The first set of Dutchman's Breeches (Dicentra Cucullaria) I found were at the National Arboretum in Washington, DC. There were several Dutchman's Breeches plants in the Fern Valley area of the Arboretum.

(c) 2008 Patty Hankins

The plant gets its name from the flowers, which look like men's pants hanging upside down from a laundry line.

(c) 2008 Patty Hankins

About a week later, I was at Great Falls National Park in Virginia. On the path heading down to the water between the second and third overlook, I found some Dutchman's Breeches growing along the side of the trail.

(c) 2008 Patty Hankins

Dutchman's Breeches are a native plant growing in both woods and in clearings. The plants grow to about 12" tall, with spurred heart/triangle shaped petals about 5/8" of an inch in size. The petals grow in groups of 4 to 12 hanging from the raceme. They usually bloom in April and May.

(c) 2008 Patty Hankins

When I was in Tennessee for the Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, I was able to photograph some Squirrel Corn (Dicentra Candadensis). The Squirrel Corn I saw was along the Cove Hardwood Trail, which begins at the parking lot of the Chimneys Picnic Area.

(c) 2008 Patty Hankins

Like Dutchman's Breeches, Squirrel Corn grows to about 12" tall and blooms in April and May. The flowers are about 1/2" long, heart/oval shaped growing in clusters on the raceme. The plant gets its name from the corms (underground plant stems) - which are shaped like sweet corn kernels. Apparently squirrels like to dig up the corms and eat them.

I've really enjoyed photographing the wildflowers this year - and discovering which of the wildflowers are related to one another and to some of flowers being cultivated in gardens.

]]> http://mylifeinrealtime.wordpress.com/?p=57 Mon, 26 May 2008 03:14:36 +0000 smhorton http://mylifeinrealtime.wordpress.com/?p=57 i haven't had a chance to weed the garden or put mulch down, there's much to do yet. today was the first really nice day we've had in weeks, and temps have been dropping into the 40's and 30's over night.  i still have a plant my mother gave me sitting on the front porch in a pot, i haven't had a chance to plant yet. it's a day lilly.

i am excited to see so much growth. i planted a garden in the backyard two years ago, it's very shady there so it was hard to find many plants that would actually flower. i added to it las year, but as with everything the rising cost of gas will keep me from adding flowers this year. so basically what came back is what i have. i will add mulch, probably this weekend.

these lillies are actually in the front yard, and haven't flowered yet, but i am so excited to see them return, there were black eyed susans there last year that didn't make it back.

in the back yard, lots of shade friendly flowers, some day lillies, and bleeding hearts

jacob's ladder, astilibie and hosta's

eventually these will be daisies that my mom gave me from her garden

along with an assortment of ferns, and hosta's

the dutchman's breeches have little flowers on them

and i think some of my blackeyed susans may come back in the back yard, or they're weeds, not really sure yet! i have another area planted with butterfly and hummingbird plants, but they didn't fair as well, not much came back.

along with gardens, summer brings back lazy days spent sitting on the back porch knitting, sipping tea and eating wonderful fresh salads. this one is one of my favorites, it's bosc pear, raisins (sometimes i use cranberries) crumbled blue cheese and walnuts , served over spinach and drizzled with kens steak house fat free raspberry pecan dressing.

The Cut-leaved Toothwort is one of these ephemeral wildflower; it blooms in the Eastern hardwood forests before the trees' leaves shade the forest earth. The crisp roots of this plant are said to taste like watercress.

Wild Ginger blooms spring-early summer in the Northern tier of states from Minnesota to New England. It is hard to see because it lies on the ground at the stalk of the flower and blends in with the earth - this is the first one I have found, though I think they are considered somewhat common. The roots have a fragrance and flavor of ginger, and once were used as a flavoring and to treat colds and coughs.

The Bloodroot is finally in bloom in the woodlands. The flower is found near the ground, and I moved a huge umbrella of the plant's foliage to take its photo. I have always seen this bloom in early April and usually the petals of the bloodroot are broader than those seen in this photo. Guess this guy was on a diet! (or maybe he had too much snow!)

The Large-flowered Bellwort has flowers that never really open, they just hang like this. I found huge clumps of these in the ravines of the sun-drenched forest. It grows in the eastern half of Canada and the United States, except for Florida, though it is on a few states' endangered species lists.

I found scads of these Dutchman's Breeches in the same ravines with the Bellwort and also there were lots of Periwinkles and a few trillium just opening. I love this plant's name - they do look like a little clothesline of britches for a dozen little men. Folklore says the flower was used in love potions and spells. One of its other names is Little Blue Staggers because it caused cows to stagger in a "drunken' state when they grazed on too much of the plant as it is toxic. Breeches are found in the eastern half of the US, except for the far south.

Finally - a great weekend, if I minus out the tornado warnings on Friday night, for wildflower catching-up.

Still, the light was so lovely, I knew I had to find some photo op! So I headed to Long Point State Park - a shorter drive, to see if the Dutchman's Breeches were in bloom. I was not disappointed, though I would have been if I had waited another few days.  Some of the blooms were starting to turn brown!  I got there just in the nick of time.

Dutchman's Breeches (Dicentra cucullaria) are supposed to look like... well... Dutchman's breeches, all hung out on the line to dry.

Listings of medicinal uses in all the sources I checked end with a warning that the plant may be toxic and/or cause a skin rash...

With that in mind, my favorite folklore use is Love Charm.  Oh yes...  If you are willing to take a chance on being poisoned or covered with a rash, you might chew on the root of this plant, then approach your intended.  It is said that the fragrance of your breath will win her over, even if she was not interested in you!

I think the leaves are particularly pretty, so delicate.  I have found lots of them in the other woods where I walk more regularly, but no blooms.  It makes me wonder if they, like other spring flowers of the deciduous woods, take years to produce a bloom?  I'll have to check "my" woods again soon.

 The range for this flower is rather interesting, concentrated mostly in the east, but with a few western populations.  Sometimes I show you the USDA range map for a species.  But there is another site that has more specific ranges.  The USDA colors the entire state or province if a species is found anywhere within.  In contract, www.efloras.org shows where the species is found.  Compare:

 
USDA on left, eFloras on right (click map to go to site)

Dutchman's Breeches rely on Bumblebees (or other long-tongued insects) for pollination.  I'd like to catch that action sometime!  They are true Spring Ephemerals, for they will die back after setting fruit before the canopy closes over.

One more picture:

I shot these little flowers the other night at Clifty Falls and I don't think they turned out to bad for such a windy evening. The Dutchman's Breeches are a funky little flower that resemble someones trouser's, hence the name I guess, but when the wind blows they are a beast to shoot and I try not spend a whole lot of time trying to shoot one.

Hopefully I will be able to get a wider variety of wildflowers the next couple of weeks and share them with you. It is great time to be outdoors right now so even if I don't get a bunch of keeper shots I will still be happy to be outside.

Thanks for stopping by and taking a look !

I titled this one Out of the Darkness for obvious reasons...

This is a Dutchman's Breeches macro shot that I thought came out pretty neat...

Maybe my all time favorite wildflower shot, a Backlit Trillium, I love the lighting in this one...

Another one I was quite fond of was one my Columbine shots, I got a nice selection of these delicate little flowers this year but I thought this one stood out over the others...

And last but certainly not the least , this one might not be a wildflower, but I really loved the elegant feel to this fern I found unfurling in the spring sun, this is also one of my favorite all time images...

Thanks for taking a look at my images and I hope you find these as pleasing to your eyes as I do' I will follow these up with 10 more shots later on..My 5 Favorite Backyard Flowers and my Five Favorite Landscape shots of the year.

Ever since last year, one of my goals for this Easter Sunday was to find some Dutchman's Breeches out at the farm.

I admit, I didn't have a whole lotta faith -- mostly 'cause spring has been playing such tricks here lately, what with the 80 degrees one day, 30 degrees the next. Mom's dogwood trees are pretty much done for the year; she's kind of concerned, in fact, that she might lose one or two of them.

I did, however, have hope ... so Aunt Janie drove Debra and me in the golf cart, out to the woods.

And: We found them.