Spring Flower Folklore

It's spring. Every day or so a different plant comes into bloom. Exciting times! As you notice them, consider these bits of folklore.

Grape hyacinths (Muscari species) are good luck growing outside, but brought in, cause gloom and depression. 

grape hyacinths

Gazing upon periwinkles (Vinca sp.) restores lost memories. 

Spearleaf stonecrop, Sedum lanceolatum Common in the Rockies and the West

Sedum, known as stonecrop, in the stonecrop family, Crassulaceae, is a big genus with 400-500 species, native all over the Northern Hemisphere and into the Southern Hemisphere in South America and Africa. They are succulents with thick, fleshy leaves, allowing them to live in dry places.Their pretty flowers have put many stonecrops into the garden trade. 

Spearleaf stonecrop, Sedum lanceolatum

Spearleaf stonecrop, also called lanceleaf stonecrop, Sedum lanceolatum, is native across the western half of North America; in Colorado it is grows in the Rocky Mountains above 5000', its range goes west from there.  

Gardening for Moths

Moths are mysterious little pollinators, flitting around in the dark or near-dark, hard to observe. Yet providing plants that support them, so that they can pollinate, is important. Like other insects, their numbers seem to be dropping. Here are some ideas for gardens that promote moths. 

white lined hawk moth (Hyles lineata) and Persian cat mint (Nepeta racemosa)

Plant Story: Pincushion Flower, Scabious

I first remember noticing pincushion flower (also called scabious, honeysuckle family, Caprifoliaceae) on a hike on the coast of Italy. What a pretty flower!

scabious, Scabiosa or Krautia, in Italy

Scabious is used as the common name of a group of related plants. Some are classified in the genus Scabiosa (about 70 species), some in the genera Knautia (55 species) and others in Succisa (3 species). They all have flowerheads made of dozens of tiny florets. Most have pink or lavender flowers but the they range over to rich deep reds. They are native across Eurasia but not to North America. In some places in the United States, though, they have escaped from gardens and naturalized. 

Moth Pollination 3. Settling Moths

Pollinating moths come from only a few of the 124 families of moths, as far as we know (part 1 of this series). The sphinx moths, family Sphingidae (part 2) are important pollinators that fly in the evening and even by day; they are really cool insects to watch. All the other pollinating moths are collectively called settling moths, because the land on the flowers and then probe for nectar, while sphinx moths hover. Settling moths are quite mysterious.

a settling moth, the bindweed or four-spotted moth,
Tyta luctosa Denis & Schiffermüller (Noctuidae) on a cosmos (Cosmos) flower

Travel Story--Beaches in Taiwan

Taiwan is an island just east of the continent of Asia. It is subtropical to tropical, full of scenic vistas, rugged mountains, and, being an island, it is surrounded by beaches. When the Portuguese discovered it in the 1500s, they called it Ilha Formosa, "beautiful island" an aptly descriptive name, though no longer in use.

beach, looking south

It is the end of winter, Colorado is still brown and beige, so here is a photo tour of coastal Taiwan. My photos are not especially colorful, so remember to imagine the temperature is a very comfortable 80^oF, a light wind is blowing and the humidity is very high.

Moth Pollination 2. Sphinx Moths aka Hawkmoths and Hummingbird Moths

The sphinx moths are the family Sphingidae of the Lepidoptera, handsome moths that can hover in the air. Many fly by day or during dawn and dusk, so are more often spotted and admired than their relatives that fly in the dark. 

sphinx moth pollinating vervain