Old Baldy Wildflowers

We saw lots of wildflowers at Old Baldy yesterday beyond the Trilliums. I was trying to get a few specific pictures to improve my collection, but I also tend to just photograph everything I see!

The Trilliums were certainly the highlight though, and there were so many of them.   This one attracted my eye for its pattern of shadows on the white bloom.

The violets were plentiful, and I tend to just label them by their colour, but there are actually proper names for each species.  This appeared to be the Northern White Violet.

There are several blue violets to be found, but this appeared to be the Long-spurred Violet, identified by that long spur sticking up behind the petals.

And this one is the Downy Yellow Violet.

One photo I was looking for was of Wild Ginger, since its flower lies on the ground under the leaves and is often hard to photograph.  This photo shows the pair of large heart-shaped leaves, and the reddish-brown blossom on the ground.  

And this is a close-up of the bloom.  And no manicuring was needed for the photo!  The plant was growing slightly away from the clump, and facing into the sun, with nothing blocking the view.  My best photo of this plant yet.

There were plenty of the tiny Spring Beauty still in bloom, varying from white to pink.

And I was pleased to find both Squirrel Corn and Dutchman's Breeches in bloom.  This is the flower of the Squirrel Corn. 

And this is a plant showing the frilly leaves.  Both species have very similar leaves, but the blooms are different.

And here is a comparable shot of Dutchman's Breeches, though these blooms are just beginning to fade.

Finally, I was delighted to find and photograph the Meadow Rue in bloom.  These leaves are fairly common in the woods (don't know why it's called 'meadow' rue), and at the moment it's in full bloom.  It's tiny green flowers are about the tiniest of the spring wildflowers, and seem very delicate and inconspicuous.  This plant provided some leaves and a cluster of blossoms hanging nicely in the sunlight where I could actually get a picture showing both.