Sharp-lobed Hepatica

Sharp-lobed Hepatica

Hepatica acutiloba

These gorgeous spring ephemerals are usually found in woods with rich, somewhat alkaline, well drained-soils across eastern North America. Their flowers can vary in color and petal count. The hepatica plants pictured were growing on wooded hillsides featuring dolomite rock outcrops.

March 30th, 2023

St. Francois County, Missouri, USA

Olivia R. Myers

@oliviarosaline

Prairie Trillium

Trillium recurvatum

These unique, dark trillium plants caught our eye while we were exploring woods in Jersey County, Illinois. This species usually has splotchy green leaves. dailybotany suggested these trillium plants may have upped their anthocyanin production in response to exposure to higher levels of solar radiation. There were a few of these trilliums with dark leaves in the general area, and it may have been a sunnier than usual spot in the understory of the forest there, so this theory makes sense. I still wonder if it's possible this small population carries a genetic mutation... I have explored many woods and never seen trilliums this dark. I love listening to different theories and learning new info.

Trillium recurvatum is native to much of the Mississippi River basin in the central / eastern United States. Eastern Ohio has a few populations, which are listed as potentially threatened by their DNR. There are also a couple isolated populations in North Carolina, but it's debated whether or not they were actually planted long ago. Its closest lookalike with overlapping range is trillium sessile; however, the sepals on s. recurvatum plants curve downward as the flower opens, and the stem is usually much shorter than on t. sessile. This species can grow in habitats ranging from floodplains, to mesic forests and mesic savannas. Often, they're found growing in calcareous soils or over calcium-rich rocks such as limestone.

March 20th, 2024

Jersey County, Illinois, USA

Olivia R. Myers

@oliviarosaline

Ink Cap Mushroom

Psathyrellaceae

April 3rd, 2024

Saint Louis County, Missouri, USA

Olivia R. Myers

@oliviarosaline

Lanceleaf Frogfruit

Phyla lanceolata

This perennial species in the verbena family is native to much of the United States and Mexico. It's usually found growing in disturbed wetlands, ditches, or yards and provides nectar for many beneficial insects when it blooms during summer.

The plant pictured was in disturbed bottomland woods near Butler Lake and the Meramec River in southern St. Louis County, Missouri, USA

June 20th, 2023

Olivia R. Myers

@oliviarosaline

Small-Funnel Veil Amanita

Amanita multisquamosa

Amanita ser. Pantherinae

Also known as the White Panther Amanita, this species is found in forests east of the Great Plains in the United States. It has a mycorrhizal association with oaks and can sometimes be found near conifers as well. Likely psychoactive and presumed toxic. ☠️

Aug. 14th, 2023

St. Louis County, Missouri, USA

Olivia R. Myers

@oliviarosaline

Some kind of bolete mushroom

Boletales

This bolete featured unusually large, bright yellow pores.

There are over 150 described bolete species in the Midwestern United States alone, so sometimes it's a challenge to narrow them down to an exact species ID. It's not an ash tree bolete. I found this one while doing field research in an old growth forest near the Meramec River near swamp white oak, pin oak, cottonwood, silver maple, green ash, persimmon, and hackberry trees. I'm not sure which tree it was associated with.

Aug. 18th, 2023

Arnold, Jefferson County, Missouri, USA

Olivia R. Myers

@oliviarosaline