Everyone loves spectacular fields of wildflowers in peak display, but don’t forget there are some more unusual and uncommon among the crowds, and tread lightly. Since I am on a wildflower kick right now, I thought I would send you some that you might have missed.
This little beauty is commonly called Mission Bells or Chocolate Lily (Fritillaria biflora). Some of our more uncommon flowers have survived only because they have the special superpower of growing in uncommon environments (which therefore aren’t prime agricultural land)—they therefore get left undisturbed. I found this little Fritillaria in a serpentine soil, which is an uncommon soil type in itself. Because of the Serpentine soil’s parent materials it results in an environment with many endemic, rare and endangered plants.
This is just a little reminder that environment and plant are closely linked, and also how special that relationship can be when it comes to relating with human activities.
#fritillaria #serpentinesoil #wildflowers #ethnobotany #ethnopharm #endemic #soilscience #environment