Tag Archives: Milkmaids

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Amy Ruegg went out on a local trail last Sunday and while she found trees down because of the recent storms, she also found early wildflowers. Milkmaids, Cardamine californica, are blooming now. They are members of the Mustard family.

Amy also found Western Trilliums, Trillium ovatum.  This photo shows one covered in raindrops. The white blossom tells you it is freshly bloomed. The blossom will turn pink and then darker still in the days ahead as it "ages."

And lastly, Amy found Wild Ginger, Asarum caudatum.

Wonderful to see! Thanks to Amy for allowing me to share her photos with you here.

It's a lovely day here on the Mendonoma Coast today, sunny with little breeze, and temps briefly hit 70 degrees!

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Every winter, beginning around Christmas, Rick and I look for Slink Pod, Scoliopus bigelovii, also called Fetid Adder's Tongue. This year we found our first one mid-January.

They can be very hard to spot, as they are quite tiny. They are members of the Lily family and the two leaves you can see just peeking up through the forest duff, will grow in the weeks ahead to be quite large. These leaves are oblong and mottled and if you see them later in the year, then next winter look for the tiny orchid-like bloom in the same spot.

Amy Ruegg found the first blooming Douglas Iris, Iris douglasiana.

Now that does seem early! I am looking for Milkmaids, Cardamine californica. The first leaf has appeared in spots but no sign of the flower stalk yet.

Thanks to Amy for allowing me to share her photo with you here.

Another dose of rain overnight, along with a few showers today. Coastal streams are full, creating beautiful waterfalls when they spill over bluffs. The weather forecast calls for sunny, warm days. Pretending to be spring?

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Milkmaids, Cardamine californica, are members of the Mustard Family. They are one of the earliest blooming wildflowers on the Mendonoma coast. Jinx McCombs recently found one in bloom.

Western Trilliums, Trillium ovatum, are up too! Rick and I found a half dozen today in the forest. Members of the Lily Family, they are sometimes called Wake Robin because their bloom can coincide with American Robins returning from their wintering grounds. Here is one just appearing on the forest floor.

Native wildflowers are a treat to find. Thanks to Jinx for allowing me to share her photo with you here.

We are having warm, dry weather. It doesn't feel like winter here on the Mendonoma coast today. No rain in the forecast for the next week. We may have to start planning for a rain dance.

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Karen Tracy found the delicate-looking Milkmaids, Cardamine californica, blooming.

It is one of our earliest blooming wildflowers. Rick and I are seeing them begin to flower in our forest alongside the creek.

We are having wild, cold weather. Rain followed by sunshine that then turns to rain seems to be the order of the day. Some call it zany weather!

Thanks to Karen for allowing me to share her photo with you here.

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Many of our native wildflowers are quite small so you need to pay close attention when hiking in forests or on bluffs. Here are a few that are currently blooming.

Milkmaids, Cardamine californica, a member of the mustard family.

Milkmaids by Amy Ruegg

And Hooker's Fairybells, Disporum hookeri, a member of the lily family. The flowers shyly hid underneath this plant's leaves.

Fairy Bells by Amy Ruegg

Slink Pod, aka Fetid Adder's Tongue, Scoliopus bigelovii, also a member of the lily family.

Fetid Adder's Tongue, the first wildflower of the year, by Craig Tooley

All of these and more are blooming now, though the Slink Pod bloom may be over. I will share more of our coastal wildflowers soon.

The first two photos were taken by Amy Ruegg and the last was taken by Craig Tooley. I thank them for allowing me to share their photos with you here. To see much more of Craig's nature photography, here is his website: www.ruffimage.com