Just a quick trip out to Skidmore today to see what's up in the woods. I thought it might be a little too early to find Orange-fruited Horse Gentian in bloom, but the plants were certainly looking healthy and full-grown. Although this plant is not on New York's rare plant list, I believe it is not very common around here, and it's certainly threatened in many surrounding states. I think it's such an interesting plant, so I'm really happy to know where it grows.
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At a glance, it looked like the flowers that circle the stems were still hiding among their dark sepals, but then a sunbeam sneaked under the leaves and lit up this wreath of blooms down low on the stalk.
Here's a closer view of one flower, revealing a pollen-dusted protruding pistil.
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Here's a plant whose fruit is certainly worth picking and eating, if you don't mind spending an hour to gather maybe a cup. This is the Wood Strawberry (Fragaria vesca ssp. americana), related to the more common Wild Strawberry (F. virginiana) and having even smaller but even more intensely flavored fruits.
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What distinguishes this strawberry is the way the flowers, growing on stalks of unequal length, are held high above the leaves. Its flowers are also a little smaller than those of the Wild Strawberry, and its berries have their seeds on the surface instead of being imbedded in the flesh.
Unfortunately, the only place I ever find them is here in the Skidmore woods, where I would not be allowed to pick them. Well, maybe just a few, if the birds haven't got them first.
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