April 26, Arboretum

It’s been a fairly slow spring, thankfully, and there was much still to see at the arboretum today. Here is a sampling, in the order in which we saw them:

Mary Isabelle surrounded by wild geranium

Yellow honeysuckle vine (Lonicera lava, named after a German physician and naturalist of the 16th century) in a dogwood- the birds like the berries.

Wild Hyacinth (Camassia scilloides)

Dwarf spring larkspur (Delphinium tricorne)

Wild Ginger (Asarum canadense)

Pawpaw, aka Missouri banana (Asimina triloba)

Horsechestnut and bluebells

Lousewort, aka wood betony (Pedicularis canadensis)

Spiderwort, aka wild crocus (Tradescantia longipes)

Shooting star (Dodecatheon meadia)

Indian paintbrush in glade

Fremont’s Leather Flower (Clematis fremontii)

Southern Black Haw (Viburnum rufidulum)

Indian paintbrush

The “vivid color” setting on my camera captured the Indian paintbrush in the glade. Here’s what Alice Lounsberry says about Indian Paintbrush (Southern Wildflowers and Trees, 1901): This flaming beauty, it will surprise many to learn, is a parasite on the roots of various herbs or even shrubs….On Grandfather and Roan Mountains it sets ablaze many a high slope with the wondrous coloring of its floral leaves and calyxes. For in these parts is the spirit of the flower seen; its corolla is pale yellow, often insignificant.”