Yellow: Wildflower Theme of the Week
Yellow everywhere, or so it seems this week. Yesterday, May 9th, on Lake Bemidji State Park’s Bog Walk, the marsh marigolds now have quite a presence, lighting up the boardwalk with their brilliant yellow gold blossoms.
Having planted marigolds in my flower garden for years, I wondered if garden variety marigolds are related to the Marsh Marigolds. A little web research later, and, now I know that the answer is “no”. The Marsh Marigold is in the buttercup family, and the garden marigold is in the aster family. Apparently, the main thing they have in common is their beautiful yellow color.
Today I hiked the Rocky Point Trail at Lake Bemidji State Park, a different habitat with different flowers. The somewhat shy, but oh so fluid in the wind Large-flowered Bellwort was the flower of the day. Clumps of the Large-flowered Bellwort lined the path and drifted off into the woods. It is beautiful in a delicate sort of way.
Bees collect their pollen and find their nectar tasty. Deer are fond of their foliage.
Last, but not least, of the yellow wildflowers that posed for me today is the Downy Yellow Violet. The “downy” part of its name comes from the long soft hairs on its stem and on the underside of its heart shaped leaves.
The yellow blossom is less than an inch with purple brown veins and five petals. Its two side petals are bearded. The Downy Yellow Violet has an above ground stem, unlike the Common Blue Violet which has an underground stem.
Pinetree Photo's Nature Discovery Blog 
The marsh marigold against the backdrop of blue pond water is most stunning. You have taken me on a walk trough the woods and I never got in my car. The large-flowered bellwort is new to me. Beautiful flower. I love your website: A naturalist’s look at your surroundings through the lens with an interesting blend of technical description interlaced with feeling: the flower that “posed” for you and the flower that was “beautiful in a delicate sort of way.” I look forward to more walks with you.
Thanks for the vote of confidence! May I point out, however, that your blog has an award winning photographer, wonderful stories, and a crew of followers interested in the latest adventure of the Kings. (I think you will like the switch to WordPress – it seems to offer quite a few options, in an accessible way.)
I really like the closeup of the buttercup. Hope my blog gets as good as yours. Randy
I enjoyed them too. It was so interesting to me to see the same area that was covered in Bloodroot just 10 days ago now full of the Bellwort. (I didn’t see a single Bloodroot blossom on this latest hike.)
What a pleasant surprise this morning to find your latest installment, and, with coffee in hand, to read about and study the various photos. My favorite photo is the three Bellworts – beautiful!