Monday, June 29, 2015

Boreal Blossoms on the Bold Coast Trail

 Without doubt the most scenic coastline in the U.S. is the "Bold Coast" in northeast Washington County.  Fortunately the State of Maine owns over 12,000 beautiful acres there, and has made some of the best areas open and accessible to the public with hiking trails.
 

 
 
 



 Here are some photos taken along the Coastal Trail....1.5 miles each way.  The forests of Maine offer some interesting and beautiful blossoms.  Sometimes I get focused on the wildflowers of meadow and roadside....but the deep woods and rocky shoreline can also be a botanical feast.
Take a leisurely walk with Liv and I along the trail and see what's in bloom.
 
 


Northern Wood-Sorrel (Oxalis Montana)





 Twinflower (Linnea borealis)





 Bunchberry (Chamaepericlymenum canadense)


 Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens)


 Bluebeard Lily (Clintonia borealis)


 Ebony Jewelwing Dragonfly
(Calopteryx maculata)


 Cinnamon Fern (Osmundastrum cinnamoneum)





 Starflower (Lysimachia borealis)





 Common Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)


 Black-throated Green Warbler (Dendronica virens)






 Hobomok Skipper Butterfly (Poanes hobomok)


 Seaside Angelica (Angelica lucida)


 Spring Azure Butterfly (Celestrina argiolus)


 Beach-pea (Lathyrus japonica)


 Hopefully a reader will help with an ID on this dragonfly!





Juvenile Wren....??? Winter Wren
(Troglodytes troglodytes hienalis)




Blue Flag (Iris versicolor)




 The 1.5 mile hike brings you to an imposing scenic overlook.  Well worth the effort.  Be sure to bring a camera.


Lots to see and do Downeast.....that is, WAY Downeast and far from the crowds and tourist traps of Bar Harbor and south!
 


Sunday, June 7, 2015

Wild Butterfly Orchids

 Wild Butterfly Orchids (Encyclia tampensis)  are at their peak in mid June in Myakka River State Park.
 
 
 



 
Description:
Synonyms: Epidendrum tampense Lindley 1847; Epidendrum porphyrospilum Rchb.f 1877;

Summary: This is a rather conspicuous epiphytic plant with pseudobulbs typically an inch or less in diameter supporting one (sometimes two) slender, grass-like leaves six to twelve inches long. Roots are slender and white when dry, and can run several feet up and down the branch where the plant grows. Flower stems emerge from within the leaf axil, to bear a raceme or panicle of attractive flowers, typically fragrant in the hours around noon. The flowers are 1 to 1.5 inches across, with green sepals and petals suffused with varying amounts of red, a tri-lobed lip with two lobes on either side of the column and the third lobe fan-shaped and typically blotched with purple
Above is from the Florida Orchid website and blog.  Great stuff!
 


 Half of North America's orchid species can be found in Florida...including four species which are endemic.
 



 Tropical Oak Hammocks are a wonderful place to explore.
 



I love to spend time in the Oak Hammocks of Myakka River State Park....always something interesting to see, whatever the season.