a yellow violet flower seen from the front. it has five petals: the bottom petal is streaked with maroon near its base, and it curls inwards from the sides towards its tip. the two lateral petals each have one short maroon line, otherwise are plain yellow. the two top petals are narrower than the others & curve back. there appears to be some very slight fuzz at the base of the lateral petals. behind the flower there are some heart-shaped green leaves with many short, blunt teeth on their margins, some curled at the base, others more flat. the flower and leaves are held aloft on smooth green stems.

a smooth yellow violet, the flower seen from the side and behind. from this side the maroon lines on the bottom and lateral petals are faint, and we can see well how the top petal recline back. the flower has a light green calyx with triangular lobes & hangs from a smooth nodding stem. there are many smooth, green, heart-shaped leaves branching off one of the plant's main stems.

a smooth yellow violet growing up from leaf litter on the floor of a forest bottomland. the plant has several main stems, on erect, others going more sideways. green heart-shaped leaves branch off the smooth green main stems, and towards the top of the stems there are several yellow flowers, none of which we can see particularly well from this angle.

🌻 smooth yellow violet 🌿
Viola eriocarpa

#nativeplants #ecoregion71

pic taken low to the ground, looking at the front of a blooming glade violet growing among moss and dry grass. the violet has five petals, two on top that curve back, two held out to the sides, and a bottom petal pointing down; this one appears to have a notch or wave in the middle of its tip. all of the petals are vibrant purple at their tips, but the top two have substantial patches of deep blue near the base. the other three petals have white patches near the base, streaked with dark purple and blue veins. in the mouth of the flower, the two lateral petals have stubby white hairs, and along the top there is an orange something up in there which i understand to be stamens. some of the violet's deeply lobed green leaves are sticking up behind the flower.

another glade violet growing in moss and dry grass, this one much lighter in color than the last, and seen from above. the petals are light purple, with veins only slightly darker. from this angle the slicked-back appearance of the top petals can be better appreciated. the short white hairs by the base of the lateral petals are also visible, as well as a pronounced wave or notch on the bottom petal. young green leaves grow in the background.

blooming glade violet with a few purple and blue flowers growing low to the ground in a field of tall dry grass. the violet's leaves are cut by deep symmetrical lobes.

🌸 glade violet 🌿
Viola egglestonii

#nativeplants #ecoregion71

a nodding cyme of around a dozen light blue flowers and pink flowerbuds at the top of a smooth green stem with green, oval, alternate leaves. the stem droops towards the right, and all the flowers and buds are seen from the side. each flower and bud has a bell-shaped green calyx with five deep lobes. the buds are short, pink, and pinched in at the ends; the younger they are, the brighter pink. as the develop they lengthen and blanch. the fully developed flowers are trumpet-shaped: a long, narrow, tubular section by the base abruptly flares out into a much broader bell, with five very shallow lobes. the mature flower are light blue; as they age they become more billowy and their coloration deepens.

looking up into a a cluster of drooping flowers from below. two to three dozen flowers and buds in various stages of development are visible in some fashion in this photo. the buds are pink with pinched in tips. the mature flowers are light blue and trumpet-shaped, with a long, narrow tubular segment that quickly balloons out into a wider bell, ending in five shallow lobes. descending within the flower but not exceeding the corolla in length, there are five stamens with white filaments and slight brown anthers, as well as a thin white style (which is not visible in the nearest flower- it can be see, albeit blurrily, in the one above and to the left). in the upper right, also kinda blurry, there is an empty calyx left behind after its corolla withered and dropped away, leaving behind its long white style.

a colony of dozens of virginia bluebells growing close together on a forested hill slope. the bluebells are around knee-high, with large oval green leaves below and nodding clusters of pink flowerbuds and light blue flowers above. (some sessile-flowered trilliums stand in the foreground alongside the bluebells.)

🌸 virginia bluebells 🌿
Mertensia virginica

#nativeplants #ecoregion71

a close look right up in the face of a white flower with five triangular lobes that curl back at the tips. the top lobe has a central patch of light yellow. the upper lateral lobes have an unusual touch of faint pink on the lower half, while the bottom two lobes are just plain white. long stamens and and even longer style point to the lower right; the white filaments and style have tiny hairs by their base, then become smooth. the tan anthers and green stigma are blurry.

white azalea flowers in a hemispherical cluster. some near the top center are still buds, asymmetrical sorta resembling a hand with the tips of the five fingers held together 🤌🏻. the blooming flowers have long, narrow tubular corollas that flare open into five triangular lobes that curl back at their tips. the top lobe of each flower has a central patch of light yellow. each flower has 4 or 5 long stamens with white filaments and tan anthers, and a long white style with a green stigma. the exserted portion of the stamens and style are longer than the whole rest of the flower. they smell great. just fantastic.

a bush growing on a forested hill, young green leaves interrupted by hemispherical bunches of long, tubular white flowers that flare out into five triangular lobes, with very long stamens and styles protruding far beyond the corolla lobes. a tree limb has fallen across the bush, likely from an ice storm earlier in the year. the beautiful flowers bloom regardless, and their fragrance carries on the wind across the forest.

🌼 alabama azalea 🌿
Rhododendron alabamense

i love azaleas btw fwiw imho

#nativeplants #ecoregion71

a close up of one flower in a terminal raceme, with other flowers on their shared green stalk in the background facing to the side or behind. the facing, focused flower has five dark purple petal-like sepals spreading in a star shape; the upper sepal stands erect and tapers to a blunt point, while the other four seem to hang lazily and are more rounded. in the center there are four petals, much smaller than the sepals. the upper petals are smooth, purple at the base but white at their tips, and are held forward , the left overlapping the right. the two bottom petals are larger than the top petals. the also are purple at the base but white at the tip. they curve up hiding the mouth of the flower, and have scraggly white hairs.

five blooming larkspur flowers facing all directions away from the green main stalk that supports them all. they have four small petals bunched together, purple at the base and white at the tip; stamens with curly white filaments and black anthers occasionally pop out from within the petals. there are five larger, dark purple sepals behind the petals; at the back of the flower, a tall nectar spur stands upright- it's longer than even the sepals. at the bottom of the photo there are some parsley-like green leaves branching off the main stem.

dwarf larkspur drenched in sunlight on the forest floor of a creek bottomland. green grasses and other herbs join the larkspur in poking up through last year's fallen tree leaves. the larkspur's stem is stout and reddish at the base, and has several basal leaves as well as low stem leaves, all of which are deeply cut with many lobes. the top of the stem narrows and turns green, and appears slightly frosty due to small white hairs. the stem bears nesrly a dozen deep purple flowers with five large sepals, a large ascending horn behind the flower, and four small petals right in the center of the sepals that turn white at their tips.

🪻 dwarf larkspur 🌿
Delphinium tricorne

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a blooming dwarf crested iris seen from directly above. the flower's three light purple petals are elliptical in shape and are positioned approximately at 12 o'clock, 4 o'clock, and 8 o'clock (actually slightly counterclockwise from there but close enough). midway between each petal are the much showier sepals, which are not only longer and broader than the petals, but have a more exciting color pattern. along the edges they are light purple, but towards the center there is a band of dark purple surrounding a patch of white, with an area of bright yellow at the center of the white patch. the sepals also sport a crest along their midline within the white and yellow areas: a wavy ridge flanked by two parallel rows of teeth. only the tips of the crest are visible however, because much of the three sepals are covered by three light purple petal-like style arms, which provide a roof over the sepals to protect the flower's stamens and stigmas.

two blooming irises soaking in sunlight & buffeted by a breeze. three light purple petals alternate with three larger sepals, which are light purple along the edges but within have a band of dark purple fringing a white patch which gives way to bright yellow. the sepal's crest is a wavy yellow ridgeline running down the midline, with two rows of white teeth running alongside. on the nearer flower, the wind has blown the style arms up, revealing two long, tapering white stamens. the flower grows on a round stalk ascending among half of dozenish broad, curving sword-like leaf blades.

a patch of dwarf crested irises growing among brown fallen tree leaves on the forest floor. there is one purple, white, and yellow flower in bloom, but more than half a dozen shoots with several tall, green, grass-like leaf blades standing upright.

🌸 dwarf crested iris 🌿
Iris cristata

smells amazing if you can get down to its level, they are quite short

#nativeplants #ecoregion71

a close look at a recently opened strawberry flower. in the center of the flower, a cluster of numerous yellow-green pistils forms a dome around which stand a couple dozenish stamens with white filaments and dark golden yellow anthers. the five white petals start off very narrow at the base, but quickly widen and become round; having recently opened, these petals are cupped upwards. pointed green sepals and alternating sepal-like bracts are visible behind the petals. the white flower is surrounded by hairy green trifoliate leaves with toothy margins. each tooth is highlighted by a tuft of white hair.

a blooming strawberry flower standing next to but above a bud fixing to open, plus several buds which have quite a ways to go yet. the blooming flower's five white petals cup upwards, hiding the pistils and stamens within. around its base there are five pointed green sepals which alternate with five very similar looking bracts. the green stem is dense with long spreading hairs. to the right, there are some budding leaves and a couple completely unfurled leaves. the green trifoliate leaves are densely hairy across their upper surface and margins, with tufts of hairs accentuating the pointed teeth that run along the margins of all three leaflets. hairy red runners sprout from the same root at the flower and leaves, spreading horizontally over the ground. there are dry fallen tree leaves in the background, including those of redcedars.

a wild strawberry blooming in a limestone cedar glade, among dry fallen tree leaves and redcedar "needles" by a large slab of exposed rock. the strawberry creeps along the ground with long, red, hairy runners, putting up hairy green trifoliate leaves with toothed margins and hairy green stems wherever they set down. just by the big rock a strawberry flower has recently opened up, with five white petals and dark golden yellow stamens around a cluster of yellow-green pistils in the center.

🌼 wild strawberry 🌿
Fragaria virginiana

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two blooming glade phlox flowers in bright sunlight. the tubular portion of their corollas are mostly obscured, but the small bit visible is dark purple; however, the spreading lobes of the flowers are much paler. each flower has five lobes, shaped like a capital Y, thin by the base and with deep triangular notch at the tip. each lobe also has two darker purple spots at its base, creating a dotted ring around the star-shaped mouth of the corolla tube. two bright yellow somethings are visible in the mouths of the flowers, hiding just within. there are five stamens hidden within the corolla, some near the mouth, as well as a style with three stigmas that are usually near the mouth too.

three blooming glade phlox flowers, each with five very pale purple, spreading, Y-shaped lobes with two dark spots each at the base to create a dotted right around the star-shaped corolla mouth. bright yellow reproductive organs are barely visible within, at the end of the corolla tube. the upper flower is facing more off to the upper right than the other two, so its smooth, darker purple corolla tube is better visible. it has a green calyx with five long, narrow lobes. the flowers grow on a red stem.

around two dozen pale purple flowers each with five Y-shaped spreading lobes. they grow high and low all throughout a standing tangle of last year's dry grasses.

🌸 glade phlox 🌿
Phlox bifida
subsp. stellaria

phlox smell so nice 😌

#nativeplants #ecoregion71

seen from the side: a short raceme of tubular flowers at the top of a red, leafless flowerstalk, surrounded by long green leaves with many little hairless odd-pinnate leaflets, some which are still folded down the midline, not yet fully developed. the flowers each have a hairy white and light purple-pink calyx with triangular lobes that turn slightly green. the legume-type flowers mostly point outwards and slightly up from the stalk. the petals are white and purple, fading into light and darker patches throughout, and often lined with darker colored streaks or veins. the banner petal curves up, away from the rest of the flower, and its lateral edges curl backwards even further; there's a shallow notch at the top. the two wing petals below the banner are held forwards, cupped in and somewhat downwards; they are darker purple than the banner. the keel petals within the wings aren't visible on any of the flowers in this photo, as they are all facing too far to one side or the other.

a view from above, of a cluster of purple and white legume-type flowers pointing outwards from a central stalk, amidst long, pinnate, many-leafleted green leaves, next to a big white rock. each flower is set in a long, hairy, tubular, white to light purple calyx with greenish pointed lobes. the banner petal is more white as it emerges from the calyx but is more purple elsewhere, except it turns white again by its tip (though this white patch is lined with parallel purple streaks). the banner has a shallow notch in the middle at its tip, and its edges curl backwards, most prominently at the side where they appear to be pinched in. the two wing petals are purple, lined with parallel darker purple streaks. they are held straight forward and are cupped inwards and face partially downward as well. on a few of the flowers, the tips of the keel petals in between the wings can just be seen.

pyne's ground-plum in its typical context, among rocks in a limestone cedar glade. the rocks here are larger than the gravel that is most common in these glades but there's plenty of gravel too beneath the old dry tree leaves and other leftovers from last year. the ground-plum stays close to the ground. it has many long, arching leaves with up to two dozen or so small elliptic leaflets, odd-pinnate, completely hairless. there are two flowerstalks rising slightly above the leaves; reddish and barely hairy, they are capped with a short raceme of upward-curving purple legume flowers.

🌸 pyne's ground-plum 🌿
Astragalus bibullatus

critically imperiled, federally endangered, endemic the limestone cedar glades of the nashville basin & only found at a handful of sites. friend of mine got hers masters studying reintroduction techniques for them :)

#nativeplants #ecoregion71

three yellow blooming flowers at the top of a southern stoneseed. the flowers each have five oval lobes of uniform color; a set of yellow stamens can be seen within the star-shaped mouth of the tubular corolla. flowerbuds crowd together in a line below the open flowers. the plant's dark green leaves are covered in long white hairs.

another pic of the top of a southern stoneseed, with half a dozen blooming yellow flowers and at least as many flowerbuds. the flowers have five oval lobes, and all of the stamens hide within the flower's mouth. some of these flowers are facing slightly different directions, allowing glimpses of their hairy light green calyces with long pointed lobes, the tubular section of their corollas, and where the flowers grow from: upper leaf axils. the stoneseed's green leaves and stem are covered in long white hairs.

a southern stoneseed growing among brown fallen tree leaves on the forest floor. it has a basal rosette of bluntly rounded leaves, wider and longer than the stem leaves. all of the leaves, as well as the stem, are covered in long white hairs. yellow flowers with five oval lobes grow in a bunch at the top, coming together out of upper leaf axils along with many flowerbuds.

🌻 southern stoneseed 🌿
Lithospermum tuberosum

#nativeplants #ecoregion71

seen from above, a terminal spike of about a dozen beight purple-pink blooming flowers arranged around the outside rows of the spike, with many buds tightly clustered in the center. from this angle, the calyx and the long, thin tubular section at the base of each flower's corolla are mostly obscured. each flower's corolla splits into five lobes; the pair of adjacent lobes towards the top are smallest; the next two down are a little larger, and the bottom lobe is largest. regardless of size, the lobes are of similar shape, with edges running mostly straight (but sometimes wavy) to two rounded bumps at the outside edge forming a notch in the middle. the the center of the flower at the mouth of the tube there are tiny white hairs that hide the contents within.

seen from the side, a terminal spike of bright purple-pink flowers. the spike is most dense at the top, lengthening with age, which leaves the flowers lower down more spaced apart. long white hairs line the light green stem. each flower has a small hairy linear leaf bract beneath it. the calyces are long, green, and hairy, ending in thin, pointed purple lobes. the purple-pink corollas have a long, smooth tubular section more than double the length of the calyx, terminating in five unequal lobes spreading mostly flat.

a pair of rose vervains growing among the remains of last year's tall grasses at the edge of a limestone cedar glade. the bottom of the trunks of nearby trees, including eastern redcedar (Juniperus virginiana), stand at the top of the frame. the rose vervains have green, roughly triangular leaves at their base and low on their stems, cut with many lobes. at the top of hairy stems, there are clusters of many bright purple-pink flowers with five unequal lobes.

🌸 rose vervain 🌿
Glandularia canadensis

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a flowering stalk of nashville breadroot with over a dozen blooming flowers. the short stem is reddish purple and densely covered in long hairs below the flowers, present but less densely above the lowest flowers. several flowers grow at shared nodes, the nodes rotating around going up the stem. the legume-type flowers are light purple, but their hairy calyces are the same color as the stem. the banner petal is not quite double the length of the wing petals and tends to reflex backwards. the wings are held forwards with edges that curve inwards, around and usually concealing the keel petals unless you look at just the right angle.

some blooming nashville breadroot seen from above. early in their development, the clusters of flowers are egg-shaped, but they loosen up and spread apart as the flowers develop. the flowers on each cluster are of the same color, but the colors between the clusters range from light blue to dark purple. the legume-type flowers have long, narrow banners and wings that clasp together around the keels, which grow facing all directions around their shared stalk. the leaves grow on their own hairy stems, one leaf per stem. the leaves are circular, with usually 5 to 7 elliptic, hairy green leaflets spreading in all directions around a central point. the plants grow in loose gravel on a limestone cedar glade.

nashville breadroot growing among rocks and gravel near the edge of a limestone cedar glade. they have green leaves with around half a dozen long, thin leaflets growing at the top of their individual stems right out of a shared root in the ground. there are many flowering stalks growing among the spreading plants on this rocky plain. the flowers form short towers of purple flowers. behind the nashville breadroot, grasses grow nearer the treeline. at the very top of the image, the grasses give way to trees.

🌸 nashville breadroot 🌿
Pediomelum subacaule

there are a handful of sites where it can be found outside of middle tennessee but p much the nashville basin is the best place to find it

#nativeplants #ecoregion71

a sorta floppy terminal flower panicle. the flowers on the bottom are still budding, egg-shaped but with a point on the tip, white corollas wrapped up tight, entirely or partially enclosed in green calyces with five triangular lobes. the flowers in the middle are blooming, but starting to fade. these flowers have blue-violet tubular corollas with five broad, rounded lobes that widen, forming a bell shape. some of the lobes are wilting, curling at their tips. within the flowers, before the lobes separate, the flowers' corollas are white and green. five white stamens with chunky anthers surround a longer white style whose tip splits three ways, each division curling back. above the blooming flowers, there are empty green calyces that have lost their corollas but retain their long white styles. after the corollas fall off, the calyx lobes close up forming a hollow orb.

another perspective on the same terminal panicle, more from the side or behind most of the flowers, which sorta flop to the left. the plant has a red stem with a scarce fuzzy of tiny white hairs. the many branching flowerstems hold either flowerbuds, blooming flowers, or faded flowers going to seed. each flowerbud has a white corolla packed tight within & mostly encased by a green calyx with five triangular lobes. as the buds mature, the calyx lobes open, and the corolla darkens to blue-violet & unfurls. a blooming flower such as on the left, seen from the side resembles a shuttlecock. the green calyx with its triangular lobes embrace the base of the corolla, which spreads into five broad, rounded lobes beyond. as the flower fades, its corolla wilts then falls off, leaving behind its calyx, style, and the ovary at the style's base. the calyx lobes close, and the fruit will develop within.

jacob's ladder, growing among light brown fallen tree leaves in a forest bottomland. it has many pinnate leaves, with often a dozenish green ovate opposite leaflets. at the top of the plant's red stem there is a panicle of blue-violet flowers with persistent green calyces.

🌸 jacob's ladder 🌿
Polemonium reptans

#nativeplants #ecoregion71

close-up look at a terminal cluster of say 5 pistillate (female) pussytoe flowerheads seen from the side. each one is a composite flower with many disk florets but no ray florets. around the outside of each flowerhead there are rows of floral bracts with white tips. closer to the center there is a dense forest of tall delicately thin white styles with bifurcated tips. the base of each flowerhead is green but matted with wooly white hairs. a tiny fly is perched atop the tallest flowerhead.

close-up look at a terminal cluster of 6 staminate (male) pussytoe flowerheads seen from above. each one is a composite flower with many disk florets but no ray florets. around the outside of each flowerhead there are white petal-like floral bracts. in the center the many disk florets have white, tubular corollas and are surrounded by short pappus bristles. each floret has one tall, orange stamen tube in the center. a tiny fly is perched atop one of the flowerheads on the right.

a colony of plantain pussytoes growing on a hillslope among moss, grass, and fallen tree leaves & sticks. they have broad, rounded leaves in their basal rosettes, from the middle of which rises a stout stem densely covered in appressed hairs such that the stem appears white. long, relatively narrow leaves grow on the stem. at the top of each stem there is a cluster of small white pistillate (female) flowers with tufts of white styles.

a colony of plantain pussytoes growing on a hillslope among rocks, moss, and lichens. they have broad, rounded leaves in their basal rosettes, from the middle of which rises a stout stem densely covered in appressed hairs such that the stem appears white. long, relatively narrow leaves grow on the stem. at the top of each stem there is a cluster of small white staminate (male) flowers with orange stamen tubes.

🌼 plantain pussytoes 🌿
Antennaria plantaginifolia

dioecious-- pistillate/female and staminate/male flowers occur on different plants, often in separate patches. these two patches were right next to each other though

#nativeplants #ecoregion71

a close-up photo looking in the face of a light blue-violet colored flower with five heart-shaped lobes. at the narrow base of the five lobes where they join up, there is a small patch of purple rifht around the mouth of the tubular base of the corolla.

a panicle of light blue-violet flowers seen from the side. below the flowers, the plant's red stem is densely covered in glandular hairs, as are its dark green, lance-shaped, opposite leaves. the flowers in the panicle form a dome; there are only four currently blooming, but more are budding. each flower has a hairy red calyx with long, thin, pointed lobes, which run halfway up the thin, smooth tube of the corolla. at the end of the tube there are five large heart-shaped petal-like lobes.

blue phlox growing in full sun above dry fallen tree leaves and sticks on the forest floor. it has hairy red stems, lance-shaped hairy green opposite leaves, and terminal panicles of light blue-violet flowers with five large heart-shaped lobes.

🌸 blue phlox 🌿
Phlox divaricata

#nativeplants #ecoregion71

close-up of a flower stalk lined with unusual pink and white flowers. all of the visible flowers are staminate (male). they have a set of small pink bracts around the base, but no true sepals or petals. the most substantial part of the flowers are the stamens, of which there are four per flower, with thick white filaments capped with small tan anthers.

two light pink flowerstalks of some allegheny pachysandras; the plants' main stems, off which these two smaller stalks grow, is out of sight. the stalks are lined with two rows of opposite flowers. the flowers have small pink bracts at the base, but no sepals or petals, just four thick white stamens with small tan anthers. these two stems are poking up through a layer of fallen tree leaves on the forest floor.

growing close along the forest floor, the main stems of these pachysandras grow prone within the leaf litter, only turning up by the end where they put out opposite green leaves with a mottled light green pattern. some flower stalks poke up through the leaf litter separately; they grow from low on the plant's main stem, so they're not necessarily near their own leaves. the three flowerstalks in this photo have red stems. the staminate (male) flowers have red bracts cupped around them at their base, but no sepals or petals. their only other feature are four thick white stamens with pale yellow anthers.

🌼 allegheny pachysandra 🌿
Pachysandra procumbens

"pachy" thick, "andro" male --> thick stamens

often called allegheny spurge, but it is no longer considered to belong to the spurge order (which is no longer considered to exist :)

#nativeplants #ecoregion71

looking down at half a dozen or so small light blue-violet flowers; one in the center is best in focus. from this perspective we cannot see the tubular section of the flower's corolla, just its four oval petal-like lobes that come to a blunt point at the tip. near the center of the flower, its pale blue-violet color fades to white. right at the base of each lobe there are two small yellow patches, which sort of form an eight-pointed star around the mouth of the flower. and it looks like a little yellow style is poking out of the flower's tube just barely beyond the mouth.

four light blue-violet bluet flowers standing on tall, spindly green stems. each flower's calyx is a tiny cup with four linear & pointed lobes at the base of the flower's corolla tube. the tube has a very narrow diameter, but it does slightly widen as it goes. four oval lobes with bluntly pointed tips spread out approximately on a plane perpendicular to the tube. the light blue-violet lobes blanch near their base, and right along the mouth of the corolla tube each lobe has two minute yellow patches. the flower grow each on their own stem among moss, gravel, and some tree twigs.

a rocky hillslope with scattered patches of moss, lichen, and some old fallen tree leaves and sticks. a spray of tiny light blue-violet flowers with four petal-like lobes float above the surface on slender green stems. the flowers' blue-violet color fades near the center, but at the very center they are yellow.

🌸 azure bluet 🌿
Houstonia caerulea

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a single small flower growing on an erect red stem alongside half a dozen or so similar leaf stems from a shared rhizome. two of the young green leaves are short enough to be visible, but most are considerably taller than the lone flower. it has eight white petals with faint parallel veins, collectively cupped up into the shape of a bowl. at the center of the flower there are eight stamens with think pale yellow anthers surrounding a light green acorn-shaped ovary, which at the peak of its cap has what i interpret to be a collection of white styles.

a twinleaf leaf, called twin because it is split down the middle into two facing semicircles, with a few large teeth on the outside bottom half. the leaf is bright green. the two halves are held aloft on a shared stem which unites the two halves at a central point. sunlight playing upon the leaf emphasizes the leaf's spreading network of veins.

a twinleaf growing in bare dirt on a steep hillslope. half a dozen or so leaves and a single flower grow on their own separate stalks from a common rhizome just poking out of the ground. the leaf stems are mostly taller than the flower stem. each leaf is split into two semicircular lobes that mirrow each other across the central point where they & their stem meet. the flower has eight white petals cupped around eight pale yellow stamens and a light green acorn-shaped ovary.

🌼 twinleaf 🌿
Jeffersonia diphylla

these guys are so annoying their flowers last like one day. i usually just find cast-off petals on the ground, got lucky this time though

#nativeplants #ecoregion71

this plant comes not even half-way up to knee-high. it has three large, broad leaves dappled in several shades of green; the leaf facing the viewer is large enough to obscure the stem upon which it grows as well as nearly all of the other two leaves. a flower sits directly atop the leaf, three narrow green & maroon sepals spread flat against the leaves and three narrow petals standing erect, curving inwards slightly at the very tips. the background consists of blurrly light brown fallen tree leaves.

close-up look within the flower. in the background are the trillium's broad leaves, mottled several shades of green. narrow purple & green sepals lie flat on the leaves, and three narrow petals stand erect, mostly maroon but shading into green further up the petal & towards the margins. at the center, within the cavity formed by the three upright petals, a ring of six stamens crowd around and obscure the ovary; only ribbon-like tan styles lobes are visible twining through the stamens. the stamens are maroon, wide and thin, with yellow anthers running up the sides.

a blooming trillium standing alone among other green shoots and leaves on a forest floor littered with brown fallen tree leaves. its red stem is just visible beneath one of its large, broad leaves. the leaf not only has a distinctive pattern of veins like chevrons, but it is mottled in several shades of green. narrow purple & green sepals lie flat on the leaves, and three maroon petals stand erect in the center.

🌹 lil sweet betsy 🌿
Trillium cuneatum

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a blooming yellow trout lily growing on a bed of green moss. two long rubbery leaves, dappled light & brownish dark green, grow up from the base of the plant at a 45° angle. between the two leaves a flower stalk grows straight up before nodding around back towards the ground at the top. the flower is thus hanging, facing towards the ground. it has 6 bright yellow, long, triangular tepals. the outer 3 have a broad reddish stripe on the outside and strongly recurve, stretching skywards; the inner 3 tepals spread out sideways. six reddish brown anthers dangle below the flower from its center.

this close-up doesn't look into the face of a blooming yellow trout lily, but across it. its three outer tepals recurve back so strongly their tips overlap behind the flower; the inner tepals are held out to the side, slightly overspread beyond forming a plane, and have a few maroon speckles near their base. hiding within the hollow at the center of the flower there is a green ovary with a long, bright yellow style with a thick 3-lobed stigma. six stamens hang around the style, tapering yellow filaments supporting long, wrinkly maroon anthers. some uniquely patterned green & brownish dark green trout lily leaves are blurry in the background above light brown fallen tree leaves.

same flower as in the first pic with some more context. joining the flowering shoot on the bed of green moss and continuing into the background among a bed of fallen tree leaves, there are numerous single leaves sticking up to wave in the air. these individual leaves share the mottled green & brownish dark green pattern that presents on the two leaves of the flowering shoot. the singleton leaves tend to be a little smaller, however.

🌻 yellow trout lily 🌿
Erythronium americanum

immature shoots have 1 leaf; flowering shoots have 2 leaves. a colony may have hundreds of shoots, only a small percentage blooming each year

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close-up of a small flower with five white petals, so deeply and widely divided down the middle into two narrow lobes that it nearly appears to have ten petals. five light green, slightly curled at the margins, bluntly pointed sepals are arrayed outside of & alternating with the petals. at the center of the flower, a plump white ovary sits amidst ten sepals with slender white filaments and chunky reddish anthers. green leaves in the background.

same small flower seen from further back and more from the side. five white petals deeply split into narrow lobes such that they resemble ten petals, ten sepals with reddish anthers, squat white actually slightly greenish ovary in the very center. flower is perched atop a hairy stem rising from the split in the hairy red main stem. sessile opposite green leaves! in the background, light brown fallen tree leaves.

a bed of light brown fallen tree leaves and gray sticks at the base of a tree with smooth gray bark. the star chickweed grows up through the leaf litter, red stems and opposite green leaves not very tall. at the top of each main stem, the stem splits in two with smaller stems on each side with a white flower in the middle.

🌼 star chickweed 🌿
Stellaria pubera

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facing the viewer there is a flower with six white rounded petals, with several dozen white stamens with chunky anthers on slender filaments surrounding over a dozen green carpels in the center. behind the white petals there are three purple involucral bracts with bluntly but acutely pointed tips. to the left of the flower, somewhat blurry, there are two other flowers facing to the right. their stems slouch over such that the flowers are nearly nodding.

same flowers as before but from another angle. on the left, the flower is facing away from the viewer, showing off its three hairy purple involucral bracts. the tall stem supporting the flower is purplish green & lightly covered in long hairs. the two "extra" flowers from before are facing to the bottom left & still not in very good focus. they each have 6 white petals that cup forwards around their white stamens and green carpels.

sharp-lobed hepatica growing on a steep creekbank among fallen tree leaves next to a mossy tree trunk. the hepatica's own leaves are triangular, green and purple, with three deep lobes that come to blunt points. the leaves mostly hang down from their roots on long, hairy purple stems. the flowers also have long hairy purple stems but they grow upwards, though the stems do tend to begin to nod towards the top. the flowers have around six or so white petals, white stamens and green carpels in the center, and three purple bracts behind the petals.

🌼 sharp-lobed hepatica 🌿
Hepatica acutiloba

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close-up photo of the top of a virginia pennywort. the short stem bears rounded dark green even a bit purplish leaves whose sides curl upwards; the bottom of the leaves are greenish purple. flowers grow from the leaves' axils, flanked by two leaf-like bracts. each flower has four mostly white, narrow, pointed petals that nearly form a tube, but their edges don't quite meet up. at the tips, the petals flare out slightly and turn faintly blue-violet in color. in the center, within the "tube" formed by the petals, there are four stamens with pale yellow anthers arranged around a style with a pale yellow split stigma.

a virginia pennywort which has successfully pushed its way up through a layer of light brown fallen tree leaves on the forest floor. it has tiers of opposite green & purple leaves running up its stem, with some slender short branches near the base. between one and four flowers grow from each leaf axil, with more flowers by leaves lower on the stem. each flower is flanked by two leaf-like bracts. the flowers have four long, narrow, pointed petals that nearly form a tube before flaring slightly. the petals are mostly white but turn faintly purple at the tip. anthers & stigma visible within facing flowers are pale yellow.

a virginia pennywort, a short plant with a unbranching reddish-green stem bearing opposite green & purple round leaves, with white & pale purple flowers growing from leaf axils. the entire plant is less substantial than a single one of the light brown fallen oak leaves among which it grows. other green leaves and shoots of other plants grow nearby. it would be very easy to overlook this beautiful spring ephemeral wildflower with a casual glance.

💮 virginia pennywort 🌿
Obolaria virginica

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an umbel of around half a dozen bright pink bean flowers on a short spur growing directly off a tree branch. the banner petal and two lateral 'wing' petals that erect side-by-side, are about the same size, & have faintly darker-pink streaks between some of their veins. the two keel petals are of fairly similar size to the banner and wings, but they are held forwards and cup towards each other, enclosing the stamens and style.

looking up into a mostly blue sky through a tracery of bare tree branches in the high canopy. closer to the ground, the thin branches of a redbud are adorned with dozens of umbels of bright pink flowers growing from shoots on the branches themselves, each bunch containing around half a dozen to a dozen of the distinctive blossoms.

scene in an early spring forest, a creek in the middle distance gouged across a floor covered in tan and brown fallen tree leaves. wiry, thorny greenbriars create the appearance of a greenish haze up to waist level before the creek; the image resolution is insufficient to document their ubiquitous presence beyond. the tall trees appear leafless. in the foreground, a redbud stands about twice as high as a human. its thin trunk bears several smaller branches towards the top. the peripheral portions of those branches bear clusters of small pink flowers.

🌸 eastern redbud 🌿
Cercis canadensis

despite being members of the bean family these redbuds lack the root nodules that allow other beans to fix nitrogen

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a slightly nodding raceme of 4-petaled flowers and a few flowerbuds. the four sepals of each flower are light green but turn purple towards the tip. the four petals are very pale purple, essentially appearing white; they curve outwards once past the sepals & have rounded tips. in the center, six stamens with stout, light green to white filaments support light brown anthers, and surround a light green style with a white stigma.

the terminal raceme of a slender toothwort, with 3 open flowers lower down and 4 buds above. each flower has three greenish purple sepals cupping the base of four white and pale purple, rounded petals. a lil bug is sitting on the sepals of the flower on the left. blurry in the background there are two green stem leaves, each with 3 slender leaflets.

a slender toothwort growing among old fallen tree leaves at the base of a moss-covered tree. the toothwort's trifoliate basal leaves stand on separate stems to the lower left. the flowering stalk is red and has two green leaves alternate but nearly opposite on its stem, each divided into three slender leaflets. at the top, there are 5 pale purple 4-petaled flowers with a few flowerbuds.

🌸 slender toothwort 🌿
Cardamine angustata

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Everyone in #ecoregion71 🛑 stop ✋posting spring ephemeral flowers. Take a break ⏸️. Those of us in #ecoregion53 are feeling left out

a close-up of a panicle of half a dozen or so (visible) composite flowers, seen mostly face-on, each composed of around a dozen bright yellow ray florets and numerous disk florets of a slightly darker yellow color. on some flowers the disk florets have yet to open; on others, some around the outside of the disk are open; and on just one, all the florets in the disk are fully open. one flower on the bottom right is noticeably less developed than the rest, with ray florets sticking straight out as yet unfurled.

the basal rosette of a roundleaf ragwort. generally, the leaves are hairless, green, range from round to oval, and have many small, rounded teeth along their margins. the bottom-most leaves, typically the roundest, are obscured at their base by layers of higher leaves, but by their tips they are speckled with purple. the leaves growing low but actually on the stem above the basal rosette are simply long and narrow.

a steep bluff mostly of exposed rock, some bare dirt, and brown-green moss. a roundleaf ragwort sits in the middle of the photo, growing from a crack in the rock. it has a basal rosette of rounded green leaves with many small rounded teeth, and a stout flowerstem with a few long leaves growing alternate near the base. at the top of the curved stem there is a panicle of bright yellow flowers glowing in the sunlight.

🌻 roundleaf ragwort 🌿
Packera obovata

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a scarlet red flower with five long petals with a narrow notch at the tip. at the base of each petal there are two tooth-like appendages, creating a ring around the mouth of the tubular base of the flower. around half a dozen stamens stick out of the central tube, with slender red filaments and pale whitish anthers. there are a couple other of these bright red flowers towards the bottom of the picture and a flowerbud near the top.

a fire pink flower seen from the side. behind the flower, the purplish stem, green leafy bracts, and greenish-purple and purplish-green nearby flowerbuds are covered in short sticky hairs. the base of the flower is mostly concealed within purple sepals, which form a tube before forking into triangular lobes near the tip (also covered in sticky hairs). the flower's scarlet corolla is smooth, emerging from the sepals formed into a tube for a short distance before its five long petals spread apart. pink stamen filaments bearing white anthers stick straight out of the tube & a little spider is perched upon them.

a fire pink growing on a steep stone escarpment. it appears to be a heap of long green spatulate leaves, some turning purple. tall flowerstems rise from the basal leaves, adorned with smaller triangular leaf bracts. there are several flowerbuds and four bright red blooming flowers with five long, notched petals.

🌸 fire pink 🌿
Silene virginica

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an umbel of five flowers facing the sky, seen from above. the flowers each have six white, narrow elliptical petals with a vein running down their centerline & colored yellow at the base. in the center of the flower there is a yellow ovary with a white style on top surrounded by six stamens with tapering white filaments and yellow anthers.

the same terminal umbel of white flowers, seen from the side. the flowers each have six white, narrow elliptical petals with a vein running down their centerline & colored yellow at the base. in the center of the flower there is a yellow ovary with a white style on top surrounded by six stamens with tapering white filaments and yellow anthers.

a scattered colony of crowpoison growing in bare dirt on a steep hillslope. the plants have grass-like green leaf blades, several leaves per plant. some of the plants have slender flowering stalk that stand a little higher than the leaves & at their top bear an upright umbel of white flowers.

🌼 crowpoison 🌿
Nothoscordum bivalve

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a short plant with green leaves that don't quite lie flat, with deep narrow lobes similar to carrot leaves or curly-leaf parsley. leaves grow among the bright yellow flowers of a terminal raceme; the flowers towards the top are unopened, appearing as pale to bright yellow tubes with a X-shaped cross-section at the tip due to perpendicular crests on the two (still closed) outer petals. further down there are some open flowers; a left-facing open flower demonstrates many of the flowers' unusual characteristics. the upper outer petal has a downward-curving spur at its base, hanging down slightly over the flower's slender green stem. nearer the tip of the petal there is a thin, triangular crest. the forward edge of the crest and the outer edge of the petal are wavy. the bottom outer petal is similar to the upper outer petal but lacks a spur. within the open outer petals, the two inner petals are lateral and stay closed around the flower's stamens. a front-facing flower low on the right also shows off its upper crest.

this leafy raceme is the same as the first picture but from a different angle; the flower that was facing left previously is now seen head-on. the gaping outer petals have wavy edges and forward of where they hinge open, the petals are flat with the exception of a narrow, deep hollow in the midline on the inside that forms the crest on the outside of the petal. the inner petals also have a somewhat X-shaped cross-section, but they remain closed together.

yellow corydalis growing among other fresh green shoots and leaves. the corydalis leaves are more of a pale blue green than the surrounding verdant green leaves. clusters of bright yellow tubular flowers with X-shaped cross-sections near their tips grow among the corydalis leaves in three locations.

🌻 yellow corydalis 🌿
Corydalis flavula

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