Do you recognize these?There are many of these out in the vineyard, but I've never known what they are. I know one or two of you out there will know, or will at least be able to point me in the right direction.
Spring in the vineyard is an amazing time. So is Fall. Winter and Summer are great, too. There's always so much to see. Most of the time you have to look closely, but that's the sport. To spend time in a seemingly static environment and notice all the change that constantly happens.
It ain't Times Square or Les Halles, but it does have it's own brand of excitement. No, really, it does.
It's a vetch or medick of some sort, but I can't tell you which.
ReplyDeleteCAUTION!!
ReplyDeleteBe VERY careful around these plants and by no means allow Callie to be off-leash while they are in bloom.
These are Chinese Komoto Dragon Flowers.
They are carnivorous like the Venus Flytrap. Their danger lies in their ability to expand their mouths, much like the Python, in order to swallow large mammals.
I would advise hiding indoors until they have stopped blooming. It is only during the blooming season that they turn nasty.
Bill
I haven't a clue!
ReplyDeleteBut Bill in NH is hilarious!
Walt,
ReplyDeleteMy BH who is a botonist says it a member of the Fabaceae family, a legume.
Carter
Bill in NH, you're in rare form this morning! *R*R* (=rire... or, as my beau frère says: "rire-in' it up here!").
ReplyDeleteJudy
A triffid
ReplyDeleteCould that flower be a Dragonidae which, unlike it's second cousin the Nepalese Komodo Dragon Flower, is completely innocuous and safe to look at, and even to talk to.
ReplyDeleteIf it is the one I think it is, it is very rare and protected. To fool potential thieves it is given a different name which, in Latin, is Vicia melanops. Since thieves do not speak Latin and don't have access to the internet I'll give you only the link and not the common name.
http://www.florealpes.com/fiche_viciamelanops.php#
CHM...you talk to them? Do they talk back? What do they say? Does Prince Charles know about this?
ReplyDeleteNo fair, the link is in French and I'm dead in the water after "bon jour".
PS Plenty of thieves DO speak Latin...they call themselves (a priori?} lawyers.
Bill
I don't know but it's beautiful....Barb
ReplyDeleteCHM - I think you got it. On a quick glance I thought it was similar to a Fava and sure enough - Fava is in the same family as Vicia melanops. Here is the french name Vesce noirâtre.
ReplyDeleteThank you all for playing!
ReplyDeleteEspecially you, Bill in NH ;)
Indeed, those of you who ID'd it as vicia, vesce, or vetch are apparently correct, as my follow-up research revealed.
For the rest of you, good try and we have some lovely parting gifts for you. Or not.
Oh, and ur-spo, I don't think they're triffids. They had their day. ;)
ReplyDeleteBill - Never had a chance to talk to a Black-eyed Vetch but I'm sure they are good-natured and talk back to you as other plants do. Here is a link in English.
ReplyDeletehttp://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=VIME3
Same goes for a fortiori lawyers!
Marta - Vous avez raison. Ça ressemble joliment à une Vesce noirâtre.
chm - it was a lucky guess thanks to Google. :)
ReplyDelete