Wild Flowers
Let’s take a wildflower tour
Our Woods
We have a small woods, it is about one-half acre in size. Originally, it had very few wild flowers. An elderly acquaintance of ours invited us to take some of his wild flowers from his woods. The transplanting was very successful. The flowers have spread and we have large numbers of several varieties. The following picture shows the woods. The red arrow points to the entrance to the main path.
Here is a picture inside the woods showing the main path.
Following are some pictures of the wildflowers with their names and some of their characteristics.
Adder’s Tongue
These flowers grow from a small bulb. The speckled leaves make the plant easy to identify. The leaves appear before the flowers. The flowers are yellow, white, or violet. There is also a white Adder’s Tongue.
Blood Root
The Blood Root grows from a red rhizome. It first puts up a single leaf, and then a single flower which is enclosed by the leaf.
Bluebells
Bluebells, also called Cowslips, are very prolific and have spread throughout our woods. They occur in large clusters and sometimes grow to more than a foot tall. The flowers may initially be pinkish in color.
Violets
Violets have flowers of several different colors. The one shown at right is a bluish color. There are also white ones, and some are yellow. There are also some two-colored ones which are white with streaks of blue.
Buttercups
Buttercups grow from a bulb. Although they usually grow in moist places, they may even be found in lawns and meadows.
Hepatica
Hepaticas are a low growing plant. They may be white, bluish. or violet. We only have white ones and they grow only in one spot. They have a three-lobed leaf that lasts through the Winter.
Honeysuckle
Honeysuckle grows both as a bush and as a vine. The white bush variety is shown in the picture. The bush honeysuckle also has a pink variety. The vine type is only white. The flowers have a very fragrant odor.
Pussy Toes
Pussy toes have a white tubular flower that looks a cat’s toe. These flowers grow in open spaces and spread by underground stolons. These Pussy Toes grow just outside of our woods.
Spring Beauties
Spring Beauties are the earliest Spring wild flowers. They are very prolific and grow throughout our woods. The flowers are white with very strong pink veining.
Sweet William
The Sweet William is also called Blue Phlox. The flowers range in color from blue to violet and sometimes even white.
Trillium
The Trillium puts up a single stalk with three leaves at the top of the stem. A flower opens in the center of these leaves and has three green sepals and three petals which are usually a dark maroon, but there are varieties that are pink or white.
Wild Geranium
The Wild Geranium is one of the prettiest wild flowers. It has a delicate pink blossom. They grow in a cluster of leaves. The flowers are on a stem that extends well above the leaves.
Wild Ginger
Wild Ginger is found in large patches. Their leaves are heart shaped and the plant is very low to the ground. The leaf and flower stems are very hairy. Each plant usually has two leaves and one flower that is hidden under the leaves. The flower is cup shaped and is surrounded by three, pointed sepals that are dark maroon in color.
