Leafy Mitrewort, Mitella Caulescens

Day 211: The Mitreworts are frequently overlooked by hikers for two reasons. The first is that they are green and the second is that they are generally tiny. The individual flowers you see on these stalks are no more than half an inch in diameter. Seen in close-up, they reveal such complexity that it would be easy to do an entire photographic essay on them.

These were growing along the South Swofford Wetland Trail, one of my favorite "secret" nature walks. The trailhead is easy to find, but often hikers find themselves cut off by a large swampy area less than a tenth of a mile in. Unless you know where to access the trail from above, your hike is likely to be a short one. If you do know how to circumvent the bog, you'll be rewarded with a mile and a half walk which stays largely in the forest to the south of Swofford Pond, and there you'll find all sorts of treasures from wildflowers to warblers.

As for Leafy Mitrewort, it is distinguished from other members of its species by the fact that the flowers open from the top of the stalk down, and occasionally a small leaf will occur along the stem. Mitella caulescens is one of the more common Mitreworts in Pacific Northwest wetlands.