thrilling find!

[piranha]

wild ginger blossom the picture is a little messy, but i am so excited i found this that i am posting it anyway. for years i have tried to see one, and today i finally saw a whole lot of them. they're difficult to spot because they are dark against dark ground (and asarum caudatum (thanks, janet!) likes it very shady to start with), they grow under the old leaves, and before the new leaves unfold. that's why i'd never spotted them before, i always looked too late. isn't this a cool, weird shape? a little cup with three loooong, spiky sepals. and fuzz, glorious fuzz!

walklog:

04-18 morden colliery -> nanaimo river -> return 4.36 km 3:08

Comments

wild ginger

[aquaeri.livejournal.com]

I had to go away to research because that looks nothing like ginger flowers to me. So it's a rather unrelated species to commercially grown ginger. It is a very cool flower, yes.

[daev.livejournal.com]

And inside, two catlike eyes glowering at you...

[post-ecdysis.livejournal.com]

Indeed. It looks like an evil Muppet.

[firecat]

I was thinking Badtz Maru in a nun's habit.

evil Muppet

[pir-anha.livejournal.com]

it does!

now i want to make a stuffed one. :)

Re: evil Muppet

[prairierabbit.livejournal.com]

I was thinking it was a cross between a trillium and a bat.

[novazembla.livejournal.com]

Sorta like if the Nutcracker segment of "Fantasia" was populated with Jawas.

@%<

two catlike eyes glowering at you

[pir-anha.livejournal.com]

*heh*.

[serenejournal.livejournal.com]

isn't this a cool, weird shape? a little cup with three loooong, spiky sepals. and fuzz, glorious fuzz!

You take the kind of joyful, full-of-wonder walks we take. I love reading about them.

[janetmk.livejournal.com]

What a great find! I've seen lots of wild ginger plants but I don't think I've ever found a flower.

Because of where you live this is probably A. caudatum (http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?stat=BROWSE_IMG&query_src=photos_browseimgs_plant_sci&where-genre=Plant&where-taxon=Asarum+caudatum&title_tag=Asarum+caudatum) rather than A. canadense, which is widely distributed in eastern North America.

asarum caudatum

[pir-anha.livejournal.com]

you're absolutely right; i don't know why i had canadense in my brain. should have looked it up to make sure. thanks for the correction!

[jinian.livejournal.com]

Ooh, you found one! I've only seen them on the plants I've grown, not in the wild. The trichomes are gorgeous in this shot.

wild ginger

[pir-anha.livejournal.com]

they were _all over_ in this one spot. i want to go back with my beanbag and take better pictures. i am still all excited, *heh*.

and i'd love to grow some; i want to try how the rhizome tastes too. i'll need to find some outside of the park so i can dig it up without guilt. none of the local specialty shops seem to carry it.

[pameladean]

Oh, very fine.

I've only seen them if I lie flat on my stomach and got soaking wet, or else if they are growing on a steep shaded slope at eye level.

P.

[velochicdunord.livejournal.com]

That lends a lovely deep gothic note to ginger.

Kind of like the Indian Pipe I saw Friday, but couldn't photograph because I didn't have the camera with me.

rule #1 of photography

[pir-anha.livejournal.com]

must.take.camera.everywhere. :)

[ruth-lawrence.livejournal.com]

Wow!

I didn't know tat Nifty Gingers lived so far form the equator.