Tag Archives: Scoliopus bigelovii

•

This member of the Lily family began its bloom a little before Christmas, and Slinkpods are still putting up their short-lived blooms. Craig Tooley found a nice group of them. Look at the emerging leaves, two for each plant. When they are fully grown, the blooms are long gone. The flowers are quite small and hard to find in the forest duff, but what a treat when you do find them!

Thanks to Craig for allowing me to share his photo with you here. To see much more of Craig's nature photography, here is the link to his website: http://www.ruffimage.com

Another beautiful, calm, sunny day today. Clouds moved in this afternoon making for a beautiful sunset.

•

I found the first Slinkpod, Scoliopus bigelovii, blooming on a sunny spot on the forest floor a few days before Christmas.

This diminutive member of the Lily family is our earliest blooming wildflower. It stands only about an inch and a half high. See the emerging leaves cupping the stem? There are two leaves, and by the time they are full grown, they can be six to twelve inches long with mottled spots!

If you have never found this wildflower, look for these mottled leaves in the spring. They will tell you where these exquisite little flowers come up. You should start looking around Christmas.

We had another rip roaring storm last night. 2.23 inches in Rick's and my rain gauge. Season to date is 38.97 inches. 50 inches is a normal wet winter here. Boy, are we well on our way! Now we have some days to dry out.

• 1 Comment

•

Scoliopus bigelovii has two strange common names - Fetid Adder's Tongue and Slink Pod. They are our earliest blooming wildflowers and they are found on the forest floor. The tiny, exquisite blooms come up first, with the stem barely cupped by the emerging leaves. The blooms are only about an inch or so high, so they are quite hard to spot. I recently showed photographer Craig Tooley where they were blooming on a neighbor's property.

They are members of the Lily family. The flowers will be long gone when the leaves fully emerge. If you find the large mottled leaves in the spring, note where they are growing so you can look for the flowers next winter. Rick and I always started looking for them on Christmas Day, and this year I found the first one on Dec. 26th.

Thanks to Craig for allowing me to share his photo with you here. To see much more of Craig's nature photography, here is the link to his website: http://www.ruffimage.com

Much of the Mendonoma Coast has no power. The towns of Gualala, Anchor Bay and Point Arena are without power since yesterday's storm. I am posting this with the help of a backup generator. We had a wild and very windy storm, which was the culprit for the power outages. Many trees are down. It will be several days before power is restored. The rain totals for yesterday's storm was 2.45 inches, 29.95 season to date.

•

On Christmas day, Mel Smith spotted and photographed perhaps the first appearing Slink Pod, Scoliopus bigelovii.

This wildflower is a member of the Lily family. Its distinctive leaves are just barely showing. But they will grow in the weeks ahead. They are mottled, so if you see them in the spring, long after these exquisite flowers, then remember where they are so you can look for them next winter. Here's a photo of the leaves, taken by Craig Tooley a few years ago.

Thanks to Mel and Craig for allowing me to share their photos with you here.

Clouds are pouring in and the surface water of the ocean is  now flowing northward - all signs that a storm is on the way!

•

Every winter Rick and I look for the first tiny Slink Pod flowers. They come up in coastal forests. They were late this year, but they are up. Craig Tooley wove together three photos of one just about to bloom, a close-up of the exquisite bloom, and the continuing bloom.

 

Slink Pods have multiple blooms, but each one doesn't last very long. The flower quickly forms a pod, which falls onto the ground, hence its common name Slink Pod. They are also called Fetid Adder's Tongue because they supposedly don't smell good, but I've never noticed a bad odor coming from them. I want a new common name for these beautiful flowers!

Later in the spring, the long, mottled leaves will be quite noticeable. If you note their spots, then you can look for the flowers in the winter months. Here's what the leaves look like, photographed by Craig in a previous year.

Scoliopus bigelovii is a member of the Lily family. They are a joy to find.

Thanks to Craig for allowing me to share his photos with you here. To see much more of Craig's nature photography, here is the link to his website: http://www.ruffimage.com

The rain has moved on, and we are blessed with a sunny, breezy, clear day today with temperatures in the high 60s! Our daffodils are beginning to bloom, as is their wont here on the beautiful Mendonoma Coast.