There is a creek nearby that I enjoy visiting. The creek is part of a local park. I stopped in for a visit, just to see what was blooming. I saw Marsh Marigold, Wood Anemone, Jack-in-the-Pulpit, Golden Saxifrage, violets. I found barberry when I hunkered down to take a picture, ow! But it was blooming too. Frogs jumped into the creek, deer rushed away, I didn’t hear the road noise only the breeze through the trees.
We have had three days of 90 degree weather, before this it has been mostly a cool Spring. Leaves popped out, the Serviceberry bloomed like big puffed popcorn kernels! Flowering Dogwood is flowering, along with different types of cherry, everything is now green.
This creek has soggy edges where many plants grow. I was seeing roundish, green, hairy leaves in the wetter places. I saw these here last year but thought they were the early leaves of Foamflower. I’m no expert, and I’m not particularly good at noticing differences in plants.
This time I could see a tiny spike of flowers coming up from these leaves. As soon as I saw them up close I knew it was Naked Miterwort something I had only seen in books. It was exciting to find this plant growing and actually flowering. If it hadn’t been flowering I would not have identified it at all.
I went back to this place again the next day and found several more of this miterwort blooming! As I walked along to leave I came to a small mound of moss and there was the other type of miterwort blooming, Two-leaved Miterwort.
8 comments:
Wow, you got some great macros of those tiny things Chris! I know for sure now that I've seen the leaves that I've never seen it before but I sure would like to. I've read that it does grow here so I just have to keep looking!
I haven't seen the two leaved one either but tomorrow could be the day!
Thanks for showing them!
Wow cool find!
Thanks, Allen. I wonder if you have seen these leaves before, I know I have. It seems they have many more leaves for every plant that blooms. Or maybe they don’t all bloom at once. I did go twice to another swampy area, a few miles from the first spot I saw this miterwort. I found even more of this plant! You really do need to look close, they are so small. And of course they grow in wet shady places. It was a fun plant to find.
Big brother Chuck, I wonder if you have this growing at Happy Days? Marie is coming here today to see this miterwort.
Did you ever check your Trailing Arbutus?
I had never heard of Naked Miterwort before.
My 7 year old son said, "If it had fuzzy things on it, would it be called Clothed Miterwort?" :)
Sister in the mid-West, that is a very good question from your 7 year old! His question made me think about the name and it might be because usually the stem has no leaves. Occasionally it can have one small leaf on the stem. Two leaved Miterwort has two leaves (or pieces of clothes?) on the stem.
So we should now call Two leaved Miterwort, Clothed Miterwort!
Thank you
What a Beautiful design. thanks for sharing
Thanks Dave. I have been seeing so much of this miterwort since I first found it. It makes me wonder if I just missed it all these years. Happy June!
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