The question was would the plant be up yet? Turned out they were! However only barely.
Here was the plant I had hoped that would be up. It is the Trout Lily (Erythronium mesochoreum)! The leaf was still small and easily missed. With only one leaf it meant that it was in its first year. When they have two leaves it will be in at least its second year and can bloom.
Further into the Trout Lily search, the Cymopterus (Vesper macrorhizus) was found. The soil in the area was a gravelly limestone.
Nearby a tiny bone! Maybe a mouse was our guess.
Here is a size comparison for both bone and plant.
Then there it was! Ahhhh, success! The Trout Lily (Erythronium mesochoreum)!! As is characteristic of the flower its head was nodding down and its two leaves.
Looking up from the ground view.
A side view of the stem bending the head of flower.
A close up of one of the leaves that had some damage.
Even closer and you can see the stellate hairs. Stellate hairs are hairs that are branched in all directions, star-like.
This was the only one we found blooming on Feb. 16th, but in a few weeks many more will be blossoming! Yahoo!
Trout lilies are cool but so are cymopterus. Great finds
Yep!
Any idea what nibbled on the leaf?
No idea. 🤷🏻♀️
❤
Is there a special story about your Trout Lily profile pic?
I don’t believe I took that photo. Is it yours? If not, it was probably taken by Don Young at Tandy Hills.
Not that I remember.
Ah, Suzanne’s favorite. Congrats to all for finding the first one.
Thank you