Natural History Wanderings

Yesterday we went for a drive out Fairfax-Bolinas Road and saw a few early season wildflowers. Although there are less flowers in bloom due to the drought, I did find some nice specimens of my favorite early season wildflower Fetid Adder’s Tongue Scoliopus bigelovii  as well as the more common Milkmaids Cardamine californica. It was enough to have a good day shooting wildflower close-ups. With less species in bloom it is added incentive to “work the subject”,  something I don’t do often enough.

Scoliopus bibelovii  is a plant in the Liliaceae family. Common names include California fetid adders tongue, Bigelow’s adderstongue, slinkpod, and brownies. It is native to California, where it is known from parts of the San Francisco Bay Area and North Coast Ranges. It occurs in old-growth forest in the understory of redwoods. It grows in mossy, moist places, often in shade. (from Wikipedia)

The scientific name Scoliopus bigelovii  honors John Milton Bigelow, a surgeon and botanist from Ohio, who did a botanical collecting trip in Marin County in the spring of 1854 that made a significant contribution to the Marin flora.  Scoliopus means crooked foot and refers to the curving stalk of the flower. When the plant first appears in the spring, the flower stalks stand up straight, holding the flower above the two leaves which are still quite small. After the flower has been pollinated, the fruit or seed pod begins to swell and the flower parts fall off. The weight of the growing pod causes the slender stalk to bend over and touch the ground, thus the common name “slink pod”  The name “adder’s tongue”refers to the mottled leaves that have grown quite large after the flowers have fallen off and are visible  for months.  The “fetid” part of the name coming from the odor of the fresh flower which  is thought to attract pollinators. (from Marin CNPS).

To view a large size high quality version of the slideshow click on : Early Wildflowers (click on box in bottom right corner for full screen).

 Here is the small version:

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