Monthly Archives: January 2016

Wildflowers at The Pocket at Pigeon Mountain – In January!

Who would expect Hepatica to be blooming in January? Today my wife and I wanted to enjoy a beautiful day with some time outside, so we decided to go down to The Pocket for a walk on the boardwalk. The earliest I’ve seen Harbinger of Spring blooming down there previously was Feb 9 (back in 2009), but as warm as it’s been I wasn’t going to be surprised if we found that early bloomer with flowers. But I wasn’t expecting this:

Sharplobe Hepatica - Anemone acutiloba

Sharplobe Hepatica – Anemone acutiloba

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Genus Penstemon Moved from Scrophulariaceae to Plantaginaceae

I may be a decade or two behind the times, but the Penstemon species found on USWildflowers.com have been moved from Scrophulariaceae – the Figwort family  – to Plantaginaceae – the Plantain family. The change in classification was based on genetic research done in the 1990’s, and published around the turn of the century. Wide acceptance of this classification change occurred over the next decade, but many publications have continued to list the genus in Scrophulariaceae. That oversight has now been corrected on USWildflowers.com.

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Witch Hobble – Viburnum lantanoides – Added to USWildflowers’ Database

Witch Hobble, a native species, has been added to the USWildflowers database (01/19/2016.) Scientific name is Viburnum lantanoides.  Photo below was taken in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Swain County, NC on May 5, 2015. Go to the Witch Hobble detail page for more information.

Hobblebush, Witch Hobble, Hobbleberry - Viburnum lantanoides

Hobblebush – Viburnum lantanoides

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Bird’s Foot Trefoil – Lotus corniculatus – Added to USWildflowers’ Database

Bird’s Foot Trefoil, an introduced species, has been added to the USWildflowers database (01/01/2016.) Scientific name is Lotus corniculatus.  Photo below was taken in Meldrum Bay, Manitoulin Island of Lake Huron, Ontario, Canada on Aug 10, 2015.   Go to the Bird’s Foot Trefoil detail page for more information.

Bird’s Foot Trefoil, Birdfoot Deervetch, Bloomfell, Cat's Clover, Crowtoes, Ground Honeysuckle - Lotus corniculatus

Bird’s Foot Trefoil – Lotus corniculatus

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