Monday, January 14, 2013

Muskegon State Park, Lost Lake

 This post goes way back to June 25, 2012 - Lost Lake.


This is a great place to find beautiful wildflowers.


This adventure was taken with my two other sisters, my usual wildflowering sister wasn't able to be with us this day.

The two photos below are of an orchid, and I think it is a Club-spur Orchid (Platanthera clavellata).  Please tell me if I am wrong.


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Another Orchid we see here is Rose Pogonia (Pogonia ophioglossoides) 

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Next we found one Cross-Leaved Milkwort (Polygala cruciata aquilonia)
 of the Milkwort family

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 I'll just call this next one bladderwort...it could be Horned, Humped, Common, or Northern.  
Well it is pretty against the blue sky.
 And did you know Bladderwort are carnivorous?  That I didn't

know. The "bladders", from which the common name

 is derived, are used to capture small aquatic

 organisms. Hairs at the opening of the bladder serve

 as triggers, and when contacted, mechanically cause

the trap to spring open, drawing in water and

 organisms like a vacuum. Enzymes and /or bacteria

 inside the traps aid in digestion. 

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Below we have another carnivorous plant
Spatulate-leaved Sundew ( Drosera intermedia)
Sundews trap insects on the sticky hairs of their leaves, then digest them for nutrients.

One more carnivorous plant, Northern Pitcher-plant (Sarracenia purpurea), this plant was not blooming. But notice the hairs and the liquid at the bottom of the pitcher.

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Narrow-leaved Blue-eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium angustifolium),  Iris Family

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    Fragrant Water-lily  (Nymphaea odorata)


The color of this Blue Flag Iris  (Iris versicolor) was very deep purple blue.

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This is the trail that leads you to Lost Lake.
That is another catch up adventure from this past summer.

8 comments:

  1. Wish I could have been there. What gorgeous plants, right here in West Michigan. I never tire of your photos. Thanks. M :)

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  2. Beautiful photos of some hard to shoot flowers! I must have taken 30shots of bladderworts before I got one I could live with, and have never been satisfied with any picture of blue eyed grass that I've taken. Yours are perfect though.
    I don't meet too many orchids, so I can't be of much help with their identification. I'm hoping this year will change that!

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  3. im gonna have to put that on my list of "Must go to" for the end of June , thanks for posting these Chris

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  4. The Lost Lake trail is one of my favorites! However, being as dumb as I am, I've never walked in the summer, only in fall through very early spring. Thank you for showing me what I've been missing!

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  5. M :)
    Your three sisters missed you on that trip! Lost Lake is a cool place for wildflowers, make sure we go there this summer!
    Thanks for your kind comment.
    :)

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  6. Thanks, Allen.
    It is fun to find some of the rarer wildflowers, like the orchids.
    Bladderworts are harder to get a good shot of, maybe it is the shape of them?
    Blue eyed Grass is one of my favorites, must be the color.
    Good luck hunting orchids next summer.
    :)

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  7. You're welcome Dave.
    There is a certain shore where most of the orchids are found at Lost Lake. If you go there I can give you more directions to find that special place.
    Thanks for stopping by.
    :)

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  8. Well Jerry I'm not sure about the bird population at Lost Lake, maybe that's where Lonesome George is! I'm sure you know about the eagle's nest nearby...

    It always seems quiet when I've been there. Recently an observation deck has been built not too far from the orchids. Luckily they didn't build it right on top of them!
    Thanks for taking the time to stop by.
    :)

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