Last weekend I paddled with our publisher, Tom Woodman, on four ponds south of Floodwood Road. Tom wrote about our trip for the Explorer’s Adirondack Dispatches blog, so I won’t cover the same ground (or water, rather). I’m just taking the opportunity to post a photo of one of my favorite wildflowers, blue flag.
I took the photo on the shore of Horseshoe Pond, at the start of our carry to Follensby Clear Pond. Blue flag often grows near water and in swamps or wet meadows.
There are actually five species of blue flag in North America. The one that occurs in the Adirondacks most often is Iris versicolor. Its color ranges from deep blue to purple. White specimens are occasionally found. The flower blooms in late spring.
I hope you enjoy the photo. Let us know if you have a favorite Adirondack wildflower.
Well, Blue flag certainly is a crowd pleaser. We altered course ourselves last weekend to take a good look at one on nearby Turtle Pond. I put it on the cover of my book, Adirondack Wildflower Portraits (shameless plug). But if I have to pick, I’ll say whorled loosestrife is my favorite, Lysimachia quadrifolia.
I recently learned that the Delaware Skipper has a very long proboscis and is able to get nectar from the Blue Flag Iris by coming in from the side. How clever! It makes sense then that they can be found in areas with Blue Flag.
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