Tag Archives: Triosteum perfoliatum (Perfoliate Tinker’s Weed)

3-31-24: First Wildflower Walk of 2024…

Hello everyone! I hope this post finds you well. We finally had a good soaking on Monday! Lighting, thunder, and lots of rain! The rain gauge said 1 3/4″ in the end.

I went Moral mushroom hunting on Saturday and found around 20, but most of them were on the small side so I left them behind. I found a few that were big enough to fill a 9″ skillet.

Then on Sunday, the day before it rained, I went to my friend Kevin’s secluded woods to look around. I didn’t go in 2023, so I was glad to get back in the woods again. This woodland isn’t really that secluded since it is along the highway, but it is very healthy. Normally, the creek is running but it was mostly dry this time. This rain will get it going and likely wash out a few areas along the hillside. Even though 1 3/4″ doesn’t sound like that much, a little goes a long way in a downpour when the water is going down a steep hillside.

Cardamine concatenata (Cut-Leaved Toothwort) on 3-31-24, #981-1.

There were A LOT of Cardamine concatenata (Cut-Leaved Toothwort) growing on the hillside along the creek. Many were blooming quite well, while even more hadn’t started yet. Most of the flowers were wide open this time.

Cardamine concatenata (Cut-Leaved Toothwort) on 3-31-24, #981-2.

I need to go back to the woods to get photos when they set fruit, dry, and split… I have to replace the ones I borrowed. 🙂

Claytonia virginica (Virginia Spring Beauty) on 3-31-24, #981-3.

There were loads of Claytonia virginica (Virginia Spring Beauty) in several areas along the creek and on the hillside in Kevin’s woods. In 2020 I found a single plant growing close to the fence in the southeast pasture (where I live), and about 20 feet away there A LOT more.

Claytonia virginica (Virginia Spring Beauty) on 3-31-24, #981-5.

Then in 2022, I found hundreds in Kevin’s woods… And again in 2024.

Dicentra cucullaria (Dutchman’s Breeches) on 3-31-24, #981-11.

The Dicentra cucullaria (Dutchman’s Breeches) were just as plentiful as the Cardamine cucullaria and they grow together in many areas. I am going out later to dissect a flower because they are very interesting… Not only do the flowers have nectar glands in a weird place, but the seeds have masses of elaiosomes which ants use as food. They carry the seeds back to their nests and discard them which aids in the spread of the plants.

Dicentra cucullaria (Dutchman’s Breeches) on 3-31-24, #981-10.

I wrote descriptions for this species on March 5 and really learned A LOT. If you want, you can click on the link to its page above to check out the detailed photos I borrowed. I want to dissect a flower to check its inside out for myself and hopefully get a few good close-ups… Practice makes perfect. 🙂

Ellisia nyctelea (Aunt Lucy) on 3-31-24, #981-12.

I climbed the steep hillside and crawled under the fence to look for a certain plant and ran across several colonies of a species I hadn’t identified before. I took a few shots and uploaded them on iNaturalist for an ID and they turned out to be Ellisia nyctelea, commonly known as Aunt Lucy… Hmmm… It is currently the only species in the genus. There were none with flowers, but the Missouri Plants website says they bloom from April to June. Maybe next time I go out there will be flowers.

Ellisia nyctelea (Aunt Lucy) on 3-31-24, #981-13.

The common name will be easy to remember since I had an aunt named Lucy. Once I find flowers, I will be able to write its own page. 🙂 You can check out the species page on the Missouri Plants website by clicking HERE.

Erythronium albidum (White Fawnlily) on 3-31-24, #981-14.

Almost everywhere I looked along the creek and on the hillside were hundreds of Erythronium albidum (White Fawnlily/White Dogtooth Violet). They start flowering sometime in March and continue through May but I haven’t seen any YET. I am determined to find flowers so I can finish its page… The flowers are supposed to be really neat… Check out the page for the species on the Missouri Plants website by clicking HERE.

Phlox divaricata subsp. laphamii (Wild Blue Phlox) on 3-31-24, #981-15.

There were several Phlox divaricata subsp. laphamii (Wild Blue Phlox) but not as many as before. They were also very short this time…

Triosteum perfoliatum (Perfoliate Tinker’s Weed) on 3-31-24, #981-16.

The main reason I climbed up the hillside and crawled under the fence was to see if I could find the Triosteum perfoliatum (Perfoliate Tinker’s Weed). I couldn’t find it the last several times I checked because the brushy undergrowth was too tall and thick. I knew where to look, and to my surprise I found it!

Triosteum perfoliatum (Perfoliate Tinker’s Weed) on 3-31-24, #981-17.

I was very excited! This amazing plant grows fairly tall and has odd flowers, similar to a honeysuckle (in the same family). I went earlier than usual so it was only maybe around 8″ tall and there was only one…

Triosteum perfoliatum (Perfoliate Tinker’s Weed) on 3-31-24, #981-18.

Of course, the perfoliate leaves are one of the highlights of this plant. I like the way they clasp the stem making it look like there is only one with the stem running through the center.

Viola pubescens (Downy Yellow Violet) on 3-31-24, #981-19.

There are several spread-out colonies of Viola pubescens (Downy Yellow Violet) in Kevin’s woods but I only found one with flowers. It’s the fuzzy fruit that is unique to this species… Or was unique…

Viola pubescens (Downy Yellow Violet) on 3-31-24, #981-20.

Due to a taxon split, it is possibly now Viola eriocarpa (Smooth Yellow Violet)… On the list of synonyms for V. pubescens is Viola pubescens var. eriocarpa. Viola pubescens was named by William Aiton in 1789 and the variety was named by Thomas Nuttall in 1818. Viola eriocarpa was named by Lewis (or Ludwig) David von Schweinitz in 1822.

Two more attempts were made to make it part of Viola pubescens with Viola pubescens f. eriocarpa by Oliver Atkins Farwell in 1923 and another V. pubescens var. eriocarpa by Norman Hudson Russell in 1965. The last two are synonyms of V. eriocarpa… Just a little extra (useless) information. 🙂

I just found out about the taxon split when I was writing this post. I added the photos to its page and then clicked on the link on iNatualist for the species. To my horror, their page said it is an inactive taxon! While Viola pubescens is still an accepted species (with a different assigned number), apparently it was discovered most of the observations for V. pubescens are now Viola eriocarpa… My former observations for V. pubescens were automatically transferred to V. eriocarpa. Hmmm…

According to iNaturalist, V. eriocarpa differs from V. pubescens by having a virtual absence of basal leaves and having 2-3 cauline leaves clustered in the upper 2/3 of the stem, etc. They further state, “Viola eriocarpa is by far the more common of these two species, occurring over a wider geographic range, and in a greater variety of habitats. When it was included in V. pubescens sensu lato, it was sometimes differentiated as V. pubescens var. scabriuscula. Ummm… They also state “Viola pubescens is very uniform in morphology while V. eriocarpa is much more variable which it is often confused.” Hmmm… Well, according to my photos, it is likely the Viola pubescens I identified are likely Viola eriocarpa. That means I have to check the leaves and stems on the plants in Kevin’s woods. In the past, I found several in the woods behind this farm (the neighbors), and in 2022 I found a few on my side of the fence. I didn’t see them last year, and I noticed “something” has been digging in the ground where they were growing along the fence. Possibly that darn Armadillo!!!

At any rate, I will likely be overhauling the Viola pubescens page…

Hopefully, I will be going back to Kevin’s woods in a few days. The Green Dragon and Jack-In-The Pulpit weren’t up yet.

Until next time, be safe, stay positive, and always be thankful. It’s almost time for me to get my hands in the dirt. 🙂

Into The Wooly Woods

Hello everyone! I hope this post finds you well. Saturday afternoon I finished the planters at a friend’s house so I decided to go ahead and check the progress of some of the wildflowers in the woods. The above photo is where close to where I enter. To the left is kind of a small creek that starts from nowhere and goes toward the ditch along the highway. I enter the woods and head for the second creek which is to the right of the above photo. It is in the area between the two creeks where I spotted my first sighting of Arisaema dracontium (Green Dragon) and Arisaema tryphyllum (Jack-In-The-Pulpit) (which some are still flowering). There are a lot more Green Dragon’s here while there are more Jack-In-The-Pulpit on the other side of the creek. There are also LOADS of Mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum) throughout the woods.

 

The above photo is the creek I walk in but usually much farther down where there is still plenty of water. I wear my rubber boots and actually walk in the water. The creek is like a path but in some areas I have to crawl under or over fallen trees or vines. Further down from this spot is another creek than merges with it that goes around the hill. It is kind of hard to describe and I should have taken more photos. This creek also runs into the ditch that runs along the highway which then flows into the East Fork Tebo Creek. Close to the end there is a steep hill which I climb and crawl under the fence… Once on top of the hill, the woods become much more open with HUGE trees.

 

At the bottom of the hill is a fence with a pasture on the other side. I was standing next to the fence looking up the hill when I took this photo. When I first visited these woods on April 23, the underbrush hadn’t leafed out and what grass is in there was still very short. This gave the early spring wildflowers a chance to grow and bloom. It was much easier to navigate and see where I was going.

Now, you may ask why I am tromping around in the woods with all the underbrush now. Well, it is very simple… There are several plants in there I was hoping to keep an eye on BUT I am having some difficulty. Just like two plants that have vanished along the creek. After a big storm, the Dicentra cucullaria (Dutchman’s Breeches) and Cardamine concatenata (Cut-leaved Toothwort) completely vanished. On the third or fourth trip, I finally found ONE leaf of the Dicentra. It was involved in a mudslide, which I suspected, and was covered with mud and debris that ran down the hill during the storm. A few days later I decided to go back with my trowel and see if I could dig it up. It was no use because I couldn’t find the roots or bulbs. The Cardamine is next to a big tree but I have yet to find it the second time… I know it is in there somewhere because I have the photos. It is possible it was eaten by deer. You would think in all these woods there would be more than one Dutchman’s Breeches and Toothwort!!!

OK, I got kind of off-track… The reason I wanted to go into the woods in the above photo was to find two particular plants. Somehow, I managed not to post about them when I first saw them on May 10. One was flowering and one was not but both are worth searching for…

Triosteum perfoliatum (Perfoliate Tinker’s Weed) on 5-10-20, #697-51.

Now you may wonder what is so special about this plant I identified as Triosteum perfoliatum, commonly known as Perfoliate Tinker’s Weed, Fever Root, Wild Coffee, Feverwort, Common Horse Gentian,  and Late Horse Gentian. For those of you who are versed in botanical language, the species name “perfoliatum” or the common name “Perfoliate” should give you a hint… This species is a member of the Caprifoliaceae (Honeysuckle) Family.

 

Triosteum perfoliatum (Perfoliate Tinker’s Weed) on 5-10-20, #697-56.

The lower leaves on the plant kind of somehow merge together much in the way they do with Eupatorium perfoliatum (Common Boneset).

The genus name, Triosteum, is derived from Greek words tri, meaning ‘three’ and osteon, meaning ‘bone’, which together means “three bones” and refers to the 3 hard nutlets in the fruit which have bony ridges. The species name, perfoliatum, is derived from the Latin meaning ‘through the leaf’. The fruit can be dried and roasted and used as a coffee substitute.

 

Triosteum perfoliatum (Perfoliate Tinker’s Weed) on 5-10-20.

While the upper leaves haven’t quite merged they do have neat buds…

 

Triosteum perfoliatum (Perfoliate Tinker’s Weed) on 5-10-20.

Sessile clusters of 1-5 flowers emerge from the leaf axils. You can also see in the above photo that the stems are pubescent (hairy).

 

Triosteum perfoliatum (Perfoliate Tinker’s Weed) on 5-10-20.

The large leaves grow opposite one another and at a 90° angle from the previous set of leaves.

What is so weird is that I only found ONE of these. What is weirder, even though I know where I saw it, I could NOT find it again on May 23… This is NOT a small plant and you would think I could have found it. At least that is what I thought. I spent quite a while walking through the underbrush, up and down the hill, back and forth, starting over several times. Nothing…

Right next to this plant was a member of the Caryophyllaceae Family…

Silene stellata (Starry Campion) on 5-10-20.

While there are MANY wildflowers with long lance-shaped leaves, the Silene stellata, also known as Starry Campion and Widow’s Frill, is a little different. So, of course I had to take photos so I could make a proper ID.

 

Silene stellata (Starry Campion) on 5-10-20.

It has four sessile leaves per swollen node… Hmmm… That sounds awkward.

 

Silene stellata (Starry Campion) on 5-23-20.

I did find this plant again on the 23rd but not necessarily where I spotted it next to the Triosteum… There is A LOT of this species and they seemed to multiply before my eyes. Silene stellata is a perennial that populates by seed and also spreads at the base where it can send up multiple stems. I wanted to check on this species because it supposed to start flowering in May and continue through September. It will have really NEAT flowers. Unfortunately, no flowers yet… Did I mention the flowers will be really NEAT?

There are 883 species in the Silene genus found pretty much worldwide! Missouri Plants describes eight but I have only found one…

So, there I was tromping around in the woods, trying to remain upright, talking to myself or whoever would listen. No doubt there were a few gnomes and fairies watching over the woods. They are probably having some fun with me by moving plants so I can’t find them again. Maybe next time I will have to sit and meditate and ask for their help… Hmmm…

One other species I completely can’t find that are here by the hundreds is the Erythronium albidum (White Fawnlily). They are members of the same family as tulips and their leaves only grow to 6″ or so long. To find anything in the underbrush now it would have to be very tall, make a weird noise, slap me, or have flashing lights…

A group of such plants lit up to be noticed…

Sisyrinchium angustifolium (Narrow-Leaved Blue-Eyed Grass) on 5-23-20.

It never ceases to amaze me how many species are in some photos. There at least five in this photo but the flowers belong to Sisyrinchium angustifolium. Otherwise known as Narrow-Leaved Blue-Eyed Grass or Stout Blue-Eyed Grass. The pronunciation of the scientific name is sis-ee-RINK-ee-um an-gus-tee-FOH-lee-um but I have opted to call it sissy-wrench-um. Kind of reminds me of Happy on the CBS series Scorpion. She doesn’t have blue eyes but she is the mechanical genus on the series. ANYWAY… There are many species with grass-like leaves on the planet that turn out to have some pretty interesting flowers.

 

Sisyrinchium angustifolium (Narrow-Leaved Blue-Eyed Grass) on 5-23-20.

Sisyrinchium angustifolium is actually a member of the Iridaceae (Iris) Family with 204 species. This species readily self-seeds and you can see a fruit in the above photo. Missouri Plants lists three species which are quite similar. You have to pay attention to detail like how many inflorescences are on the ariel stems and whether they are stalked or unstalked, whether they are branched or unbranched, and whether they are subtended by two or more spathelike bracts. Hmmm… These are things you don’t know when you make your first encounter which is why you need to go back and check sometimes.

 

Sisyrinchium angustifolium (Narrow-Leaved Blue-Eyed Grass) on 5-23-20.

I am fairly certain this species is Sissywrenchum agustafolium… WHOOPS! I mean Sisyrinchium angustifolium.

 

Arisaema triphyllum (Jack-In-The-Pulpit) on 5-23-20.

After walking up the hill and through the woods and getting closer to the third creek that kind of goes around the west side (or maybe the north side). There are areas with mostly vegetation and not so much underbrush. I had to get a photo of this HUGE Arisaema triphyllum (Jack-In-The-Pulpit) growing among a vast colony of Persicaria virginiana (Virginia Jumpseed). To say there is a lot of Virginia Jumpseed in these woods would be a complete understatement…

I have to laugh a little every time I see a Jumpseed because I am reminded of my first encounter of a single plant growing under the steps by the back porch. I thought that plant was so neat at the time now there are probably 20 or so. Then last year when I was doing the post trying to find a good Jumpseed photo… I wound up finding a HUGE colony in the trees north of the chicken house that I didn’t even know were there.

 

Hypnum cupressiforme (Cypress-Leaved Plait-Moss) on 5-23-20.

After deciding to leave the woods, I crossed the fence kind of where the second and third creek merge. ANYWAY, this tree is next to the creek where it curves. I love moss so I had to take a photo. If you have ever tried to identify moss you will find it very complicated because there are so many species in multiple genera and several families that look so much alike. I noticed this moss was quite a bit different…

 

Hypnum cupressiforme (Cypress-Leaved Plait-Moss) on 5-23-20.

The close-up came out pretty good and it looks more like a shrub than moss. I uploaded the photo on iNaturalist and it said it was pretty sure it is Hypnum cupressiforme (Cypress-Leaved Plait-Moss). It gave a few other suggestions but thank goodness they were not a match.

Before I end this post I did make another discovery…

Nothoscordum bivalve (False Garlic, Crowpoison) on 5-23-20, #703-14.

I first saw this species growing in the wooded area across the highway from this set of woods on May 3. I don’t know that much about Allium species, but what I do know about any species of wild onion and garlic is that they have an odor. I have several in my yard I let grow for the heck of it. These plants have NO smell whatsoever. FINALLY, I decided to Google “false Allium with no odor” and came up with Nothoscordum bivalve commonly known as Crowpoison or False Garlic. Some websites say these plants are poison others say there is no proof this plant is toxic. Legend has it that the Cherokee Indians used this plant to make a poison to kill crows feeding on their corn. I don’t think I will be eating it…

For the record, I deleted a HUGE paragraph then wrote another then another and deleted them as well. I was venting…  After writing and rewriting, let me just say onions, garlic, and their relatives, including Nothoscordum are currently in the Amaryllidaceae Family and not Liliaceae or Alliaceae.

While walking through the woods I see a lot of familiar plants and many species I have never bothered to identify. Some are quite common weeds. There are LOADS of a species of Ranunculus which I think are probably R. sceleratus (Cursed Crowfoot) and they are in many photos I have taken of other plants. I will not start writing about the Ranunculus species or this post will be much longer and I need to finish it.

So, I will close for now and will not say I will do a post exclusively for the many Ranunculus species on the farm or a few in the woods. I did that with the Persicaria last year and it took several months to get the post finished…

I am not sure how often I can revisit the woods during the summer as the underbrush will continue to get worse. The mosquitos will be very bad and I already noticed several HUGE swarms along the creek.

Until next time, be safe, stay positive, stay well, and always be thankful.