August 17th,
2012. I was
making my way over to the Showy Rattlebox (Crotolaria spectabilis) plants growing at the edge of the woods on the south side
of GA-16 east of Sparta in Hancock County. I had to walk through grass and
cross a shallow ditch to reach the woods. At the bottom of the ditch, I
happened to look down. And there it was a...
Spotted
Beebalm (Monarda punctata) plant in bloom. I almost didn’t notice it. It didn’t
stand out. I looked around and saw more plants growing along the ditch.
I’d wondered how many ‘decks’ of flowers could
develop on a stem. This stem has five decks.
A closer view of the flowers
It seems that a lot of flowers have small
‘friends.’ This flower had a resident
Green Lynx (Peucetia viridans) spider lying in wait in hope of a
meal.
As
I was walking about photographing the Showy Rattlebox (Crotolaria spectablis),
I happened upon this clump of beebalm plants. The clump appears to have more
plants than it actually has. Most of the stems had branched with blooms on each
branch. It’s interesting how ‘dull’ the flowers are in low light – it was late
afternoon and cloudy.
Looking
back at the patch from the road. It’s hard to recognize them at a distance.
They look like dead flowers. See a more complete set of photographs here.
Monarda
punctata (Spotted Beebalm, Eastern Horse-mint, Dotted Horse Mint) is native to the
United States where it’s found in states southeast of a line from Quebec and
Ontario, Wisconsin, Iowa, Kansas to New Mexico. In Georgia, it’s found in many
counties throughout the state. Interestingly it has not been formally
documented in Oglethorpe County.
Click on an image to view a larger image
Identification
resources:
- Southeastern
Flora: Monarda punctata (Spotted Beebalm)
- Name
that Plant: Native and Naturalized Plants of the Carolinas and Georgia: Monarda punctata (Eastern Horse0mint)- Missouri Plants: Monarda punctata
- Alabama Plants: Monarda punctata (Dotted HorseMint)
Distribution:
- University of North Carolina Herbarium: Monarda punctata
Bug
Guide: Green Lynx spider (Peucetia viridans)
Related
posts:
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