Spider Lily

These are from last year at this time... and guess what. They are right on time. I took a few more pics of the same in the last days, and nice dress shoes are still stinking wet from wading into the bog to take them. I guess I should carry sneakers with me.
Spider Lily, or -- my name: "Gothic Bride"
Hymenocallis occidentalis or
Hymenocallis caroliniana
family: Liliaceae

All pics 5/12/2005 - in the empty field across from the Dave Ward Walmart in Conway, AR

Turns out there are several different flowers of quite different appearance (but belonging to the lily family) that claim the name "Spider lily" -- and this is one of them. Scientific name is either Hymenocallis occidentalis (see : http://www.briartech.com/summer/slily/slily.htm ) or Hymenocallis caroliniana (see: http://www.2bnthewild.com/plants/H22.htm ).

Concerning the name, the folks at 2-bn-the- wild write: Hymenocallis means "beautiful membrane" which refers to the the corona that connects the stalks of the stamens for a portion of their length. This is a large spectacular flower that is exciting to find unexpectedly.

I concur. First time I saw one I was so "startled" that I thought it must be fake. But it didn't feel like plastic... or even a regular flower. In keeping with its swampy nature, it felt kind of sticky and damp, like wilted cabbage.

This lily is built on a symmetry of six. Six Stamen, six petals, six corona sections.

Red Clover (looks purple to me)

(2009 Repost) 

The same person who named the Redbud tree must have named Red Clover. As is, in the last month I got a number of hits to this site for folks looking for name of the really red clover that grows along our highways. They should know that that is Crimson clover, while this pale purple substitute, is "Red"

More info to be posted.

Honey suckle

Recycle from 2008 (As of May 3, the patches are not as thick as the big-patch pictures, but are quickly headed that direction.)

It was with no small disappointment that I learned a few years back that the Honeysuckle is not regarded by many naturalists as a wonderful thing. At least not as it makes its home in more and more American woodlands.

As a kid I earned how to pull the pistil of the Honeysuckle out the back and trough the tube of the flower -- then touch a drop of watery nectar to my tongue. Wallah.. hidden honey.

Now I've learned that this plant (sometimes called Japanese Honeysuckle or by the Latin name "Lonicera japonica" is of Asian origin and has few natural predators. If left unchecked, it can choke out native species.

For more info:

http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/wildlife/resources/mgtplans/invasives.htm

http://www.nps.gov/plants/alien/fact/loja1.htm






Yellow Honeysuckle (Lonicera flava) (native varitey)

Privet (Wild Prvet, Privet Hedge)

"Wild" Privet

Ligustrum (ovalifolium)?

Family: Oleaceae

Recycle from 2008 (As of May 2nd, not all the the bushes are this advanced, but they are coming on full force, and folks will want to know what they are.)

Look anywhere around Arkansas, and you are bound to see Privet as part of our highway underbrush. For the most part Privet is "invisible" till it blooms in May then shows us just how much of it there is. For those of us who love its fragrance, Privet is a wonderful thing. (Some folks find them too fragrant. Oddly, They seem most potent at night when you can't see them.)

Privet is a European or Asian transplant, and invasive. But it isn't only found on the roadside. With a little pruning Privet can be "made" a tree, or more commonly, a hedge.
For unwild uses see: http://springhillnursery.com/product.asp_Q_pn_E_66517


You can see a huge stand of "wild" Privet on the North Little Rock Hill, where Interstate 40 and Interstate 30 merge, near JFK. But its pretty much everywhere, though often mixed and merged with concurrent blooming Honeysuckle. (Honeysuckle runs yellowish, but at a distance Privet and Honey-Suckle often look alike ... Except that Privet spikes into the air, and is its own thing, rather than a vine.

For more on Privet see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Privet
For more on the Oleaceae family (which includes olives) see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oleaceae

Pink Evening Primrose

Pink Evening Primrose
(Recycle, from May 1, 2008)


Speaking about clockwork, all of these images were taken in the first days of May... across three separate years.

Location: Conway, AR entrance ramp, and I-40 between Maumelle, AR and the I-430 exchange.
The pink eveing primrose is part of a much larger Primrose family, some wof which look much different than the flower pictured here. A quick survey of the Primrose family suggests that a common element may be the striking four pronged pistil.
As is, the Pink Evening Primrose is built on a 2/4/8 symmetry.
Each bloom appears to have four major petals, which in turn are divided into two symetrical halves. The two halves together form something of a heart. (When viewed from obove, the bloom --with four squat hearts, can look kind of squarish) Each bloom comes with eight stamen, with yellow pollinated anthers. The four-pronged pisitl shoots out of the central well, with a dirct feed to the seed chamber about a half-inch below.

These things are heavy pollinators, marking my clothes whith thick sploches of yellow. They appear to grow in patches, and the individual clusters often form in of a dome (with the older growth at the center lifted slightly higher.)

Rosa Multiflora

To be honest, I am not sure this next bush and close-up are of a "Rosa Multiflora". The bloom clusters are not as tight. But if not a multiflora, it's pretty close.

(Recycle, as I am seeing all manner of wild rose -- and garden variety - pop out everywhere)

Wild Rose Bush (Rosa Multiflora)

First week of May, 2008

I've been taking pictures of blooming things for some time, but I have never seen as many wild “bush” roses that I have seen in this last week. I am not sure if that is because I never stopped to photograph them (they are a photographic challenge) or, if with recent rains there are just more of them.

Everywhere I look I am seeing bushes, hedges, and tendrils exploding with wild white roses.

As is, I am not sure if all of the rose covered bushes are of the same species, or simply family variations. The flowers at top appeared more clustered than those shown lower.

For more on wild rose groupings see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Rosa_species

butter cup

Buttercup

Ranunculus (repens?)

Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Ranunculales
Family: Ranunculaceae
Genus: Ranunculus
(by way of Wikipedia)



Recycle from may of last year, however the Buttercups are coming in strong. It appears there are several varieties in this area, but I am not ready to tackle the differences.

The name buttercup is applied casually to any number of small yellow field flowers, though most of the time it is applied to members of the Ranunculus genus. One of the strong characteristics of this flower type is not only multiple stamen (male part) but multiple pistils. (female component.)

I'll try to get a better picture to illustrate the flourish. Until then, here is a better picture by way of backyard nature: http://www.backyardnature.net/buttrcup.htm

One of the notable characteristics of the featured buttercup is its affinity for drainage areas and wet soil, and its notable waxy sheen. (Which in turn makes it more difficult to photograph). This variety always has five petals.

There is a small irony in the location of Arkansas's field buttercups. They seem to take well to pastureland, and can sometimes be seen distinctly within the perimeters of places where cattle feed. Some varieties of Buttercup are called cowslip, because (I imagine) they slip so easily through cows. On the other hand, buttercups are poisonous, and can blister the mouths of cattle.

For more information on all things Ranunculus see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranunculus