statuesque

statuesque penstemon

on the Prairie

Tradescantia bracteata, commonly known as bracted spiderwort, blooming in the short grass prairie in the foothills of the Black Hills. Also known as dayflower, the individual blossoms are only open for a single morning, similar to the familiar orange daylilies. You will find them in the early morning, but go looking for them in the early evening, and they are gone.

There seems to be some disagreement about why the name spiderwort. Wort being an old English word for plant or herb is obvious, the "spider" part not so much! I found references to its stamens resembling a spider's legs (see photo). The thick sap of the plant has a gluey texture that forms thin strings when drawn out, someone thought that looked like spider's silk. A local name in some areas of Kansas is "cow slobber", because some wag thought that same stringy, gooey texture looked just like cow slobber! Gotta love that one!

what the Surveyor sees...

Tipsin, or prairie turnip, is now blossoming in the grasslands of the northern plains. 21st century ethnobotanists and 19th century observer, William Clark, note this was a staple food of many of the Native people of the Dakotas, Montana, and Wyoming, a source of starch in their diet. The root was harvested to be eaten fresh, or dried for use during the difficult winter months.



Stories have it that the younger children of the family helped with harvest by locating the plants, while their mothers dug for the tubers. Children were told that the leaves pointed in the direction of the other tipsin plants, so they should follow the direction the leaflets pointed to find more. Take a close look at that leaf....pretty sneaky way to keep the kids occupied, but also helpful to a busy mother having more eyes looking for the plants. Love the universal ingenuity of mothers!