Back to Barry County, Michigan

The first week of August 2013, Marie and I visited places in Barry County again.  Right off we saw Nodding Ladies' Tresses blooming!

  Nodding Ladies' Tresses   (Spiranthes cernua)   Orchid family
This native perennial plant is usually 4-12" tall and unbranched.   Each flower is about 1/3" long, consisting of 3 white sepals and 3 white petals. The upper sepal and upper two petals are fused together and form a curved hood that curls upward at its tip, forming a small upper lip with 3 lobes. The lower petal has a prominent lip that hangs downward and has a crystalline appearance.    

                      Death Camas was still blooming.

                    Death Camas with dew drops.

Grass of Parnassus (Parnassia glauca) Saxifrage family -  Showy white flowers with green veins, on long stalks.  This plant has a rosette of broad, long stalked, basal leaves, rounded or heart shaped and one stalkless leaf clasping the flowering stalk.  Grows in swamps and wet meadows.

Shrubby Cinquefoil (Pentaphylloides floribunda) Rose family 
I have seen this blooming since the beginning of July.

 

                     Heal All

                   Queen Anne's Lace

                     Spotted Knapweed

 

         Dense Blazingstar (Liatris spicata) Composite family

 Chicory

Agrimony,  I didn't identify which kind...

 

Swamp Milkweed

 

 Pitcher plant

 

 Pitcher Plant

 Pitcher Plant leaves form pitchers to capture insects.

 A bladderwort

 Mad-Dog Skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora) Mint family 
A  native perennial plant is 1–2½' tall, branching occasionally.
At one time, there was a belief that Mad-Dog Skullcap could cure rabies, which is false. However, the foliage contains a substance with anti-spasmodic and sedative properties, so it does have some medicinal value.
 

 

 

 Sticky False Asphodel (Tofieldia glutinosa) Lily family
 

 

 That's all for this adventure!



Places in Barry County, Michigan

July 15, 2013 We visited some of our favorite places in Barry County and a few new places. 

                            Dense Blazing Star (Liatris spicata)

                              Death Camas was still blooming...

This is Wild Yamroot (Dioscorea villosa).  The vine can grow to be 15 feet long during a single season.  Wild Yamroot has small, greenish flowers and three sided pods.

Wild Yamroot Pods

Leaf, flower, and pods of the wild Yamroot 



 

We also saw Lopseed,

Lopseed (Phryma leptostachya) We see Lopseed less often than

 Jumpseed (Polygonum virginianum). 

 

Jumpseed lines the trails of most wet woods in west Michigan, sometimes the flower stalk can be several feet high but are usually knee high.  Jumpseed is also known as Virginia Knotweed.

Back to Barry County...



I found this dragonfly with a drop of dew on its back.

 The sundew was blooming



 Round-leaved Sundew

 There were a few shy Pitcher Plant blooming. 



 

 A plant we have never seen before Sticky False-Asphodel (Tofieldia glutinosa)
Lily Family.  I didn't get a good shot of the leaves.  I have been trying to get the whole plant in the photo, not just macros of the flower.  I'll keep trying.

 Smooth Rose

We saw a skullcap, we didn't identify the type, probably Mad Dog Skullcap or Marsh Skullcap.  I just like the color.

The lake was like a mirror. 



 

We stopped at Bassett Lake access site, and Baker Lake access site, both are beautiful lakes.

Baker Lake in Barry County, Michigan

Pickerel Weed (Pontederia cordata) was blooming.

 

In the Yankee Springs State Recreation Area we visited Hall Lake.  

 

We talked to a guy who was fishing at the lake, he told us there were natural springs down along the trail so off we went part way around Hall Lake.

 

I saw a Great Blue Heron on a log across the lake.

If you look close you will find the heron just up from the center of the picture, slightly to the left.  See him on that big log way out there? 

Now maybe you can find the heron.  I circled him in red.

 

Here is a picture that I zoomed in on the heron with my camera from the same place as the picture above..

Pretty amazing.  No tripod either, just a steady hand.

 

We found many Spotted (Striped) Wintergreen (Chimaphila maculata)  blooming.  I always call it striped because there is a stripe on the leaf.  This plant blooms in my woods too.

 

 

 

We found the springs the guy told us about. 



I know it doesn't look like much in the photo but it was a natural spring with running water.  One more plant we saw blooming.

Helleborine  (Epipactis helleborine)

It is an orchid and grows just about everywhere around here, in the lawn, along the driveway.  It seems to prefer disturbed areas.

 

 



 Hall Lake 

 

It was a fun day with temperatures in the mid 90's.  We made it through the heat and even managed to walk a few miles!