mysterwild-0021

Wild purple what?

It’s that time again.  The time where I come across one of my favorite things on the bayou:  WILDFLOWERS!

This week some beautiful flowers on the shoulder of the road caught my attention.  I literally stopped traffic to get a photo because I had to park on the road, since they were on the shoulder and I didn’t want to run over them.

First, I want to post a photo of some very special flowers that LilSis (Heather Here) thinks are not so special.

Ok, I know what these are.  They are in a pot next to my house.  They are special to me because this original clump of flowers was in the flowerbed of a little Houma Indian woman I greatly admired.  After her death, her son dug them up and brought them to me in a bucket.  If I had asked for a remembrance of her, I could not have thought of anything better.  I call them Wild Petunias.  Some people call them Mexican Petunias.  Either way, they spread rapidly and will take over your flowerbed if you’re not careful.

And then, there is a striking resemblance to the road-side flowers . . .

And for a closer look . . .

The purple ones have five petals just like the Wild Petunia, but the leaves and stems are not exactly the same.  Take a little closer look . . .

In the past, I could tell you the name of the blue flower, but it escapes me now.  Here’s what I need from you.  I am NOT going to look up these flowers in my oh-so-handy-wildflower book.  I would rather draw from your wealth of knowledge and have you educate me about this purple flower.

Please note that I have NEVER seen these two flowers growing side by side anywhere on the bayou before this week.  They are cropping up in great numbers, and I have to wonder if the seeds were washed in on the waves of Hurricane Rita tidal surge and have just taken this long to germinate?

Okay, my brilliant ones, any ideas on this flower phenomenon?  I can’t wait to see what you come up with!

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18 Comments

  1. You have a very wonderful and informative blog. I remember those flowers in groups on the neutral ground. I don’t know their name, even if they’re weeds, they’re still nice to look at.

    Katherine, thanks so much for visiting! I left you a message on your blog, too!

  2. They are SO beautiful BW!! I went to the website and nominated the documentary. My hubby is COMPLETELY obsessed with the wetlands now. He is a farmer so anything being conserved is a positive thing.. I still have your package sitting here, its make mean faces at me for not sending it sooner…. I think it plotting against me.. LOL Sure have missed you!!! I am going to be more faithful about reading all my friends, even if Milk Dud is having a ‘snack’ – I can type with one hand.. I think!

    I hope Milk Dud (just LOVE that name) is growing like a weed and that you have plenty of help! Don’t worry about package–it’ll get here when it gets here! Thanks for nominating the doc. Really, really appreciate it!

  3. Ok, here goes. I’m sure y’all all know about Johnny Appleseed and his plantings. Well, one of his decendents named Jonnette has been planting these seeds in wetland areas in hopes their roots will slow down erosion. Apple tress can’t complete with a Bald Cypress, so she chose these flowers since they spread rapidly as well as being pleasing to the eye. So there you have it. That’s my story and I’m stickin to it.

    I do love that story! Give me a name for these fast-spreading flowers!

  4. Here is my two cents……….on lunch break….nothing else to do

    Ruellia Nudiflora
    Blooms April to October
    White tail deer eat the leaves
    Quail eat the seeds
    Can be found in Arizona, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi

    GOOGLE is an amazing tool, isn’t it? So, Ms. Google Queen, give us a common name for this flower! And by the way, how long did it take you to come up with that?!!!! And how did you pick “nudiflora” instead of some other? Hmmmmm?

  5. Name? Why they are…”Wha cha ma call its” or what ever Deloutre Switch said sounds good! My age changed today and I’m suffering from CRS. Have pity, put up a photo of a fish, I’ll do better!

    Since you have CRS, I won’t ask you what your age is!!!! You can’t remember, anyway! Happy birthday, you silly woman!

  6. A common name: Violet Wild Petunia. It didn’t take too long….I told you I was on lunch break….I also may have CRS like Stephanie…..LOL…….I picked nudiflora because there is another that is common to the Carolinas I think.

    Anyway…..I love being the QUEEN of something!

  7. Okay, it’s time. I’m going to my trust-out-of-print-La.-wildflower book and find out exactly what this is. We’ll soon see if Queen Google was correct in her observations.

    Meanwhile . . . . someone please tell me what the blue one is called!!!

    BW

  8. Spiderwort ? 3 petals on them poseys?

    At first glance, that is EXACTLY what I thought the blue ones were. You have the right “family”, but on closer inspection, there are only 2 petals, which makes them . . . . . . ?

  9. commelina erecta

    Oh, it’s the Google King! So, someone please give us the common name now of the blue flower!

  10. I really didn’t want to do this, but I have to admit….I cheated… I “Googled”. Hey, I did say UNCLE! It’s a Whitemouth dayflower. Now someone explain to me, just how the h*@% did it get THAT name?

    Okay, you’re right. The blue one is a “DAYFLOWER”. But we are still waiting for the correct common name for he purple ones.

  11. OK, Y’all know I’ve lost my memory (CRS), NOW you want me to loose my sanity too!!!!!!!!!! UNCLE, UNCLE, UNCLE!!!!!!!!!!!

  12. Hey Choupiquer!…..Doesn’t it feel good to be the King of Google? Maybe BW will crown this King and Queen.

    Y’all come on down and I’ll Crown you both!!!

  13. I’ll be “crowning” you, BW if you don’t post the answer soon! LOL

    I emailed a wildflower expert, and I guess he’s too busy tip toeing through the tulips to answer me. But from the best I can tell, the purple one is the “violet wild petunia”. And if you have found something more definitive than that, please post the link here!