Five on Friday - Woodland Wild Flowers

On Wednesday, John and I, along with daughter, Amber, and five of the grands, decided to get away for a day and get out into nature. 

Pomme de Terre Lake
Hickory County, Missouri

We ended up visiting Pomme de Terre Lake and State Park where we enjoyed a picnic lunch and hiked around a bit. 

Grandchildren Audrey, Silas, Isaiah, Esther, and Mercy
@ Pomme de Terre State Park

In case you're wondering, Pomme de Terre is French for "apple of the earth", which, in English translates to "potato." So, technically, I guess we visited Potato Lake and Potato State Park! 😆

(It's funny how different some things sound once they're translated into English...isn't it???) 

A Gray Squirrel

On our foray into the woods that surround Pomme de Terre Lake we discovered a whole host of woodland treasures, which included a lovely array of spring wildflowers, many of which, we had ever seen before. 

Here are a few of the ones that we, either, knew or have been able to identify...

1) BLUE FALSE INDIGO - This is a plant we had never seen before. Its flowers were absolutely stunning and incredibly blue! From what I've read, the foliage of this and similar species have been used as a poor substitute for indigo in dyeing. 

Blue False Indigo

2) We had never seen this variety of WILD BERGAMOT (a.k.a. HORSEMINT) before, either. It's a beautiful plant and the pale lavender flowers are lovely! (They remind me of fireworks!) 🎆

Wild Bergamot (a.k.a. Horsemint)

We have a similar species of WILD BERGAMOT that grows on the prairie called BEEBALM. The bees and butterflies just love it and it should be starting to bloom right now. I will find out on my way to work today! 🐝

Wild Bergamot  (a.k.a. Beebalm)

3) VIOLET WOOD SORREL - This delicate little plant is actually an herb. "Sorrel" is the German word for "sour" and it refers to the taste of the leaves. The leaves have been used throughout history as a preventative for scurvy due to their high content of Vitamin C.

Violet Wood Sorrel

4) VENUS' LOOKING GLASS - This is another plant that, as far as I know, we (or, at least, I) had never seen before. There are five species of this plant found state-wide, though, so I guess it's possible that I've seen it, but just didn't know what I was looking at. 

Venus' Looking Glass

5) And, last, but certainly not least...OX-EYED DAISIES are among my favorite of all wildflowers. As a girl, I used to delight in running through meadows full of them in northern Minnesota while there on summer vacation. Yesterday, I'm sure that I saw more daisies along roadsides and in Pomme de Terre State Park than I have seen in all the days combined from the time I was a girl until now. It was wonderful!!! 🌼

Ox-eyed Daisies

Well, ladies, that's it for this week! Have a great weekend and I'll see you next time!

Until then...

~Rebecca

P.S. - If you enjoyed reading this post, please, leave a comment so I know you were here! Thank you! 💓

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