T
his
is the beginning of our 24th
year of looking at wildflowers
in Cook County, MN. We are three
senior women who just love to
get out and explore and learn
new things. We are even getting
together all winter but don't
find too many flowers at that
time, but no matter.
Wednesday, May 25, 2005
When we started out we had
planned to go up the Arrowhead
Trail, turning off #61 at the
North Road #69 but we changed
our minds and went up the Camp
20 Road #70. Years ago there was
a CCC camp at the end of this
road and the Brule River went by
it.
We now have a new
"Special Area" for
spring flowers. As you go up the
Camp 20 rd. and park in the
parking area for the Superior
Hiking Trail going west. All we
needed to do was go down the
steps a ways. The forest floor
was carpeted with Spring
Beauty. They look wonderful
and also smell wonderful.
Looking closer we found a lot of
Ginger
blooming. Other things blooming
were Nodding
Trillium & Wood
Anemone. But sorry to say we
also found our first mosquitoes
and black flies - we put on bug
dope and hope we remember our
nets next week. The leaves on
the deciduous trees are still a
pale green and the contrast with
the evergreens is beautiful
especially on distant hillsides.
As we drove along we saw many
Juneberry shrubs and so VERY
MANY Marsh
Marigolds , also called
Cowslips - we have them a 5 star
rating. We saw our first Ox-eye
Daisy and a few Bluebells
Mertensia paniculata and one Fly
Honeysuckle bush. It was a
wonderful day. We had lunch at
Judge Magne State Park.
Click
here for the most recent report!
Here
are some early bloomers to look
for in the
area:
Anemone,
Wood - Anemone
quinquefolia
Arbutus,
Trailing - Epigaea repens
Bloodroot
- Sanguinaria canadensis
Dandelion,
Common - Taraxicum
officinale
Dutchman's
Breeches - Dicentra
cucullaria
Early
Sweet Coltsfoot - Petasites
palmatus
Hazelnut,
Corylus
Marsh-marigold
- Caltha palustris
Pussytoes, Field - Antennaria
neglecta
Red
Maple
- Acer rubrum
Spring
Beauty - Claytonia
verginica
Strawberry,
Common - Fragaria
virginiana
Violets
Be sure to stop back
throughout the Spring and
Summer to see our weekly
wildflower reports from
Lorraine Anderson of Grand
Marais, Minnesota.
