The lowly Colt's Foot (Tussilago farfara) flower is often overlooked as it grows in early spring along roadsides and ditches. From a distance it looks like a dandelion, but when you take a closeup look at this flower, you will be amazed by it's beauty. Colt's Foot is a composite flower, which means what we commonly call the flower or bloom is really made up of hundreds of tiny flowers. Ray flowers (that look like petals) make up the outer rim of the flower, while the center eye of the flower contains hundreds of complete flowers. When the Colt's Foot flower first opens, you will see tiny yellow buds in the center, but within a day or two the tiny buds open to reveal miniature flowers that remind me of daffodils.
Colt's Foot flowers provide nectar and pollen to hungry bees and flying insects in the spring before many other flowers have bloomed.
3 Comments
Every year I hear people talking about finding tiger lilies along the roadside, but what they are really referring to are orange ditch lilies. While they both grow in similar locations and are both orange, they are distinctly different flowers. The tiger lily (Lilium lancifolium and Lilium tigrinum) produces clusters of bright-orange blooms speckled with black or crimson dots. The bloom faces downward with its petals folding backward to expose the center of the flower. Tiger lily blooms are long-lasting. Foliage lines the stem of the flowers. Tiger lilies reproduce via underground bulbs. The orange ditch lily (Hemerocallis fulva) produces bold, orange blooms atop a slender stem. Although there are several buds atop each stem, each opens for only one day. As the petals shrivel and fall from the plant, a new bloom opens to take it's place. Foliage is grass-like and separate from the flower stem. Orange ditch lilies do not have spots. Ditch lilies have tuberous roots. Tiger Lilies and Orange Ditch Lilies are both attractive flowers that can be found growing wild along roadsides in early to midsummer.
|
For more nature photography, check out my photography site.
|