Slatsz Wildflower Walks 2012: May 15, 2012

Got to the park about 4, left about 6. It was clear, hot. Unpleasant. Considerable wind. 155 photos, 58 keepers.

I looked at the poorly written, inadequate documentation for the camera. I decided to try setting it on ‘program’ which I assumed meant ‘point and shoot’. That seems to have been a mistake.

I’m guessing, now, that it means ‘point and shoot’ for everything but macro photography and other deviations from their concept of the norm.

I drove to the east end of the park to check on the Anchusa officinalis, common bugloss that was in bud last outing. It had not developed. I saw a full blown Allium greyeri, Greyer’s onion and photographed it. I chewed the stem. It had a stronger, better, flavor than the leaves I tried last time.

I noticed an Arabis holboellii, Holboell’s rockcress, and check for basal leaves. There they were. But they seemed to be dying off, drying up. I supposed the plants that I thought had no basal leaves had lost theirs when I pulled up the plant.

There were Microsteris gracillis, slender phlox, in full bloom everywhere. They seemed almost to be two varieties, short plants, lost in the grass except for tiny pink flowers, and, less frequently, rather tall, robust plants. I’m sure the difference was environmental.

I drove to the fireplug to check on the domestic cherry. The plant that I thought was domestic cherry was in bloom but was a bit too familiar.

Last outing I did comparison photos of two plants I thought were Prunus mahaleb, one far west, on the edge of Hole in the Ground and one by South Pond, that I presumed was the source for those scattered around the park.

When I got the photos into the computer I saw that I had not noticed that the leaves on the plant by South Pond were wrong. It must have been the domestic Cherry.

The other cherry species by South Pond, the Prunus mahaleb was in bloom this time. The domestic cherry was past its prime.

Camassia quamash is past its prime but I attempted photos of the patch west of South Pond.

I burrowed into Tall Pine Grove to get photos of the trunk of the giant Crataegus douglasii, black hawthorn in there. There was little in the way of blossoms in the grove. I noticed, later, that where it was exposed on the south side of the grove it was blanketed with blossoms.

I have not checked the trunk of the large black hawthorn east of South Pond. I’ll try to remember to do that.

I started back for the car. I wanted to move to the north entrance to the park to check on the plants that had been in bud last outing. It was hot and unpleasant but, even so, I decided on the long way around Tall Pine Grove and made a couple of nice discoveries.

The ragged little Physocarpus malvaceus, mallow ninebark just west of the grove, was in bloom. I missed its blossoming, last year. I didn’t think to get a ‘plant’ photo.

And the huge unidentified shrub on the south side of Tall Pine Grove was in bud. It has a powerful, knock you down, odor when it is in full bloom. I ran around the internet awhile trying to get an identification for it but failed.

I thought I had an identification for it last year but it must be wrong.

There was a long dead yellow jacket on the window of my car. He lost some parts when I picked him up because I was trying not to get stung. Ok, not too likely but … who knows?

When I walked into the park from the north side I saw Lepidium campestre, field pepperweed beginning to bloom.

There’s not much open water left in North Pond.

The Viburnum species, snowball shrub, by the pond is in bloom as is the Syringa vulgaris, lilac next to it.

The first tall shrub northwest of North Pond is Prunus virginiana. I couldn’t identify it from the leaves. It was in bloom this time.

And just beyond it the Ceanothus sanguineus was in bloom.

I wonder about the single shrubs, the mallow ninebark and the C. sanguineus. Does the fact that there is only one, each, of them mean they were introduced by the school teacher that introduced the shrubs at the west end of the park?

I seems like there are far too many different shrubs in that ten or twelve acres. She must have introduced lots of them.

I meant to check the Microseris nutans, nodding microseris, by The North Access Trail and forgot. I saw one past blossoming down in the park and photographed it.

I meant to check the Agoseris glauca that was in bud and forgot. The heat shortened my memory. I wanted to be done.

I noticed the ‘single’ Phlox caespitosa and decided it needed to be recorded.

The Lewisia Rediviva, bitterroot, has lost its foliage. The buds look ready to open.

I got fairly close to the Agoseris glauca checking on the Eriogonum heracleoides, parsnip flowered buckwheat, patch beyond Long Rock Ridge that seemed to be more advanced than others. I saw no development from last outing.

There were Triteleia grandiflora here and there around the park. The one I photographed looks sickly.

I forgot to check the Cornus sericea, red osier dogwood, in South Pond while I was up there so I had to double back. I was not happy about that.

The Cornus sericea on the south side of the pond were little developed. A few buds showed white. But some were in full bloom on the north side of the pond. I think that the north side plants were ahead last year, as well.