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Erythronium americanum, trout lily,
in this location along a steep bank of the North River in Mount Crawford,
Virginia, is clearly one of the most attractive members of the family, and
always attracts attention of collectors and photographers.
Fortunately, it does not transplant well, and so you are not going to see
populations depleted by collectors for their native plant gardens. |
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Swamp pink (Helonias bullata) has a
basal rosette of lanceolate to spatulate evergreen leaves.
This picture was taken at Big Levels, which is a game preserve in Augusta
County. It is found in only four counties of Virginia.
This specimen is at Spring Pond, one of the low wet places of Big Levels. |
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I did my M.S. thesis on the daylily, Hemerocallis
fulva. It was mainly a chromosomal study of a triploid that had
2n = 33 chromosomes. I found then, and even more now, that
daylilies are magnificent additions to any garden, exists in a multitude
of varieties and types, and certainly represented the classic Liliaceae
flower type, at least here in North America. |
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The perfoliate Bellwort (Uvularia
perfoliata), along with the large-flowered bellwort, are both a common
feature in our local woods. Once found, it is memorable because of
how the flower hangs off its pedicel, and how the leaves seem to hide the
flower. It takes some creative arranging in order to get a
photograph of the flower. |
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The star of Bethlehem (Ornithogalium
umbellatum) is a very common escape into the lawns of our area. The
basal leaves come up first, and remind you of onion leaves. These
persist, however, and really do not look all that good in a spring
lawn. This changes when they flower. Then you don't regret
having such a volunteer. |
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Polygonatum biflorum, solomon's
seal, is abundant in our area. The common name comes from the
anatomy of the creeping knotted rootstock, which bears "seal
like" scars where stems of previous years died away. In our
area you find it flowering in April to May in woods of every
altitude. The graceful way in which the species is presented
makes for an interesting experience when you see it. |
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This is probably the most attractive of
the ten Trilliums known to occur in Virginia. It is painted Trillium
(Trillium undulatum). The common name speaks for
itself. It is not an easy trillium to locate, and almost impossible
to cultivate in a native landscape. This picture was taken along the
roadsides of some of our forest roads near Reddish Knob, the tallest
prominence in our part of the state, and a 15 minute drive from my house. |
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This is Trillium grandiflorum as it
is seen at the G. Richard Thompson Wildlife Refuge. The color seen
here is formed over time since the petals of this species are white.
The color change is a form of "aging." This is the most
common of the ten species of Trillium in Virginia. |
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The genus Smilax represents an
example of a woody Monocot. the parallel veins of the leaves are
seen here. This species, called carrion flower (Smilax herbacea),
was photographed in a natural area south of here called Augusta
Springs. When mature, the flowers emit the odor of decaying flesh. |
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This is one of the more interesting
natives that has "escaped" into a variety of cultivated
situations. I have seen this cover an entire corn field prior to planting,
and the blue sheen coming off that field was memorable. It is Muscari
sp., the grape hyacinth. While the petals are fused, you
can still count the lobes and see that this is a Monocot. |
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False Solomon's seal (Smilacina
racemosa) is even more common than Solomon's seal, shown above.
It transplants easily. The large leaves are graceful and stay green
long into the summer, and can be quite attractive in the fall with a
bright yellow color. The fruits are a very bright red. It is
common in late April into June. |
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Turkey beard, Xerophyllum asphodeloides,
is found near Reddish Knob on a forest road below the peak. This
site is mentioned, in particular, in the Flora of West Virginia by
Strausbaugh and Core. |
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This is Yucca
filamentosa, the spanish
bayonet, or Adam's needle. It is a common species in our area, and
is an escape from cultivation. You see it on roadsides, the borders
of graveyards, etc. It is pollinated by a moth which lays its eggs
in the flower, and the resultant larvae eat the seeds of the flower.
Fortunately, they do not eat all the seeds. The scapose habit is
obvious in this species. They flower mainly in late May |
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These tulips are found in front of the
McKinney Center. While these are obviously beautiful, predictable
and come in every variety imagined, there is one problem: after they
'go by' they leave the basal leaf for a time, and frankly it looks pretty
ugly. Tulips shown in this picture are amongst other vegetative
material, and thus the ugly vegetative leftover is not in view. |
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This is the flower of the garden
asparagus, Asparagus
officinalis. It does come up along
roadsides with its very narrow leaves and creamy flowers. You can
grow asparagus in the garden, but it will take some protocol to do it
right. When you eat asparagus, you are eating the inflorescence, and
the upper stem. |
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The medicine plant, Aloe
vera, is easily
grown in a greenhouse setting. The leaves are very succulent, and
periodically it will flower. The flowers are seen here.
Medicine plant is an excellent source for treating various skin
problems. The active principle in the leaves relieve pain and
provide some healing properties. |
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The Easter Lily (Lilium
longiflorum)is probably
the most obvious species which allows us to have contact with the lily
family. You can buy them locally at Easter time and have one in your
home at least for the duration of the Easter season. You see them
garnishing altars in Church services. Bermuda was the only source of
these lilies for a long time. Now they can be cultivated in parts of
Texas, as well as other parts of North America, and this significantly lowers the price. The pictures were
taken in Bermuda in a small garden in St. Georges in mid-March 1977. Easter was two
weeks off. |
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