Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Inside Aman Park

2012 04 23 We dug into Aman Park for about 5 hours on this day.  Many spring wildflowers were still in bloom, they will soon be gone until next spring.
We started at the south end of the park, then cut through some interior sections where no trails go.  We had fun and it was a beautiful day, here are some pictures from that day.


 Starry False Solomon's Seal (Smilacina stellata Lily family)



Starry False Solomon's Seal

 Running Strawberry Bush
 (Euonymus obovatus Bittersweet family)
Running Strawberry Bush

                 Sand Creek

   Beautiful new oak leaves

 It was rough going in some places.

Marie spied a huge snake sunning itself, I only caught the tail end of it as it fled down a huge hole.

Wild Geranium  (geranium maculatum, Geranium family) is a lovely wildflower.  Here are three different ones, notice the centers - with anthers and pistil - at various stages of development. 


Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica Borage family) were at their peak. 

Then Marie spied what looked like a hummingbird, but we realized it was a moth or butterfly?  I got a few shots but the thing was moving around fast.

So it is a Hummingbird or Hawk moth?  It was pretty neat to see.


We found a single Squawroot
(Conopholis americana, Broomrape Family).

 An interesting insect on a shiny buttercup flower...

Finally after 5 hours we came near the north bridge, then time to head home.
Great day.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

The Wild Blue Phlox with the footbridge in the background, very nice. The Running Strawberry Bush, which isn't a Bush (it's a vine), and it's not a Strawberry either, and I've never seen it run, sure has a unique arrangement for its flower. The new baby Oak leaves, just imagine the huge tree this will be someday. The three photos of the Wild Geranium showing the progression of its fertilization, oh wow. The Virginia Bluebells! I'm not sure why I thought that bug was like a Hummingbird. But what a great day we had! Thanks. M :)

Plants Amaze Me said...

M :-) You crack me up! I like how you broke down the Running (not) Strawberry (not) Bush (not). Ha ha..
I think the moth moved like a hummingbird, you did think it was a hummingbird at first? Or did I just make that up?
It was fun, it always is.
Thanks for visiting the blog. :-)

New Hampshire Gardener said...

What a beautiful and interesting spot. Some of what you've shown, like the squaw root, I've never seen. And those Virginia bluebells-native to most of the northeast but not NH! I'm glad I found your blog, at least I can see them here.

Dave said...

Running strawberry bush, strange name and a strange flower. really neat!!! Nice stand of virginia Bluebells.

kayak1 said...

Love the Moth, surprised you were able to get any pictures of it, good job... Past time for kayaking, but now headed to Lynchburg, VA... Oldest Grand daughter's graduation w/masters at Liberty University... Be home next week, tell Mike to get ready...

Plants Amaze Me said...

New Hampshire Gardener, yes Aman Park is a special place. If you come to Michigan make sure you visit it.
We have large clumps of Squawroot up now in the woods. Also Starflower(Trientalis borealis) which I haven't put on the blog.
The Virginia Bluebells are hard for me to get a picture that shows how beautiful a large group of them can be.
Thanks for visiting the blog! :)

Plants Amaze Me said...

Thanks, Dave
:)

Plants Amaze Me said...

Kayak1, yeah that moth was very interesting, I was surprised I got any picture of it because it flew around so fast.
I'll have Mike be ready with his paddle. :)

Anonymous said...

I love Aman Park, it's one of those places that no matter how many times you go, you always find something new there. Thanks for another great post!