollen packed into the pollen baskets that these amazing creatures are equipped with.

According to my research, bumblebees basicly lick their front legs and then use their front legs to brush all the pollen from their head and body down to their back legs, where it is pressed into the pollen basket.

Based on the size of the pollen globule on this fellow, he's been hard at work!

You can see the yellow, dusty pollen coating this bee's head, legs and body.

Crow Creek Park Showcase

Photos from Crow Creek Park.  Great walking trails and lots to see!