Clintonia Flower And Fruit

Day 305: This post has been three months in the making. Although the photos don't show the exact same plant, they represent the flower and fruit of Clintonia uniflora, known commonly as Bead-lily for reasons which should be obvious. That said, the image on the left shows an aberration: a "uniflora" with two flowers (one in bud), unusual because "uniflora" means "one-flowered." In fact, my botany partner and I found more than one example of double-flowered Clintonia this last spring, all in the same general location. As for that gorgeous blue "bead," the squirrels and chipmunks love them, which has been making them a little more difficult to find than they were a decade ago. From the perspective of one who observes as opposed to one who simply "sees," it's apparent that ranges are shifting, expanding, contracting, moving up or down. You don't have to have a degree in a natural-history field to notice that things are different than they were ten, twenty, thirty years ago. The evidence is right before your eyes.

Superior Ovaries

Day 322: Clintonia uniflora (aka Queen-cup or Bead-lily) has superior ovaries. No, no...I mean like they're really on top of it. No, wait...I mean the ovary is on top of the petals! Are we clear on that now?

Do you ever get the feeling that even though we speak the same language, we sometimes aren't the best at communicating what we mean? Scientifically, a "superior ovary" is one which develops above the petals in the traditional botanical four-part whorl arrangement of sepals, petals, stamens and stigma/style/ovary. Conversely, an "inferior ovary" occurs below the sepals/petals (an example would be the winged ovary of a begonia flower). "Superior" in this sense means "above," "inferior" means "below." However, someone unfamiliar with botany might think that I was speaking in reference to the plant's ability to reproduce successfully rather than describing the arrangement of its reproductive parts.

Communication is not always as simple as saying what's on your mind. A single word or string of words may signify something entirely different to different people depending on their backgrounds. Semantics (the selection of a word based on a precise definition, its placement in the word-order of a sentence, and sometimes even the euphonic resonance of its syllables) is the science of verbal exchange, and unless everyone is on the same page (i.e., from similiar verbal backgrounds), the message can go widely astray. The wise speaker chooses words to suit the audience. A "nicely tanned skin" might refer to bathing-suit cheesecake or to a cozy, curly fleece rug. I know how I'd be most likely to use the phrase, but do you?

And here you thought this post was going to be about botany! Not to disappoint, it has taken me a very long time to find and photograph Bead-lily's solitary blue bead. Some little critter seems to think they're very tasty. Out of several hundred plants I checked, all but half a dozen had had their "beads" bitten off neatly.

Clintonia Uniflora, Bead-Lily

Day 272: Far from being rare, Bead-Lily is nevertheless one of my favourite wildflowers because it provides a visual treat at two stages in its life-cycle. Its graceful, solitary flower delights the eye in late spring and early summer, held aloft on a narrow stalk above leaves which are reminiscent of lily-of-the-valley, if not quite as large. The 1-2" bloom faces upward, giving rise to the plant's alternate appellation of "Queen-cup." Once you have found it in the wild, make a mental note of its location and return to the spot in a month or so when the fruit has had time to develop. Where once the white lily bloomed, you will find a single dark blue pod, the "bead" which provides the source of its common name.