A quick morning walk around Jacobsburg State Park this morning to check out what was blooming and spot some butterflies. At the start of the trail which is just off the side of a busy road, I immediately saw a fluttering of tiny wings. This, I’m pretty sure was the Summer Azure butterfly. I could, of course, be totally wrong here, as there’s also a Spring Azure which looks almost identical. (At least to me as a novice citizen scientist and long-time butterfly enthusiast.) I crouched in the bushes along side of the road to get my photos as cars drove by either not noticing me at all or if they did, they probably thought I was just some crazy person. But I managed to get some pretty decent shots of the tiny little beauty at the very beginning of my walk. As I continued along the trail, I saw quite an abundance of wildflowers in bloom including: dames rocket, solomon’s plume, wild rose, buttercups, golden alexander, fleabane and forget-me-nots just to name a few (Thanks iNaturalist!). Along my route I spotted some interesting mushrooms which I later ID’d as Petticoat Mottlegill. Quite a dainty little name for a mushroom that is noted to mostly grow on poop. I guess this would make sense since I was on a horse trail. It was a lovely morning and I enjoyed the walk and fresh air to start my day.
I took an early morning walk around Mariton Wildlife Sanctuary this morning to see what wildflowers I could find. Right at the entrance to the Main Trail, showy dame’s rocket was bursting with with its soft, lavender and white flowers. As I walked along, I spotted jack-in-the-pulpit blooming inconspicuously long the woodsy trail. I noted wild geranium, fleabane, golden ragweed, dwarf dandelion, star of Bethlehem, ox eye daisy, and anise root. (All of this was ID’s through my iNaturalist app.) I’m still learning the east coast flora and I’m sure I will be learning for a long time. But the highlight of my walk today was the blooming Mayapple. I’ve seen these attractive umbrella like plants in many different locations in the area, and as I was hiking today, I caught a large patch of them in bloom. Mayapple is a native woodland plant that grows in colonies in deciduous forests, shady fields and along riverbanks. The plant is highly toxic except for fruit, but I personally am not that brave to try it. Another favorite of mine are the tulip trees. This time of year you can find the flowers that have dropped from the trees above along the forest floor. The flowers are a delicate shade of pale yellow outlined in bright orange. They’re usually high above in the trees and are easily missed until they fall from the trees.
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