Flowers and fruit

  

On 15 March 2021, I was introducing a student to a few different wetland habitats.  When we walked by a salt marsh, I was a little surprised to see Seaside Arrow-grass (Triglochin maritima) in bloom already.  In fact, we were admiring some of the purple flowers when I noticed others that looked paler (see below) and realized that some plants were already past flowering and producing fruit!   

 

 

Many of the plants in local salt marshes flower later in the season, so we often botanize in salt marshes in June.  I haven't spent much time looking for flowering plants in this habitat during the late winter/early spring, so it's good to know that this species starts its season much earlier.

Urchin flower?

 

Doesn't this flower look like a tiny purple sea urchin?

Here's a zoomed-out view:

 

This is an arrow-grass (Triglochin sp.), a species that grows in our local salt marshes.  I didn't have much time, and I was so focused on the flowers that I didn't confirm which species of arrow-grass, so I'll have to double-check and report back. 

P.S.  I showed Seaside Arrow-grass (Triglochin maritima) in flower last year — see "Sparkling, frilly edges" on 26 June 2017.

 

Sparkling, frilly edges

This is one of my favorite flowers on Bodega Head.  Do you want to guess which species this is?

 

I'll zoom out a bit, so you can see a little more:

 

It might be helpful to know where this species grows.  In this area, we find it along the coast, especially in salt marshes.

 

From a distance, the flowers of Seaside Arrow-grass (Triglochin maritima) might not stand out.  Up close, it's a different story.  Purple with sparkling, frilly edges — Oh, my!

P.S.  Usually Seaside Arrow-grass is tall and straight.  This Dr. Seuss-like version is somewhat unusual, but it was fun to see!