Wildflower Wednesday

It's time for Wildflower Wednesday again.. the week has flown by, but I have found a bit of time to go looking once again for some interesting wildflowers to share with you. The first one this week is one that I'm not totally sure I have identified correctly. I found it at my friend Donna's cottage, growing on the rocky shore/beach at Maquapit Lake. I think it is Wood Anemone, it seems to fit the description perfectly except for the flowering time, which is earlier in the spring - May/June around these parts. This year everything seems earlier than usual, not later, probably because of so much rain this spring. So perhaps I am wrong. If anyone out there can tell me for sure what this flower is, please leave a comment. I will continue on the assumption that it is Wood Anemone (Anemone quinquefolia), a member of the buttercup family. My trusty Audubon Field Guide to North American Wildflowers describes it perfectly: "A low, delicate plant with a whorl of 3 stalked deeply cut leaves and a solitary stalked white flower. Flowers 1" wide, sepals 4-9, white, petal-like, pistils and stamens numerous." Looks right, no? "Since anemones are usually slender-stalked and tremble in the breeze, they have been called Wind Flowers".



This next one I am sure of.. it's Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta), sometimes called Brown-eyed Susan too... It grows throughout North America in fields, prairies, open woods and along roadsides. I'm sure it is familiar to most anyone who pays attention to flowers at all... Its golden-yellow daisy-like flower heads with brown central cones and rough hairy stems make it easy to identify. It is a biennial, forming a rosette of leaves the first year and flowers the second year.








I have featured this next flower before, but I love it so and it is getting harder and harder to find. This year I found it in a different location and the coloring is a bit different- so here we go again with the Canada Lily (Lilium canadense) also known as Meadow Lily or Wild Yellow Lily. Each summer I drive downriver to the Maugerville-Sheffield area to seek out this flower. I was feeling sorry for myself that I wouldn't get the chance to do that this year as I've been so busy lately and we leave for our trip tomorrow. But lo and behold, last week when I was upriver and exploring with "Cousin Debby" - what do we find but several Canada Lilies! Look at the coloring- it is darker (more orange-y) and much more

spotted than the ones I have found other years (you can see them here and here.) I suppose different soil would have an effect and also this plant was not out in the open, but in more of a wooded area - perhaps that would be a factor too. Anyway I could not pass by without taking its photo.. just for you! Enjoy!
That's all for today. What wildflowers have you discovered lately?

Peace,
Linda

"Each flower is a soul opening out to nature." ~ Gerald DeNerval