Verry nurrishing beenes - Jeanette Sclar

The Party Girls - Jeanette Sclar

Physalis longifolia or long-leaf ground cherry tries hard to live up to the partying standards set by some of her cousins. There's the Chinese Lantern (P. Alkefengi) I'm sure you've seen it, bright orange dangling lamps looking truly party-worthy. And you might have eaten a cape gooseberry (P. Peruviana) in a fancy restaurant. They have a nice tangy pineapplish flavor and can be eaten raw. But don't try that with Longifolia - she must be cooked before eating! And I know you've partied with tomatillo (P. Philadelphica) salsa and margharitas.
But poor Longifolia, try as she does, just doesn't make the A list when it comes to parties. In fact she's gotten herself on the Global Compendium of Weeds! And is considered "noxious" by many, so don't invite her to the party. You might find your guest has become a permanent member of the household.

Sketchcrawl in Excelsior Springs

Saturday was a wonderful day for sketching in East Valley Park. Several spring wildflowers still around to record on paper and lots of lovely sunshine. We have all had plenty of rain and storms in the Midwest --- it was a bit cool for spring but the sunshine more than made up for that.

Kate and I both sketched the unknown flower on the right -- she later identified it as having the delightful name of Woolen Breeches. You can read her earlier post about this pretty flower. Hers is a much closer resemblance also!

Then again, I must add an update, now that I saw a sketch posted by Jeanette here and in the previous post --- the mystery plant could also be Virginia waterleaf. Her leaves look spot-on!

I sketched the upper left scene while waiting for the others to arrive. This is looking at the entrance to the shelter area we met along "Lovers Lane". It really was that deep green in places. Earlier, as Bill and I drove through the Kansas Flint Hills on our way to Missouri, the hills were so green it made our eyes hurt! Guess all the rain helped.

take your pick: A. Longistylis B. Brahchyoma C. Villicaulis

http://www.flickr.com/photos/longears/3505419897/sizes/m/

This is Osmorhiza - but after consulting 5 books and a few websites, I must agree with the website that advised "Good luck telling them apart"! Perhaps "sweet cicely" will suffice. It's blooming in the woods now...like Kate, I'm trying to paint as fast as I can but I'm at least 5 flowers behind right now!