365Caws is now in its 14th year of publication, and was originally intended to end after 365 days. It has sometimes been difficult for me to find new material, particularly during the winter months, but now as I enter my own twilight years, I cannot guarantee that I will be able to provide daily posts. It is my hope that along the way I may have inspired someone to a greater curiosity about the natural world. If so, I can rest, content in the knowledge that my work here has been done.
Thursday, April 11, 2024
Fawn Lily, Erythronium Oregonum
Day 181: In my yard, only the leaves of the Fawn Lilies (Erythronium oregonum) are showing, but on the off chance that they were in bloom at lower elevations, I took a short hike on an obscure trail yesterday. I was delighted to see the usual patch in full bloom, and was even more excited to discover them further along the trail in several places I had not noticed them previously. This raises a question in my mind: why do they not occur in other locations nearby? I have only observed them at this one site, and in a friend's yard where I suspect they were deliberately planted. Even more puzzling is the fact that this particular area has yielded up at least half a dozen plant species I have not observed elsewhere. It is hardly an undisturbed ecology, having been logged at some point in its history. Some combination of soil type, pH, exposure, hydrology and/or other factors make the spot unique. In fact, I stumbled across another new-to-me species yesterday. More on that in a coming post, and after I've taken better photos of it.
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