Lovely Forget-Me-Nots. Not really wild, but still pretty and dainty volunteers.
Last weekend I was lucky enough to get out into the nearby forest, where I discovered an amazing array of wild flowers peeking out of the rich, damp earth. Since then it’s rained, rained, and rained, so I feel especially lucky that I found this flowery cornucopia when I did.
Mystery bulb plant. I await the bloom with enthusiasm.
Redwood Sorrel or Oregon Oxalis (Oxalis oregana).
One of my New Year’s goals was to learn about native flowers in my Northern California habitat, as well as to experiment with macro shots of flowers for inclusion in the curated county fair Photography Exhibit — in past years I’ve had 3 photos accepted, but so far no ribbons :-(. So this discovery practically in my own backyard provided the perfect opportunity to start my study and practice my photo-taking. There are lots more photos after the jump!
The three-leaved trillium in full bloom. Abundant in redwood forests, lucky for us!
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Trillium without a bloom and a mystery red-leafed plant.
Trillium with a white bloom. I’ve heard that when the flower is white it’s an old bloom. Can anyone confirm?
A fantastic duo of wild orchids.
I haven’t had time to identify all of the flowers, but I’m confident some readers out there will be able to offer up the Latin and/or garden-variety names. Please post any pertinent info you have in the Comments. And I’m hoping to post an update once the mysterious bulb plants bloom and I snap a closeup shot.
Next week I’ll write about a bunch of cheap and easy gardening tricks that can help you get your yard really blooming in no time. Happy Spring!
Some kind of yellow violet, maybe downy or round-leaved?
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A rare (or so I’ve been told) brown orchid, and an emerging fern frond.
Wild strawberry. I think these are non-fruit-bearing.
Miner’s Lettuce, totally edible and yummy!
Another pink trillium.
12 thoughts on “Wild Flowers of the Forest”
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Forget-Me-Nots are my favorite! There is no end to the wonderful color combinations found in nature. Now I totally have the Patrice Rushen disco classic stuck in my head. Love that track! :)
I like identifying wildflowers. I was down at Fort Ord and saw some ones I hadn’t seen before: http://www.flickr.com/photos/stblaize/
Your mystery bulb looks like an orchid as well.
Your mystery plant looks EXTREMELY like a Lilly of the Valley. If I am correct in my suspicions it should be blooming very soon.
I hope i helped!
Postscript- That “Orchid” of yours isn’t an Orchid, but I can’t put my finger on it’s name.
-i’m thinking
Hey there…your mystery plant is most likely a Solomon’s Seal that will bloom in May/June. With the linear veins on the leaves it does look like an orchid.
Here’s a link to a couple pics of both the Smooth Solomon’s Seal and the False Solomon’s Seal:
http://wildeherb.com/2007/05/31/late-spring-blooming-solomons-seals-in-pennsylvanian-woodlands/
Lily-of-the-valley have similar leaves, but only a couple per plant and not as substantial:
http://wildeherb.com/2008/10/31/orange-fruiting-lily-of-the-valley/
Keep looking and keep smiling!
Oh my gosh, readers, you are all so helpful, I really appreciate it! I’ve definitely seen False Solomon’s Seal in the forest and tried to take a picture of the delicate flowers without success (all the shots came out fuzzy). This plant is different than those, so I’ll wait to see what the flowers look like and snap a couple of shots. It’s growing taller each week and I’m really hoping the deer aren’t interested in it.