Who have you found in the wild that made you go ‘AHHH!’?
My two most favorite finds were Spiraea tomentosa and also Lobelia cardinalis mixed with Eutrochium purpureum (Eupatorium when I spotted it lol). Located in Promised Land State Park Pennsylvania!
I accidently held a bee between my fingers once, and it made me go AHHH!
A-Plant-Guy
Doll’s eyes baneberry. Didn’t even know they existed until after I started gardening with native plants (including them), so finding them in the wild was such a treat.
I too have found Lobelia cardinalis outside the garden. Close to where I live in suburban central CT which was certainly an unexpected joy.
Arnoglossum
Seeing Venus Flytraps everywhere in Green Swamp Preserve
Clayness31290
Lobelia cardinalis is one of my favorites in general, finding them out in the wild always feels so special because I so rarely see them out on the trails but when I do catch them, they’re just so bright and striking. I also always keep my eyes peeled for rattlesnake plantain. I’ve seen them quite a few times but I still have yet to see them bloom.
The one that made me actually say “no fucking way” out loud on the trail, though, is ghost pipe, Monotopa uniflora. I’d heard about them years and years ago and thought they were so cool, but never actually expected to see them, so coming across a patch of them was so unexpected and exciting.
Elderberry and great blue lobelia right next to each other. Genuinely shocking to see them both. It was owned by the Audubon society
LastJava
While prairie crocuses (pulsatilla patens var. wolfgangia) aren’t exactly considered rare, they are so rare to find on cultivated land that finding them in pockets within city limits was like knowing the locations of hidden treasure. I definitely had this reaction too the first time I saw Smooth Blue Penstemon (Penstemon nitidus) in bloom, that blue is so unbelievably vibrant in person.
Tumorhead
Wood betony at a local park!! It’s a hemiparasite flower!! I tried to grow some (Blazing Star Gardens has been producing it for sale) but it perished, so seeing it in the woods is very helpful. There’s a huge patch in a pretty popular woodland trail which is a sign the woods has high biodiversity (sure seems that way, tons of mushroom species). I spotted it but I still have to visit while it’s in flower.
Ready-Guidance4145
Finding bright blooming Cooley’s hedgenettle made me cheer.
femalehumanbiped
9 or 10 years ago hiking in Shenandoah National Park in May. Hills of white and pink trillium!
PastyDoughboy
A field (or slope) of fireweed brings me joy.
Trash_Kit
I don’t think it’s rare but I was happy to see a wild New York Ironweed on my property. And some Boneset.
JG-UpstateNY
Finding Bloodroot in my woods! I was researching Sanguinaria canadensis as a potential native to try and reintroduce as I battle the invasives, and a year Iater found some growing naturally.
Dry_Vacation_6750
I spotted a single cardinal flower in the most polluted spot along the spicket river in Salem, NH. I hope it spreads next year. ❤️
There’s a desert ironwood tree in western AZ that is nearly 1,100 years old. Estimated 1,050 in 2009, germinated some time around 950-960 CE. And it’s not showing any signs of slowing down any time soon, still producing tons of springtime blooms and new growth. It’s an incredible testament to resiliency in the face of tough conditions.
Not my photo btw, I’m not a photographer and none of my pics could do it justice
Inevitable-Dealer-42
Ground nut/apios americana. Nothing special about it necessarily, I just thought it was a cool find. Don’t see a whole bunch of them out there in this area.
karstopography
Passiflora incarnata, Callicarpa americana, Viburnum rufidulum. Maypop, passionflowers always get my attention, so does American Beautyberry and Rusty Blackhaw.
LRonHoward
Probably the coolest plant I’ve ever seen in the wild was in Northern MN – Lesser Purple Fringed Orchid (*Platanthera psycodes*). It was the first wild orchid I’ve ever seen and it was stunning!
Others… there is one area I know of that has a decent population of Cream Gentian (*Gentiana alba/flavida*) and it is absolutely gorgeous. White Rattlesnake Root (*Nabalus albus*) is another that is a true stunner – mainly because of its habitat. It grows kind of on woodland opening slopes that get enough sun… So you’ll be walking along a trail and *bam* this gorgeous plant appears out of nowhere.
jjbeo
Spirea and red eyes grass
Lynda73
I found a bunch of lady slipper orchids down by the river on some land my dad owned.
xenya
Cardinal flower is stunning. I found Blue lobelia in the wild once. Pink lady’s slipper years ago, and this year I found a colony of Ragged Fringed orchid. That was a first. I love to find a forest full of Spring Beauty when I haven’t seen flowers after months of winter. There’s a patch of woods that I know that grows Indian cucumber, Rattlesnake plantain orchid, Striped wintergreen, several kinds of Clubmoss, Solomon’s seal, Cinnamon fern and Christmas fern. I’ve seen Indian pipe growing there and a lot of fungi that I have no name for. And now I want to go for a hike. 🙂
UselessCat37
Jack in the pulpit. Found my first one last spring. Also saw some milkweed last weekend rife with monarch caterpillars. We didn’t have any on ours this year
reallybiglizard
Orchid sightings are probably my favorite. But also, hiking in the Rocky Mountains in the late summer, well past “wild flower season”, and rounding a rock outcropping to find an alpine meadow still bursting with colombine and paintbrush. That always gets a jaw-drop and a “waaoow” from me, lol.
mamapajamas
Ladyslipper orchids, but like…a bush 😳 It probably had over a dozen big healthy blooms!
23 Comments
I accidently held a bee between my fingers once, and it made me go AHHH!
Doll’s eyes baneberry. Didn’t even know they existed until after I started gardening with native plants (including them), so finding them in the wild was such a treat.
I too have found Lobelia cardinalis outside the garden. Close to where I live in suburban central CT which was certainly an unexpected joy.
Seeing Venus Flytraps everywhere in Green Swamp Preserve
Lobelia cardinalis is one of my favorites in general, finding them out in the wild always feels so special because I so rarely see them out on the trails but when I do catch them, they’re just so bright and striking. I also always keep my eyes peeled for rattlesnake plantain. I’ve seen them quite a few times but I still have yet to see them bloom.
The one that made me actually say “no fucking way” out loud on the trail, though, is ghost pipe, Monotopa uniflora. I’d heard about them years and years ago and thought they were so cool, but never actually expected to see them, so coming across a patch of them was so unexpected and exciting.
https://preview.redd.it/2um09eh7lvmf1.jpeg?width=12000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=66158ed8793a701fc31c54febcbe2038bfa391d2
Elderberry and great blue lobelia right next to each other. Genuinely shocking to see them both. It was owned by the Audubon society
While prairie crocuses (pulsatilla patens var. wolfgangia) aren’t exactly considered rare, they are so rare to find on cultivated land that finding them in pockets within city limits was like knowing the locations of hidden treasure. I definitely had this reaction too the first time I saw Smooth Blue Penstemon (Penstemon nitidus) in bloom, that blue is so unbelievably vibrant in person.
Wood betony at a local park!! It’s a hemiparasite flower!! I tried to grow some (Blazing Star Gardens has been producing it for sale) but it perished, so seeing it in the woods is very helpful. There’s a huge patch in a pretty popular woodland trail which is a sign the woods has high biodiversity (sure seems that way, tons of mushroom species). I spotted it but I still have to visit while it’s in flower.
Finding bright blooming Cooley’s hedgenettle made me cheer.
9 or 10 years ago hiking in Shenandoah National Park in May. Hills of white and pink trillium!
A field (or slope) of fireweed brings me joy.
I don’t think it’s rare but I was happy to see a wild New York Ironweed on my property. And some Boneset.
Finding Bloodroot in my woods! I was researching Sanguinaria canadensis as a potential native to try and reintroduce as I battle the invasives, and a year Iater found some growing naturally.
I spotted a single cardinal flower in the most polluted spot along the spicket river in Salem, NH. I hope it spreads next year. ❤️
https://preview.redd.it/drn4vy0r3wmf1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0230280a6f64f81212923e5f05eecd6e0ad6320b
There’s a desert ironwood tree in western AZ that is nearly 1,100 years old. Estimated 1,050 in 2009, germinated some time around 950-960 CE. And it’s not showing any signs of slowing down any time soon, still producing tons of springtime blooms and new growth. It’s an incredible testament to resiliency in the face of tough conditions.
Not my photo btw, I’m not a photographer and none of my pics could do it justice
Ground nut/apios americana. Nothing special about it necessarily, I just thought it was a cool find. Don’t see a whole bunch of them out there in this area.
Passiflora incarnata, Callicarpa americana, Viburnum rufidulum. Maypop, passionflowers always get my attention, so does American Beautyberry and Rusty Blackhaw.
Probably the coolest plant I’ve ever seen in the wild was in Northern MN – Lesser Purple Fringed Orchid (*Platanthera psycodes*). It was the first wild orchid I’ve ever seen and it was stunning!
Others… there is one area I know of that has a decent population of Cream Gentian (*Gentiana alba/flavida*) and it is absolutely gorgeous. White Rattlesnake Root (*Nabalus albus*) is another that is a true stunner – mainly because of its habitat. It grows kind of on woodland opening slopes that get enough sun… So you’ll be walking along a trail and *bam* this gorgeous plant appears out of nowhere.
Spirea and red eyes grass
I found a bunch of lady slipper orchids down by the river on some land my dad owned.
Cardinal flower is stunning. I found Blue lobelia in the wild once. Pink lady’s slipper years ago, and this year I found a colony of Ragged Fringed orchid. That was a first. I love to find a forest full of Spring Beauty when I haven’t seen flowers after months of winter. There’s a patch of woods that I know that grows Indian cucumber, Rattlesnake plantain orchid, Striped wintergreen, several kinds of Clubmoss, Solomon’s seal, Cinnamon fern and Christmas fern. I’ve seen Indian pipe growing there and a lot of fungi that I have no name for. And now I want to go for a hike. 🙂
Jack in the pulpit. Found my first one last spring. Also saw some milkweed last weekend rife with monarch caterpillars. We didn’t have any on ours this year
Orchid sightings are probably my favorite. But also, hiking in the Rocky Mountains in the late summer, well past “wild flower season”, and rounding a rock outcropping to find an alpine meadow still bursting with colombine and paintbrush. That always gets a jaw-drop and a “waaoow” from me, lol.
Ladyslipper orchids, but like…a bush 😳 It probably had over a dozen big healthy blooms!