… continued from previous post
We chanced across a patch of yet another species of trillium. This lance-leaved trillium is the 12th kind of trillium I have pictures of on this blog. There are about 50 known, worldwide.
Last fall when we saw the huge leaves falling down around the bigleaf magnolia I did some research and learned that people often miss seeing the flowers in the spring because they are so high up in the tree. So I’ve been looking up on every visit since spring got started. On this day I saw some buds and new leaves emerging and used the zoom lens to get a picture. (above)
Mountain witch-alder or large fothergilla is a 6-12 ft., sometimes taller, deciduous shrub with picturesquely crooked, multiple stems. Dense, dark blue-green, leathery foliage becomes colorful in fall. The fragrant flower, appearing as a mass of stamens, is white and occurs in thimble-like, terminal spikes after the leaves have appeared.
~ Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center website
Maybe the sunlight was different this year but the Spanish lavender’s hues seemed a lot deeper, compared to last year’s photos. I love this vivid color!
to be continued …
I didn’t realize there were so many different trilliums! Lovely blooms, Barbara, spring is the best!
Thank you, Eliza! I didn’t realize there were so many either until I decided to count how many I had pictures of, which led me to wonder just how many there might be. Wikipedia says the greatest diversity of species is found in the southern Appalachian Mountains.