Wordless Wednesday 7-16-2008

Anyone know what wildflower this is?

July 15th, 2008 Posted By: Will | 24 Comments |

Categories: Photography
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I’m not sure what flower this is, though it does look familiar.

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Comment by CatSynth (1 comments.) — July 15, 2008 @ 11:12 pm
They grow all over where I grew up. I use to pick them for my mum, until my brother told me to stop picking all the weeds. Not sure if it a weed or a flower, but I like the pic just the same! Happy WW.

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Comment by Ryanne (2 comments.) — July 16, 2008 @ 12:29 am
this is a lovely shot!!!… they spread out like a 4-pointed star…as to its name, hmmm… maybe from the family queen anne’s lace(?)… i’m not sure, just guessing :)… in any case, this is a wonderful shot!

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Comment by lareine (11 comments.) — July 16, 2008 @ 1:59 am
No problem - it’s a yellow one!

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Comment by keiths ramblings (1 comments.) — July 16, 2008 @ 2:57 am
how pretty, i’ve never seen them before, looks like God was being mathematical happy WW

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Comment by Elaine (3 comments.) — July 16, 2008 @ 4:03 am
I am clueless as to what this is, but I’m sure I’ve seen this flower before. It’s certainly a great shot, though!

Comment by Louise Pool (1 comments.) — July 16, 2008 @ 12:56 pm
Sorry … wish I could help out, but I can barely remember the names of the flowers I’ve planted in my yard! It’s an interesting configuration of blossoms and I’ll bet someone who passes by will know. Thanks for dropping by Small Reflections. I actually like the 2nd one best, but my friend (who’s taking the class with me) suggested the chairs since that’s where I did much of my writing last summer. I saved it as a separate file so I’d have options later ;–)
Hugs and blessings,

Comment by storyteller (1 comments.) — July 16, 2008 @ 1:18 pm
It kind of looks like yarrow…but it is spread out more in a star formation. These are the kinds of flowers that used to grow in our field and my mom called them weeds, too!! But the “weedy” looking ones, I think they are the prettiest!

Thanks for stopping by Chaos today, too…it was fun to find you!

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Comment by carrie (1 comments.) — July 16, 2008 @ 1:37 pm
You’ve got me but it is a nice looking flower.

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Comment by Richard (1 comments.) — July 16, 2008 @ 1:42 pm
hi Will,
1. Do you know the answer (what kind of flower is it) and is this a “test”, or are you looking for the answer?
2. I can’t tell from the top view. Do all of the stalks start at the same point vertically, or do the ones that go farther out start lower on the main branch (are they staggered)?
3. Is this the “finished” flower, or do the individual flowers get bigger and do more stalks appear?
~ Steve

Comment by trade show booths (41 comments.) — July 16, 2008 @ 2:45 pm
Hey Steve - No, I really don’t know what it is or the answers to your other questions. I just took a quick photo when out on a hike. I had never seen this flower before, but a couple of the other comments make me think it is not as uncommon as I thought.

Comment by Will — July 17, 2008 @ 12:02 am
hi Will,
A “smart” sounding answer would be lomatium triternatum.
But my real answer at this point is that it might be a variant of the lomatium triternatum family. I spent some time searching the internet yesterday (instead of working, but that’s another story) to see what I could find. For commoners, it may be of the “parsley” family, interestingly enough. Below is a link to the info I found. It looks similar to one of the pictures for Nine Leaf Biscuitroot, except that the Biscuitroot plant has a six-spoke flower configuration, not four-spoke. It may also be related to Water Hemlock, the deadliest plant in North America! Anyway, I have emailed my “wildflower expert” to get his opinion. I love a challenge!
Oh yes, the link is:
http://www.wildflowers-and-weeds.com/Plant_Families/Apiaceae.htm
~ Steve, purveyor of trade show booths and budding amateur wildflower enthusiast.

Comment by trade show booths (41 comments.) — July 17, 2008 @ 7:50 am
hi Will,
My wildflower expert just emailed me back.
Q: Do you know what the attached wildflower is?
A: The quick answer is no. It has a compound umbel type floral head, and at that point I stop. Somehow I wonder about onion family.

His answer was independent of me finding the link above, so the consensus seems to be that at the very least it is a “compound umbel” type wildflower.

Perhaps more to follow… ~ Steve

Comment by trade show booths (41 comments.) — July 17, 2008 @ 10:03 am
Steve - I think you are on the right track. I suspect it is biscuitroot. I have emailed a hike leader I met last fall on a backpacking trip who is very familiar with the local flora and fauna. Hopefully he will cast the deciding vote.

Comment by Will — July 17, 2008 @ 11:18 am
hi will, I’m not sure on the biscuitroot, since it has 6 spokes. I am now thinking it is a “swale desert parsley” or Lomatium ambiguum, or at least some time of desert parsley. The tough thing is finding an overhead picture of the flower like you took. I will say that is is a very cool looking flower!
Here’s my latest link for the swale desert parsley (check out the more photos section). The website also have other desert parsleys listed:
http://www.pnwflowers.com/flower/lomatium-ambiguum
~ Steve

Comment by trade show booths (41 comments.) — July 17, 2008 @ 11:59 am
You may be right Steve. The two sure look the same to me. It looks like this one also: http://www.pnwflowers.com/flower/lomatium-nudicaule

Sure is the correct genus at least! I was thinking this will teach me to not ID plants when I photograph them, but on the other hand this is fun too.

Comment by Will — July 17, 2008 @ 12:36 pm
hi Will, I saw that one too. What is unique about your “wildflower” photo (and is the cool feature to my mind) is the alternating “four spoke” design. There are four longer outer spokes, and then one rotates 45 degrees, and there are four medium length spokes, and one then rotates again (lining up with the original spokes) and there are four more shorter spokes, and it appears there may then be yet another set after that. That to me is the unique key! I wonder if the plant keeps growing and you get yet more sets, or if that is it? Anyway, it does seem to be “Lomatium” based - I would just love to find a dead match, which I think requires an overhead shot to confirm. I never expected to spend this much time on this, but then again, I love a challenge! ~ Steve

Comment by trade show booths (41 comments.) — July 17, 2008 @ 12:48 pm
Ok Regis (Will), MY FINAL ANSWER IS… Gray’s desert parsley (Lomatium grayi). I think your flowers would have continued to grow sets of spokes and would have ended up looking like these:
http://www.malag.aes.oregonstate.edu/wildflowers/images.php/id-851
http://www.forestryimages.org/browse/detail.cfm?imgnum=1359082
http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/Faculty/Carr/ofp/images2/lom_gra_9611b.jpg
Now I’ve really got to tell myself to get back to work!
~ Steve

Comment by trade show booths (41 comments.) — July 17, 2008 @ 1:22 pm
Hi Will, I think the comment I just posted got “eaten”. My final answer was “Lomatium grayi” (Gray’s desert parsley). I included links to three sources/pictures. Maybe the comment went into a spam trap? Anyway, that’s it for me! ~ Steve

Comment by trade show booths (41 comments.) — July 17, 2008 @ 1:29 pm
Yeah Steve, because of the 3 links it went into the moderation que. I just got an email from someone guessing Lomatium triternatum. You are either correct or as close as you can get. We’ll see if a definite answer comes in. Promise I won’t have an unidentified flower next week!

Comment by Will — July 17, 2008 @ 7:18 pm
Will, I look forward to next Wednesday being a “wordless” Wednesday - it’s better for my work ethic. Seriously though, I enjoy bouncing around the internet trying to come up with answers (even thought it can eat up an amazing amount of time). Identifying your wildflower was a fun challenge. Thanks! Steve

Comment by just Steve — July 17, 2008 @ 8:14 pm
Too cool Will, looks mathematical, have no Idea, looks nothing like the yellow wildflower we have in Saskatoon, I believe we call it a dandelion,lol

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Comment by Bob (109 comments.) — July 18, 2008 @ 5:32 pm
Well, here is the word from the hike leader I emailed. Looks like Steve was right on, but it is a difficult one to be sure.

“..Lomatium. The exact species would be very difficult to tell without further information. Pictures of the leaves would be helpful along with information of where found along with habitat. Sometimes even with all this information I might not be able to identify this one.”

Comment by Will — July 18, 2008 @ 5:42 pm
I don’t know, but it reminds me of those 1950s-era wall decorations!

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Comment by Tropic of Mom (1 comments.) — July 18, 2008 @ 6:41 pm