Last week it all came together for Jeanne and I to go see Tiny Tim or as some call it Earth-fruit at Lake Mineral Wells State Park. The scientific name is Geocarpon minimum. However new phylogenetic work suggests it should be placed in the genus Mononeuria. And it is now known as Mononeuria minima. In 1987 it was listed as threatened. It is an annual with 42 known locations. The one I showed you last year’s post, Slight detour was number 42 in Oklahoma.
Stopping to check in at the park entrance we were greeted by the Waved Sphinx (Ceratomia undulosa)! Wave on! Next we met with the park rangers to access the location of Tiny Tim.
The location was off the beaten path. So it required some ducking. Least Daisy, Indian Paintbrush, and cacti were all in the area.
It was truly awesome. Furthermore none of the others had seen it before except me.
Penny for your thoughts. Well anticipating the need for scale I brought along some change. Of course hardly anyone carries change. So I loaned some to everyone.
There were tons of the little cuties!
A close up!
Soaking it up!
Spike Moss (Selaginella) and Yellow Stonecrop (Sedum nuttalianum) were also part of the taxa found with Tiny Tim.
So a ciliated thalloid liverwort Oxymitria was there too.
If you have some similar habitat, look closely for Tiny Tim. And for sure let me know if you find some, please.
Afterwards Jeanne and I made our final stop. In fact, this DQ had been in the family since 1952. And the person who took our order knew Justin, of course. Thanks Justin. It was excellent! 🙂 FYI, I got all my change back. Of course that was part of the reason I brought the change to pay for the blizzards. 😉
Indeed, a fantastic day! Thanks to David, Justin, and Jamie for allowing us to visit Tiny Tim! It was exciting!
Such a fun and exciting day to finally see the diminuative Timy Tim in person. We had superb company to boot.
And I found a waved sphinx at home today too.
Beautiful tiny tim!! Yay!
Wow! Tiny Tim really is tiny. Looks like a beautiful place.
It sure was purty! 😎
Now I’m wondering if anyone has really checked the limestone barrens areas at Fort Worth Nature Center. Or is the substrate sandstone?
Such a fun and exciting day to finally see the diminuative Timy Tim in person. We had superb company to boot.
And I found a waved sphinx at home today too.