~ Jeff-in-the-Pulpit: arisaema triphyllum

Sunday, June 3, 2012

Escape Along the Railway

Blackberry, Rubus sp.

The return of sunny weather this weekend called for a short field trip along the nearby rail line, no longer in use, sadly. The blackberries are blooming, as is the high bush cranberry.

High Bush Cranberry, Viburnum trilobum

This next shot by the tracks may just look like a thicket of young oak trees and such...

But climbing high into one tree is a honeysuckle vine.

Lonicera periclymenum?

Nearby, seedlings seem to be sprouting from the the rail bed. Digging one out from there would be too difficult; I will likely try to dig up a bit from the rich soil along the ditch, where that large vine scrambles, now blooming at the top of the trees.

And, in the vicinity, I spotted a wildflower I'd not run across for twenty years, I'm sure. See it here, amid the wild strawberry plants?

This is Broomrape, or Cancer-Root, a beautiful parasitic plant. No chlorophyll, no leaves to speak of. Just these blossoms that appear, seen by few. Few humans, I'd guess. But the insects surely are drawn in, as they are by any blossom.

Orobanche uniflora

Yes, it is small. But very attractive.

A bit deeper into the shade beside the tracks, one clump of Jack-in-the-Pulpit is flourishing.

Arisaema triphyllum

These were not large, as Jack-in-the-Pulpits go, but they were nice to come across.
Why not take a short walk along an old railway? You may be surprised at what you find.

Saturday, May 26, 2012

Pulpit Plants

Long before I aspired to be a preacher, I loved Jack-in-the-Pulpit. One of the first plants I collected from a narby streamside and planted at home was this. I see I still have some in my garden at the Cottage. I think I actually brought this clump from my parent's house a few years ago, so it might be part of those first plants I dug when I was about twelve.

Arisaema triphyllum

In recent years, I have discovered there are many species of Arisaema. A few years ago I ordered this one (below) in the mail, and as I recall, it was not supposed to like this zone very well, so I intended to dig it up each winter. I never have. It still lives... and blooms!

Arisaema griffithii?

I enjoy this exotic critter, so I ordered some seeds this year for other "Jack-in-the-Pulpits": Arisaema consanguineum, A. ciliatum liubaense, and A. flavum. The seeds are planted; wish me luck in raising them to adulthood!

A. griffithii is dwarfed by a healthy clump of Lords and Ladies. See A. g. at the bottom of the photo below? Lords and Ladies (Arum italicum) is another Aroid, Ariods being members of the Araceae family of plants. These are know for their interesting floral structures: a spathe (like a leafy petal) surrounding a spadix (a rod with the little flowers on it).

No blooms yet on the Lords and Ladies. (I'll watch for them, you can be sure.) And at it's feet is another Aroid: a wee patch of Mouse Plant leafing out. No sign of blooms yet, which will be cute little mousey things, even with tails.