“Clifty Falls Wildflowers”

One of the main components for a great wildflower bloom is moisture, and that is one thing we certainly won’t be short of this spring,  after another night of heavy storms we received nearly another inch of rain last night.  I am not sure of how much we have received the last month but it is surely way above average, I actually should be out photographing all the wonderful waterfalls in our area but the water is too high and muddy right now hopefully this weekend it will calm down a bit.

Just in anticipation of the bloom I thought I might add another image of a wildflower that I shot last spring, Hepatica which is one of the first to bloom, I love the beautiful shades of color this little flower takes on during the spring flowering season. Here is a detailed description of the flower that I borrowed from Wikipedia….

Hepatica (hepatica,^[1] liverleaf,^[2] or liverwort)^[3] is a genus of herbaceous perennials in the buttercup family, native to central and northern Europe, Asia and eastern North America. Some botanists include Hepatica within a wider interpretation of Anemone.^[4][5]

Bisexual flowers with pink, purple, blue, or white sepals and three green bracts appear singly on hairy stems from late winter to spring. Butterflies, moths, bees, flies and beetles are known pollinators.

The leaves are basal, leathery, and usually three-lobed, remaining over winter.

Hepatica cultivation has been popular in Japan since the 18th Century (mid-Edo period), where flowers with doubled petals and a range of colour patterns have been developed .^[6]

Noted for their tolerance of alkaline limestone-derived soils, Hepatica may grow in a wide range of conditions; it can be found either in deeply shaded deciduous (especially beech) woodland and scrub or grassland in full sun. Hepatica will also grow in both sandy and clay-rich substrates, being associated with limestone. Moist soil and winter snowfall is a requirement; Hepatica is tolerant of winter snow cover, but less so of dry frost.

Hepatica is named from its leaves, which, like the human liver (Greek hepar), have three lobes. It was once used as a medicinal herb. Owing to the doctrine of signatures, the plant was thought an effective treatment for liver disorders. Although poisonous in large doses, the leaves and flowers may be used as an astringent, demulcent for slow-healing injuries and as a diuretic .^[4]

(Sorry for the cut and paste but I just don’t have the time or energy for a detailed description myself.)

I shot this flower at Clifty Falls State Park near Madison Indiana, if you ever get a chance there may be no more beautiful of  a park in the Midwest than Clifty Falls in the spring, with all the water in the creeks and falls and the lovely wildflowers that cover the park you can’t wrong with a stop at the Falls !!

I shot this early in the season and it was at the base of a rock where I worked this specimen, hence the dark shadowing and deep blue colors. Usually by Mid March these flowers will begin emerging  from their winter slumber and quickly will fill the canyons with their beautiful color and fragrance.

Hopefully the weather will hold and within a couple of weeks I will be sharing flowers with you from this season instead of past ones. Thanks for stopping by an taking a look, and for best viewing click on the image !!