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Monday, May 18, 2009

Continuing Obsession

Here's a different look for a trillium--pink with the familiar green virus-caused marks more often seen against white.

What is my favorite wildflower—or just favorite flower, if it comes to that? As a lover of flowers, I am fickle, my allegiance shifting with every shift in the season. The jack-in-the-pulpit, with its unusual form and dramatic contrasting colors, fascinates me endlessly, but the violets make me happy, happy, happy, and I never tire of their little faces. That they come in such a variety of colors is endlessly pleasing as well.







I will try to have something to say on a non-botanical topic in a day or two. Who knows? Maybe even a couple of book recommendations….

2 comments:

Gerry said...

I did not know about the green stripe virus. So many things I do not know, so little time. These are lovely, lovely images.

P. J. Grath said...

(I'm going to leave this comment on two different posts.)

Quoting from Ed Arnfield's book, Trillium grandiflora "is pure white and turns a pale pink as it ages." Some that are infected by an organism or virus produce a central green stripe in the flower."

The usually deep red, nearly maroon trillium, Trillium erectum L., also called "Stinking Benjamin," can also, says Harry C. Lund, "vary to purple, yellow, greenish or white." It's much, much less common, in my experience. There are none in the woods Sarah and I roam, but a friend knows a farm that has a large colony. I'd love to see them sometime.