Green Tiger Beetle

Green Tiger Beetle 

(Cicindela sexguttata)

The green tiger beetle is a large beetle with a metallic-green body, long blue-green spindly legs, and long, serrated antennae, and large mandibles. The common green ground beetle is also called the six-spotted green tiger beetle due to the recognizable cream-colored spots on its elytra.

The sizable, fast-moving shiny green tiger beetle grows up to 0.55” (14 mm). It is typically found in deciduous forests, feeding on small arthropods like caterpillars, spiders, and ants. The green tiger beetle is one of the fastest ground beetles and will fly if necessary.

My photographs are available for purchase through EliseCreations.net

Thanks for your visits, favs and comments. As always, appreciated very much!

© all rights reserved by Elise T. Marks. 

Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit written permission. 

 

Mayapple & Rodgersia

Mayapple

Mayapple is a perennial wildflower and ground covering that is much more common in native woodland areas than in cultivated gardens. Botanical Name: Podophyllum peltatum. Common Names: Mayapple, American mandrake, wild mandrake, Indian apple, duck's foot, American mandrake or ground lemon, is an herbaceous perennial plant of the Berberidaceae (Barberry) family having umbrella shaped leaves. The plant is native to the woodlands of the eastern United States and southeastern Canada and has been used medicinally for hundreds of years by 1st Nations peoples to treat constipation, wart removal, rheumatism and liver disorders as well as a laxative. 

Mayapple is  quite easy to identify because nothing else looks even remotely like it. Moreover, as a perennial that spreads via rhizomes to form large colonies, you're most likely to encounter it in a mass formation that's hard to miss. 

Growing 12 to 18 inches tall, each plant has a single stem with one or two large, heavily divided umbrella-like leaves. Plants with two leaves may produce a large white flower with six to eight petals in early spring, though the flower is usually hidden beneath the leaves. The flower is called mayapple because the bloom's appearance is reminiscent of apple blossoms. The flowers give way to a single greenish lemon sized fruit that turns golden when ripe. Once it has turned yellow, the mayapple fruit is safe for human consumption. This is a unique fruit, with an indescribably exotic flavor that conjures up visions of sunny tropical isles. In excess the fruit can cause colic so don’t overdo it.

While not edible, mayapple rhizomes are used for all sorts of medicinal applications. Native Americans valued the rhizome-Root which is most active medicinally in early spring when it is beginning to shoot. This plant's roots and leaves are toxic to both humans and animals.

Mayapple Flower

Rodgersia & Mayapple

My photographs are available for purchase through EliseCreations.net

Thanks for your visits, favs and comments. As always, appreciated very much!

© all rights reserved by Elise T. Marks. 

Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit written permission. 

Disclaimer

My blog is meant to inform and I strive to be totally accurate. It is solely up to the reader to ensure proper plant identification. Some wild plants are poisonous or can have serious adverse health effects.

Spring In Vermont

Spring at the State House in Montpelier

We Love Lilacs!
Me and the bees.

My photographs are available for purchase through EliseCreations.net

Thanks for your visits, favs and comments. As always, appreciated very much!

© all rights reserved by Elise T. Marks. 

Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit written permission. 

 

Spring Flowers

Lilacs

 Tulips & Mini Daffodils

I can't wait for spring to get here. 

Happy International Women's Day.

Tulips

Tulips

Tulips Galore! 

With some daffodils and grape hyacinths, in the gardens at the State House in Montpelier.

 Crocuses

Hellebore Flowers Closeup

Hellebore is native to much of Europe and is commonly found in early spring and shade gardens in North America as well. Hellebores look like members of the rose family but they are actually members of the buttercup family. Every single part of the hellebore plant is toxic to animals and humans. Wear gloves to protect your hands from the sap inside the plants, it can be irritating to some.

Hellebore Flower Closeup

Blue Clematis being visited by a Bee on this lovely spring day. 

My New Favorite Color Of Tulips

 Magnificent Magnolias

So happy to see the Rhododendrons in bloom at the waterfront. Thank you Ishana I. for taking this photo.

Chipmunks Like Rhododendrons Too! 

Hummingbirds Like Rhododendrons Too! 
This is a Ruby Throated Hummingbird

Periwinkle Time
This is Periwinkle (Vinca Minor). The flowers of the garden periwinkle are the inspiration of the lavender blue color name periwinkle, and this viney shrub is a popular and attractive ground cover with numerous cultivars, flower colours and variegated foliage. Periwinkle has been used in the tradition medicine of many cultures and peoples worldwide including Europe, China, India and the Pacific and Caribbean Islands. In the Caribbean, practitioners of voodoo magic sew Periwinkle leaves into the mattress to keep husband and wife forever in love, and the home peaceful. They are sometimes mixed with magnolia leaves, which also have a reputation of promoting faithfulness in love. The blue flowers of periwinkle are symbolic of spiritual peace and harmony. The well-known Periwinkles - both Greater (vinca major) and Lesser (vinca minor) are familiar plants of our woods and gardens. This is the species more generally used in herbal medicine, as an astringent and tonic, in menorrhagia and in hemorrhages, also as a laxative, and gargle. Made into an ointment, useful for piles and inflammatory conditions of the skin. Lesser Periwinkle (Vinca minor) is employed in homeopathy for preparation of a tincture used for hemorrhages.

Bearded Irises of Yellow & Purple

Thanks for your visits, favs and comments. As always, appreciated very much!

© all rights reserved by Elise T. Marks. 

Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit written permission. 

Frogs Spring Concert

HAPPY LUNAR NEW YEAR! Year Of The Rabbit

 HAPPY LUNAR NEW YEAR! 

2023 YEAR OF THE RABBIT!

Here's some fun facts about rabbits: A baby rabbit is called a kit, a female is called a doe and a male is called a buck. Rabbits are very social creatures that live in groups. They live in underground tunnel networks that they dig, called warrens. Their whiskers are the same width as their body and are used to determine whether they will fit through a hole, which stops them from getting stuck in tunnels. A rabbit’s teeth never stop growing! Instead, they’re gradually worn down as the rabbit chews on grasses, wildflowers and vegetables - meaning they never get too long. Rabbits perform an athletic leap, known as a ‘binky‘, when they’re happy - performing twists and kicks in mid air. They have good hearing, and sight, and an excellent sense of smell. Rabbits’ eyes are on the sides of their head, meaning they can see almost all the way around them. This helps them to keep a close watch for predators while they’re going about their business. Happy rabbits purr like cats when they’re content and relaxed. Rabbits can hop up to 15 feet. Their long ears grow up to 4-12 inches in length, rabbits can rotate their ears 270 degrees, keeping a careful listen out for predators. Carrots aren’t a natural part of a rabbit’s diet and can give bunnies an upset stomach if they eat too many. When a rabbit is alarmed, it will warn other rabbits of the danger by thumping its hind feet.

My photographs are available for purchase through EliseCreations.net

Thanks for your visits, favs and comments. As always, appreciated very much!

© all rights reserved by Elise T. Marks. 

Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit written permission. 

Hibiscus Oh How I Love You

Hibiscus Wet and Wild - "delicate beauty"

This photo is showing in the Art’s Alive Gallery at Main Street Landing’s Union Station, Burlington, Vermont, during the South End Art Hop, from September 2nd through October 3rd, 2016.

 Pink

Jazzberry Jam Hibiscus

Orange Hibiscus Wet and Wild

White Hibiscus Flower 

up close

Pink

Jazzberry Jam Hibiscus

Orange Hibiscus

Yellow Hibiscus

White Hibiscus

Center of a White Hibiscus

Trio Of Pink Hibiscus

Orange Hibiscus Wet and Lovely

Rose Of Sharon Hibiscus flower 

(Hibiscus syriacus) A member of the mallow family.

Hibiscus flowers photo altered to create Art. Just for the fun of it.

Hibiscus flowers photo altered to create Art. Just for the fun of it.

THANKS FOR YOUR VISITS, FAVS AND COMMENTS. AS ALWAYS, APPRECIATED VERY MUCH!  © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED BY ELISE T. MARKS. PLEASE DO NOT USE THIS IMAGE ON WEBSITES, BLOGS OR ANY OTHER MEDIA WITHOUT MY EXPLICIT WRITTEN PERMISSION.

SaveSave