Wildflower Pictures

[Joe Purdy]

This sort of goes along with spring paddling season, so here goes...

Hey, since I got my Nikon SLR, I find myself taking pictures of all of these flowers
But then I cant identify the flowers I have taken pics of once I get back.
Does anyone have any suggestions for a comprehensive wildflower reference for the Ozark Plateau?
I know there are over 5000 species found here, but there has to be one reference guide which has most of them with pics.

Also, included a few of my pics for identification.
These are probably easy ones for some of you... but I have looked around and cannot find them.

Thanks

[paddledog]

Hmmmmmmmmmm...........
Yellow flower
and
Little White Flower
That's my best guess

[GutIt]

Very nice shots, Joe. Looks like you are working on wearing that new Nik out!

I'm going through the same dilemma!

Maybe Steve wouldn't mind giving us another anthological analysis on these and possibly an entomological analysis to boot!

My simple mind just thinks they sure are purty!

Been a good Spring for wild flowers.

This one is a "cheater"! It is a rescue! It followed my wife home one day and though we tried to find its Human, we couldn't, so we kept it! Was wild, now domesticated! I think it is a Columbine, but the vet wasn't sure!

[Half Ton]

nice pics joe and terry.

I recommend getting a color coded cheat mechanism that has the word ozarks in it.

The color code will get you in the right ball park, and then you can just turn and flip until you find the exact one.

If you can't find exactly the answer like blue phlox or dwarf iris such as in terry's photos then you can at least get down to the general type like a yellow aster in your first pic, joe.

I have no idea what the little white ones are ......besides little white flowers like paddle dog said.

again, nice shots!

[jermdog]

Terry, your first one is a wild iris. They've been kind of scarce this year, I don't know what the second one is and I know the third one isn't a columbine, they kind of dangle and are tapered.

[GutIt]

Hey thanks, guys!

Way better to have at least a modicum of knowledge of what I am shooting! Guess I need to see if I can get one of those cheat thingies Half Ton mentioned.

I googled "Whathehellibus Isthisis Littlewhiteflowericus" and Joe?

Best guess is Flowering Spurge, or Violet Wood Sorrel! Probably not, but that's as close as I have gotten so far!

[Jim Krueger]

I too like shooting flowers, those macro lenses are so handy!
Being somewhat of a horticultural fan, my main recommendation is to make some notes about the whole plant, and even a second picture recording the plant. When going through the various plant texts later on, it can be very helpful to describe things like the leaf shapes, how they are arranged on the plant, and the overall height of the plant. Happy hunting :)

Best Regards
Jm

[GN YAKN]

Here is my favorite wild (shrub) flower: The wild azalea or honeysuckle.

The quantity of blooms was really limited this year for some reason. I suspect the really cold winter maybe? Anyone else notice a lack of blooms in the wild azalea variety? The domestic azaleas were spectacular this year. Wazzup?!?!

[Jim Krueger]

Dave,

Ditto on the wild Azalea being one of my favorites! I relocated one from the farm quite some years ago to my home gardens here in Benton. Earlier in the year, I too wondered what, if any, impact the colder Winter would have on my various shrubs. My wild Azalea (swamp Azalea) bloomed as well as past years only more so as the plant is getting ever larger as time goes on.
Since mine is in the home garden setting, I treat it as other Azalea/Rhododendron types in sidedressing with fertilizer after bloom time, then providing waterings during the Summer. I like this Azalea for a number of reasons; it's our only native Azalea in Arkansas, and one of the few Azaleas anywhere with fragrant flowers, in addition it has a unique upright form that really distinguishes it. I'm sorry I can't figure out how to conveniently post photos on the board or I'd include some of my specimen.

Best Regards
Jim

[jmdauf]

joe-
the first pic appears looks to me to be a potato dandelion. carl hunter's "wildflowers of arkansas?" is a well known local classic resource (he's does the photography himself i think) with great photos.
mitch

[Joe Purdy]

John and Mitch,

I have looked at both of those in my Wildflowers of Arkansas published by the UofA, and neither of them fits exactly.
While the Potato Dandelion is the closest, the only problem is that in the one I photographed, each flower does not grow individually from the center of the plant. They grow from a branched stalk and are over 2 feet tall.
John, I would agree with aster (there are so many kinds) except that the defining characteristic of any aster is the central circular reproductive cluster( not sure what it’s really called). These lack that cluster and have more petals in their place.

[DanMo]

Here are some flower pics from two weeks ago.

the one with the white clusters is black locust, and wow does it smell great.

The reddish one is columbine according to my mother in law( I don't know what it is)

[nowhitewaternearme]

Some flower IDs for you (sorry I don't know them all);

Joe: second is a forget-me-not
Gutit: first is an Iris; second is a Phlox of some kind
DanMo: first is Dodecatheon (shooting star); second is a columbine (Aquilegia canadensis)

[JTarver]

Joe, Mitch is right with the potato Dandelion. the flower structure is right on the money, the leaves should be sort of a basal (bottom) location. Without seeing more of the plant, it's hard to be positive, but the cultivars do vary a bit from time to time.
My money is on Potato dandy.

The second one I'm not sure, my eyes are crossing from being so tired, but I'll look tomorrow unless someone has already beaten me to it.
Nice shots
Joe