- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Stephen Lyn Bales, editor

Friday, May 11, 2012

Spiders and pears: 3 curious wildflowers blooming at Ijams

Carolina spider lily (Hymenocallis caroliniana)

Once you come to Ijams, you do not have to go far to find these wildflowers.

Three interesting natives are blooming next to the Visitor Center and Universal Pond: Carolina spider lily, Virginia spiderwort and one of only two cactus species found in my part of the world, the Eastern prickly-pear (No state attached to its name, just the entire region). It does however produce an edible red fruit known as Indian fig or pear.

The spiders: Spider lily gets its specific name from the Carolinas; its Genus name Hymenocallis means "beautiful membrane" in Greek. The spiderwort's specific name honors Virginia. Considered a weed in some circles, Virginia spiderwort was exported to Europe in 1629 where today it is cherished as a cultivated flower in many gardens.


Virginia spiderwort (Tradescantia virginiana)

Prickly-prear (Opuntia humifusa)


- By Stephen Lyn Bales. Thanks, Jenny and Sabrina!



2 comments:

  1. Beautiful! I like wildflowers! If it blooms, it's a flower, not a weed;-) Very nice blog you have here!

    ReplyDelete
  2. You have prickly pears too! :-) I always loved the spiderwort....many people consider it a weed! We grew it in the gardens at the historic houses I worked at in Norfolk.

    ReplyDelete