Plant Identification please? Island / woodland plants

Discussion in 'Plants: Identification' started by Heidi von Frozenfyre, Jun 17, 2005.

  1. Heidi von Frozenfyre

    Heidi von Frozenfyre Member

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    Washington Island Wisconsin
    Hello!
    Thank-you in advance for the time envolved helping me identify these plants!

    I have 2 plants which I would love to know what they are.

    1) This plant grows to be about 1 foot tall, has a pink to burgandy stem and lovely orchid-like flowers. I have only found 8 such plants on our island, of 14,000 acres (600 residents) No scent. Very hard to see in the forest mixed with thousands of Lady Slippers. When the Lady Slippers are spent - these will appear.


    2) These blue/purple plants are growing with Lupines in the background - but are *not* Lupines. They have a brown seedpod with about 20 5-8mm brown kidney-shaped seeds. The leaves are nothing like a lupine, and they are about 4 feet tall.

    We live on a tiny island about 150 miles south of Ontario prov. on Lake Michigan. Local folklore states that the blue flowers are from the 1840's and came from Norway. ?? We have a hocky-rink size patch of them (and the Lupines) along the harbor.

    Thank-you so very, very much for having this message board.
    Pastor Heidi Brodersen
    Washington Island WI
     

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  2. Daniel Mosquin

    Daniel Mosquin Paragon of Plants UBC Botanical Garden Forums Administrator Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    Hello Heidi,

    The orchid-like flower is indeed an orchid: Corallorhiza striata, or striped coralroot.

    Corallorhiza striata from the University of Wisconsin-Madison

    I don't know the other one by sight, but I suspect it is Baptisia australis, or blue false indigo. See Baptisia australis on the site of the Connecticut Botanical Society to compare.

    Are you in one of these two counties on this map: Baptisia australis distribution in Wisconsin?
     
  3. Heidi von Frozenfyre

    Heidi von Frozenfyre Member

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    Thank-you Daniel for the speedy reply!
    Yes these are both what you say they are. It's nice to know that one is highly poisonous and should be erradicated! (the false blue indigo) It's taking over the area and crowding out the "good stuff" growing. No we are not on the list of counties.... our little island is off the very north eastern tip / peninsula of the map - about 10 miles from the mainland Wisconsin.

    It *is* an orchid!!! oh JOY!

    Hope you have a lovely weekend!

    Pastor Heidi Brodersen
     
  4. Daniel Mosquin

    Daniel Mosquin Paragon of Plants UBC Botanical Garden Forums Administrator Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    Heidi,

    I'd contact someone from the herbarium at Univ of Wisconsin to let them know about that population of Baptisia. It may well be an invasive introduction to the area, or it could be a (scientifically important) separate population from the rest - it'd be a great project for a grad student to try and figure out its origin based off of its genetics and then advise perhaps protection (if it is indeed native and disjunct (==a naturally occurring population separated somehow from the main populations)), or an invasive plants strategy. In either case, it should at least be documented in the U. Wisc. herbarium that the plant exists at that site, as that is potentially valuable scientific information.

    (PS You're welcome! And I hope you have a good weekend, too)
     

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