SCIOTO VALLEY BIRD AND NATURE CLUB SOUTH CENTRAL OHIO

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FLOWER OF THE MONTH

AUGUST --- QUEEN ANNE'S LACE

Queen Anne's Lace or Wild Carrot is one of the commonest late summer flowers. It will grow almost anywhere and spreads rapidly. I learned it as belonging to the family Umbelliferae, but the name has been changed to Apiaceae. The reasoning is that all plant families should end with -aceae. They can be recognized by the umbrella-shaped head made up of many small five-petaled flowers. This great family contains many common weeds. Such plants as Wild Parsnip, Sweet Cicely, Angelica, Poison Hemlock, and Harbinger-of-Spring. Cooking herbs such as Dill, Fennel, Cumin, and Anise also belong to this family. Vegetables such as Carrot, Parsnip, and Celery, and Parsley belong to this family and are very important food crops. The Latin name is Daucus carota.

If one looks carefully at a flower head, there is almost always a single, small, purple flower hidden away in the center. As the flowers get older, they begin to curl up forming a sort of hollow ball. Small insects may use these balls as a place of refuge from predators. In one such ball, I once found over thirty tiny black true bugs with the unpolitically correct name of Negro Bug. The foliage is much dissected or divided in to leafy lobes. The flower and foliage are quite decorative, and if it were not for the habit of taking over a garden, it would be a handsome addition to a flower garden. Most if not all of this family are biennials. That is, they grow from seed but do not bloom the first year. This year is devoted to storing up food in the root. The second year it produces flowers and seeds and then dies. Like most alien plants, they will take over almost any location if given a chance.

Queen Anne's Lace Photo Press BACK ARROW to return.

Queen Anne's Lace Old Flower Photo Press BACK ARROW to return.

APRIL --- ORCHIDS
by Joe McMahon

This month, I picked a group instead of a single flower. The Orchids make up one of the largest plant families. They are found in many habitats especially the tropics. They are probably the most highly developed of all plants, and come in extremely diverse forms. Some of the tropical species have become so modified that they can be pollinated by only one species of insect, and this insect is totally dependant on the orchid for food. Orchids depend on species of fungi living in the soil, and cannot exist without it. Orchid seeds are very unusual. Some plants insure the development of their seeds by producing relatively few seeds each with a supply of food to keep the seedling alive until its leaves develop. Other species produce a very large number of small seeds with less food "hoping" that some of them will survive. Orchids carry this to an extreme. Millions of seeds are produced that are as fine as dust and have no food stored in them at all. When a seed reaches the soil the special fungi provide food or energy until the leaves can develop. Many orchids ave very slow growing and may require fifteen or more years to reach maturity.

ALL Ohio orchids are protected by law and it is illegal to cut or transplant them. They cannot live under the conditions found in home gardens. The growing of orchids from seed is a job for the expert orchidist.

There are several species found in Ohio, but many are small and obscure, and often grow in uncommon areas such as swamps, and bogs.

Pink Lady's Slipper or Moccasin Flower ( Cyripedium acaule)

One of our largest orchids, the Pink Lady's Slipper is found on the floor of dry conifer woods. It grows to about fifteen inches in height and produces one flower per plant. It is much more common in northeastern US and Canada where is can be seen in large number growing along roadsides. I once saw a group of them in a small pine forest in Jackson County. The person who showed them to me practically required a signature in blood that I would not disclose its location. He said that only a year or so before, he had shown someone another location and in a few weeks all the plants had been dug up. Unfortunately the land where I saw them was logged over a few years afterward, and they are, of course, long gone.

Pink Lady's Slipper Photo Press BACK ARROW to return.

Yellow Lady's Slipper ( Cyripedium calceola)

This large orchid grows in wet, shady deciduous forests. It often reach twenty-four inches in height. The photo was taken at a location in Jackson County near Richmond Dale, OH. The land where it was growing was logged in a few years and this is probably the last photo taken of them.

Yellow Lady's Slipper Photo Press BACK ARROW to return.

Showy Orchis ( Orchis spectabilis )

The Showy Orchis is much smaller than the preceding orchids and has a much different type of flower. It is found in moist areas, wet woods, and swamps. It grows to about fifteen inches high and has a much simpler flower. The photo was taken in same location as the Yellow Lady's Slipper above. It was at one time found in Scioto Trail State Forest, but I have not seen it there for many years.

Showy Orchis Photo Press BACK ARROW to return.

All of these photos were taken by my wife, Ella, in the late 1960's or early 1970's.

MARCH --- SPRING BEAUTY (Claytonia virginica)
by Joe McMahon

This month's flower is the Spring Beauty. Many people look upon this flower as a sure sign of spring. In many areas, the ground is covered with these delicate pink-striped flowers. It is a member of the Potrtulacaceae or Purslane Family. Plants are between six and twelve inches high and have a pair or narrow grass-like leaves. There is a similar species, Carolina Spring Beauty that has much wider leaves. The first photo was taken by Ella McMahon some thirty or so years ago in Scioto Trail State Park. The second photo was taken recently by our club member and photographer extrodinaire, Harold Gass

Spring Beauty Photo Press BACK ARROW to return.

FEBRUARY --- BLOODROOT (Sanguinaria canadensis)
by Joe McMahon

Bloodroot is a member of the Poppy Family and is the only species in its genus,Sanguinaria. It is one of the earliest to bloom often beginning in late winter. It is a perennial and favors rich woods especially along banks. It has basal leaves only that can be as wide as 20 cm (8 in.), but is much smaller when flowering. The leaf has five to nine lobes and is folded around the flower stalk when blooming.

The flower is white with a yellow center, and may be 5 cm (2 in.) wide. It has four large petals and four small ones, although the numbers may be as many as eight of each size. It is found east of the Rocky Mountains.

The name Sanguinaria comes from the red juice that can be extracted from the root, which is actually a rhizome. This red juice was used as body paint by Native Americans. The men painted their faces while the maidens painted their bodies. One tribe believed that if a young man painted his palm with the juice and shook hands with the maiden of his choice, she would be willing to marry him in five or six days. Applying the juice not a good idea since it contains a substance that kills tissue.

Native Americans and early settlers recommended it for treatment of skin cancer to sore throat. If it has any valid use, treatment of warts, ringworm, and fungal growths may make use of its property to kill tissue. It has been used as a toothpaste to combat some mouth problems. This use is sanctioned by the FDA. Taken internally, it stimulates the digestive system and acts as an emetic. Small doses can produce visual distortion. The FDA urges that it NOT be so used.

The Bloodroot photo was taken by Joe McMahon at Mound City.

Bloodroot Photo Press BACK ARROW to return.