{"id":1132,"date":"2019-04-12T16:42:12","date_gmt":"2019-04-12T16:42:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ds.guilford.edu\/classes\/english\/228-2019s\/?p=1132"},"modified":"2019-04-12T16:42:25","modified_gmt":"2019-04-12T16:42:25","slug":"la-belle-fleur-sauvage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ds.guilford.edu\/classes\/english\/228-2019s\/uncategorized\/la-belle-fleur-sauvage\/","title":{"rendered":"La Belle Fleur Sauvage"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What\nyou\u2019re looking for won\u2019t be found easily. In the blink of an eye, a quick\nglance upward, or even the extra focus needed to step over that root, they will\nbe gone. Footsteps pass them by daily, pausing not even for a moment to examine\ntheir hidden qualities. Transitory beauty remains rooted in fertile soil, lifting\ntheir pedals high for the eye to behold. By a small patch of green by bubbling\nbrook, Spring has dawned her familiar wardrobe once again. Layering herself\nwith sweaters of green and yellow, she has begun the process of pulling upward\nthe promise of new beginnings. Stooping low, I paused to congratulate her for\nanother successful start to the season. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Cascade Creek, Hanging Rock State Park – 4\/11\/19<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

My\neyes wandered to a small patch of radiant light blue flora. Folded emerald moss\nserved as a bed for the flowers to rest upon, only now their petals were stretching\nupward to meet the day. Bluets, or Quaker ladies (Houstonia caerulea<\/em>, L.) are a perennial species native to eastern\nCanada and the eastern United States. The terminal flowers invite you in with\nmauve-tipped pedals, moving downward into a crystal-clear blue base, and wrapping\nyou up with a fluorescent center of yellow. Quaker ladies grow best in acidic\nsoils in relatively shaded forests, often reaching eight inches high in best\nconditions and capable of covering large expanses. At Hanging Rock, they are\noften observed towering over moss-covered patches of the understory such as\nthese.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Bluets (Houstonia caerulea) by Cascade Creek – 4\/11\/19<\/em> <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Off to their left, a solitary downy yellow violet claimed its space in the sunlight. Downy yellow violets (Viola pubescens<\/em>, Ait.) are another perennial species found all across the continental United States. The downy yellow violet is softly hairy, growing anywhere from 9-12 inches tall. Casting a brilliant glow across the forest floor, the yellow rimmed<\/g> petals are veined with purple like the capillaries of human blood. Although the flowers are certainly edible, I could not fathom removing that beauty from the landscape unless under dire circumstances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Downy yellow violet (Viola pubescens) by Cascade Creek – 4\/11\/19<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Closer to the creek, and covered slightly in sand<\/g>, Galax<\/em> cast a darkening green glow against the transparent surface of the creek. Also known as wandplant<\/g> or beetleweed, Galax<\/em> (G. urceolata<\/g><\/em>, Poir.) is native to the southeastern United States, ranging from Massachusetts to northern Alabama. They prefer the elevation provided by the Appalachian Mountains, often observed in shaded areas in an evergreen embrace to the forest floor. Each leaf is a rounded cardioid heart) shape roughly 2.5-7.5 cm in diameter, held on long petioles. In a thicket of them, anyone can feel the love. Unlike the bluet or the violet, Galax<\/em> expose<\/g> their vividly white flowers in late spring. The long cylindrical flower stalk will rise up like water vapor and line its sides with the flowers as if becoming a beacon for some sort of satellite signal. I stop to ponder who might be at the receiving end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Beetleweed (Galax urceolata) by Cascade Creek – 4\/11\/19<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Searching\nfor a Galax <\/em>flower would have proven futile;\nhowever, some species require that level of dedication to find Spring\u2019s\ngraceful touch. Trout lilies (Erythronium\namericanum<\/em>, Sm.) are a colony-forming ephemeral flower dwelling in woodland\nhabitats all across North America. The gray-green leaves mottled with brown and\ngray litter the forest floor almost as prominently as the decomposing canopy from\nFall. Due to the mottled patterning of brown and gray, each leaf supposedly\nresembes the coloration of brook trout (Salvelinus\nfontinalis<\/em>), another native species to Hanging Rock. After some searching, I\ndiscovered the recurved yellow nodding flower. The bronzy exterior will\neventually pull away to reveal the iridescent interior with four to five\nextending maroon stamens. Needless to say, the discovery of this flower sent a\nstream of joy cascading down the waterfall of my soul. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Trout lily (Erythronium americanum) by Cascade Creek – 4\/11\/19<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

All of this life existed in one small patch. Should I have focused on the problems I left behind at home, or even dwelled too much in my head, I would never have discovered Spring\u2019s brilliance in this space. Up beyond the clouds, down below the trees, the world is radiating with color and beauty, proceeding along its course without our attention. Let\u2019s look for a change. Who knows what we will see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Her colors change to mark the passing of the days. No Earthly sight can match the beauty she displays”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What you\u2019re looking for won\u2019t be found easily. In the blink of an eye, a quick glance upward, or even the extra focus needed to step over that root, they will be gone. Footsteps pass them by daily, pausing not even for a moment to examine their hidden qualities. Transitory beauty remains rooted in fertile … Continue reading “La Belle Fleur Sauvage”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1132","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ds.guilford.edu\/classes\/english\/228-2019s\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1132","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ds.guilford.edu\/classes\/english\/228-2019s\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ds.guilford.edu\/classes\/english\/228-2019s\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ds.guilford.edu\/classes\/english\/228-2019s\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ds.guilford.edu\/classes\/english\/228-2019s\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1132"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/ds.guilford.edu\/classes\/english\/228-2019s\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1132\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1141,"href":"https:\/\/ds.guilford.edu\/classes\/english\/228-2019s\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1132\/revisions\/1141"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ds.guilford.edu\/classes\/english\/228-2019s\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1132"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ds.guilford.edu\/classes\/english\/228-2019s\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1132"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ds.guilford.edu\/classes\/english\/228-2019s\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1132"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}