Saturday, February 22, 2014

A very hard to find winter wildflower - the Fetid Adder's Tongue.

Rick and I wanted to show our friends the hard to spot wildflower, the Fetid Adder's Tongue. Worst. Name. Ever. It is also called Slinkpod, almost as bad a name. Its scientific name is Scoliopus bigelovii.

Here we all are searching for the tiny orchid-like wildflower. Huckleberry, our golden retriever, is assisting in the hunt.

Rick was the one who spotted it. It was only about two inches high. You can see the two distinctive mottled leaves on the forest floor.

Trilliums and Milkmaids are also blooming now. We are having warm, sunny weather, which we are able to enjoy because there is a lot of rain in our forecast!

Thanks to C'Anna Bergman-Hill for allowing me to share her photos with you here.
at

3 comments:

  1. Frank DrouillardFebruary 23, 2014 at 12:40 PM

    We are seeing checkered lilies/mission bells here in Novato.
    Not much to look at from the side, but spectacular when you look at the inside from below.
    The plant's stalk and leaves are very similar to the rare coast lily. What seems odd is that many of the Mission Bell plants have a single leaf associated with the rest of the plant, a leaf that looks much like that from a Clintonia flower. Not sure if it's part, or if it's another plant that associates itself with the Mission Bell. Will try to send photos.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Frank DrouillardFebruary 23, 2014 at 1:25 PM

    plants_dot_montara_dot_com/ListPages/FamPages/Lilia3_dot_html

    Replace each _dot_ with a period.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Jeanne JacksonFebruary 24, 2014 at 7:46 AM

    Thanks, Frank. I have yet to find this wildflower. Your photo did not come through but I will post the one you emailed me.

    ReplyDelete