
{"id":26100,"date":"2012-05-24T12:35:52","date_gmt":"2012-05-24T16:35:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.carrborocitizen.com\/main\/?p=26100"},"modified":"2012-05-24T12:35:53","modified_gmt":"2012-05-24T16:35:53","slug":"flora-little-blue-flowers-steal-the-show","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/2012\/05\/24\/flora-little-blue-flowers-steal-the-show\/","title":{"rendered":"FLORA: Little blue flowers steal the show"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>By Ken Moore<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>Flora Columnist<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Once again I offer apology to Jock Lauterer for delaying my response to his request to identify that 1943 yellow pressed-flower specimen of his Great Aunt Myra Baldwin (<em>The Carrboro Citizen<\/em>, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153A Thousand Words,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d 5\/3\/12).<br \/>\n<figure id=\"attachment_26104\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-26104\" style=\"width: 350px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.carrborocitizen.com\/main\/2012\/05\/24\/flora-little-blue-flowers-steal-the-show\/scullcap-in-fielda\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-26104\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.carrborocitizen.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Scullcap-in-fielda.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"Scullcap-in-fielda\" width=\"350\" height=\"467\" class=\"size-full wp-image-26104\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Scullcap-in-fielda.jpg 350w, https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Scullcap-in-fielda-113x150.jpg 113w, https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Scullcap-in-fielda-84x113.jpg 84w, https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Scullcap-in-fielda-74x100.jpg 74w, https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Scullcap-in-fielda-344x460.jpg 344w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-26104\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Skullcaps are almost hidden among other field plants.  Photo by Ken Moore<\/figcaption><\/figure><br \/>\nTwo blue-flowered beauties have taken center stage during my recent walkabouts.<\/p>\n<p>Out at Mason Farm, enjoying butterflies and other pollinators visiting the hundreds and hundreds of penstemons, I was not prepared for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153closer looks\u00e2\u20ac\u009d to so completely divert my attention away from the sea of white flowers.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps most noticeable, as bright-yellow flowers can be, were the numerous sundrops, <em>Oenothera fruiticosa<\/em>, scattered throughout. Sundrops immediately came to mind when seeing Jock\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Great Aunt Myra\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s pressed yellow flower, but that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s another story down the road.<\/p>\n<p>Walking counterclockwise around the Big Oak Woods in the center of Mason Farm, you will encounter one here first, and another one there, along the ditch edge of the second open field to the right, a most beautiful blue wildflower.<br \/>\n<figure id=\"attachment_26107\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-26107\" style=\"width: 350px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.carrborocitizen.com\/main\/2012\/05\/24\/flora-little-blue-flowers-steal-the-show\/scullcap-flowersa\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-26107\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.carrborocitizen.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Scullcap-flowersa.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"Scullcap-flowers\" width=\"350\" height=\"467\" class=\"size-full wp-image-26107\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Scullcap-flowersa.jpg 350w, https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Scullcap-flowersa-113x150.jpg 113w, https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Scullcap-flowersa-84x113.jpg 84w, https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Scullcap-flowersa-74x100.jpg 74w, https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Scullcap-flowersa-344x460.jpg 344w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-26107\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">On closer inspection, skullcap flowers become truly engaging.  Photo by Ken Moore<\/figcaption><\/figure><br \/>\nLooking out into the open field you begin noticing quite a lot of these blue flowers, almost hidden in the taller grasses and sedges. There are many more this year, a sign that N.C. Botanical Garden staff are succeeding in managing those fields with fire and mowing to retrieve the floral diversity of former Piedmont prairies.<\/p>\n<p><em>Scutellaria integrifolia<\/em>, skullcap, was so named because early observers saw a resemblance in the flowers as well as the seed capsules to the dramatic helmets worn by ancient Roman soldiers. Though in the mint family (<em>Lamiaceae<\/em>), with square stems and opposite leaves, this little beauty is not fragrant.<\/p>\n<p>Skullcaps are common along ditches and in wet fields and damp forests everywhere. You simply need to cast your eye occasionally on the ground during your walks to observe how special they are. In addition to their visual appeal, the medicinal properties recognized by the Native Americans are still valued.<br \/>\n<figure id=\"attachment_26108\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-26108\" style=\"width: 350px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.carrborocitizen.com\/main\/2012\/05\/24\/flora-little-blue-flowers-steal-the-show\/spiked-lobelia-flowersa\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-26108\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.carrborocitizen.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Spiked-lobelia-flowersa.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"Spiked-lobelia-flowers\" width=\"350\" height=\"467\" class=\"size-full wp-image-26108\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Spiked-lobelia-flowersa.jpg 350w, https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Spiked-lobelia-flowersa-113x150.jpg 113w, https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Spiked-lobelia-flowersa-84x113.jpg 84w, https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Spiked-lobelia-flowersa-74x100.jpg 74w, https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Spiked-lobelia-flowersa-344x460.jpg 344w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-26108\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A &quot;closer look&quot; reveals spiked lobelia&#039;s subtle beauty.  Photo by Ken Moore<\/figcaption><\/figure><br \/>\nAnother engaging plant, if you spy it, is the spiked lobelia, <em>Lobelia spicata<\/em>. This one really surprised me, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve gone back several times to visit the group I almost stepped on along a path in the shady forest.<\/p>\n<p>These delicately flowered plants, related to the brilliant, later-summer red cardinal flowers, <em>Lobelia cardinalis<\/em>, are frequently found established on green mossy hummocks along forest pathways. You will definitely have to get down on your knees to take in the beauty of spiked lobelias. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s hard to imagine this plant is in the bellflower family (<em>Campanulaceae<\/em>). <\/p>\n<p>Like the skullcaps, lobelias also have useful medicinal qualities, and you may notice lobelia while walking the herbal aisles of our local markets.<br \/>\n<figure id=\"attachment_26110\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-26110\" style=\"width: 350px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.carrborocitizen.com\/main\/2012\/05\/24\/flora-little-blue-flowers-steal-the-show\/spiked-lobeliaa\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-26110\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.carrborocitizen.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Spiked-lobeliaa.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"Spiked-lobelia\" width=\"350\" height=\"467\" class=\"size-full wp-image-26110\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Spiked-lobeliaa.jpg 350w, https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Spiked-lobeliaa-113x150.jpg 113w, https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Spiked-lobeliaa-84x113.jpg 84w, https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Spiked-lobeliaa-74x100.jpg 74w, https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Spiked-lobeliaa-344x460.jpg 344w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-26110\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Though 1-2 feet tall, spiked lobelias go almost unseen along forest pathways.  Photo by Ken Moore<\/figcaption><\/figure><br \/>\nWhile we continue to be blessed with cool, sunny days, take a closer look wherever you walk to find these two blue beauties.<\/p>\n<p><em>Email Ken Moore at flora@carrborocitizen.com. Find previous Ken Moore Citizen columns at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.carrborocitizen.com\/flora\">The Annotated Flora<\/a> (carrborocitizen.com\/flora).<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Two blue-flowered beauties have taken center stage during my recent walkabouts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":26104,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26100","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","category-flora"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26100","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26100"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26100\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26121,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26100\/revisions\/26121"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26104"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26100"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26100"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26100"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}