Wildflowers II

“There is poetry among the wildflowers.”
― Rachel Irene Stevenson

Early spring wildflowers are found in the woods. Spring beauties, violets, lady slippers, fire pinks are all found in forested areas that are sunny in early spring but are heavily shaded once the leaves pop out. The beauty of the spring wildflowers in the woods amazed me, and I have posted many pictures of these stunning blooms.

But as the leaves have come out on the trees and the woods have become heavily shaded, I have found fewer and fewer blooms in the woods. Wildflowers like sunshine!

The AT passes through a surprising number of fields and meadows. Some of these are natural, but some are due to electric transmission right-of-ways, where the forest has been cleared because of power lines. These are a few of the wonderful wildflowers that I have seen in these sunny open places.

This beautiful rose is called dog rose, so-called because it used to be thought that the root could be used to cure the bite of a rabid dog. Three or four feet tall, its stems are covered with prickles which help it climb up towards the sun. The rose hips are edible and are often used to make syrup, tea, and marmalade. The dog Rose has been known for millennia. Hippocrates waxed enthusiastic over its medicinal properties, and Shakespeare referred to it in several of his plays. Grown in the US since the early 1700’s, dog roses were often planted in Victory Gardens during World War II.

Sulfur cinqfoil was introduced to the States from the eastern Mediterranean in the early 1900’s. It has invaded grasslands, roadside sides, and abandoned fields. Because of the high tannin content of its leaves, livestock tend to avoid eating it. Its flowers are pale yellow (sulfur-colored), and its petals are a lovely heart shape.

And some flowers are harder to identify. Lots of daisies were blooming in the meadows as I hiked by. This is probably an English daisy or an ox-eye daisy, but I have no idea which!

The milkweed plants are coming up. I had no idea there were so many different kinds of milkweed! This particular plant is not the common milkweed that I’m used to but some other variety.

This stunning flower is some kind of phlox.

And then of course there are the plants I can’t identify at all. I only saw this white flower a few times, but it is really pretty! Maybe it’s some kind of phlox?

Spotting wildflowers along the trail is definitely one of the joys of hiking!

Today is a great day for a long walk in the woods!