Tag Archives: Scoliopus bigelovii

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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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Mary Sue Ittner was on the Thursday Ramblers' hike last week. She found one of the first Western Trilliums, Trillium ovatum, up. It obviously had been raining!

She also found Slink Pod, Scoliopus bigelovii. I love looking for these tiny wildflowers. They are very hard to spot, so you look for the two leaves poking through the forest duff.

This morning I noticed the first Bracken Fern up and a few Huckleberry blossoms. Spring must be right around the corner! Thanks to Mary Sue for allowing me to share her photos with you here.

We have a lot of rain in our forecast, but there will be breaks to allow for nature walks on bluffs or along forest paths. Heed the siren call on Mother Nature!

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It's our earliest wildflower, the one with the unlovely common  names, Slink Pod and Fetid Adder's Tongue, Scoliopus bigelovii.  I recently found one blooming in our forest. You can see its leaves are just peeking up at the base of the stem.

This is what we look like trying to find one of these tiny wildflowers. This photo was taken by C'Anna Bergman-Hill a few years ago, the very same place I found them last week.

Craig Tooley took this close-up photo, which is in our book, Mendonoma Sightings Throughout the Year. Yes, it's a MUCH better photo than mine! The leaves of this member of the Lily family are distinctively mottled. If you find the leaves, which can grow to 12 inches long, you know where to look for the earlier-blooming flower next winter.

Thanks to C'Anna and Craig for allowing me to share their photos 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

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Rick and I wanted to show our friends the hard to spot wildflower, the Fetid Adder's Tongue. Worst. Name. Ever. It is also called Slinkpod, almost as bad a name. Its scientific name is Scoliopus bigelovii.

Here we all are searching for the tiny orchid-like wildflower. Huckleberry, our golden retriever, is assisting in the hunt.

Rick was the one who spotted it. It was only about two inches high. You can see the two distinctive mottled leaves on the forest floor.

Trilliums and Milkmaids are also blooming now. We are having warm, sunny weather, which we are able to enjoy because there is a lot of rain in our forecast!

Thanks to C'Anna Bergman-Hill for allowing me to share her photos with you here.