Saving the Best for Last

Is it really October already?  It seems like just last month I was looking out my frosted windows with dreams of hepaticas and snow trillium in my botanically deprived head.  It's been an incredible year I won't soon forget but it's not over just yet.  Autumn is hands down my favorite time of the year, no matter how fleeting it seems.  This season is a refreshing change from last year's fall where a rainless summer produced little color and enthusiasm.  My forested drives to and from campus explode with the fire orange of sugar maples, deep crimsons of sourwood and the tie-dye patchwork of sweetgum to name a few.  The weather this past week has been nearly perfect for producing an extra sharp pigment performance this time around.  Bright, sunny days accompanied with clear and cool nights really bring out the most intense reds, oranges and yellows.  It's days like these that make me extremely thankful to live in the hills of southeastern Ohio.  While most people focus on the trees this time of year it would be a shame to ignore the last wildflowers of the season, proudly displaying their beauty for the careful observer.

Lesser Fringed Gentian - Gentianopsis virgata

One of the last to unveil its delicate artistry is the Lesser Fringed Gentian (Gentianopsis virgata).  Mother nature really does save the best for last!  I was disappointed in my searches last fall for this stunning member of the Gentian family (Gentianaceae) and was forced to wait until this past Saturday to make its acquaintance and it was worth every second.

Lesser Fringed Gentian - Gentianopsis virgata

It was mid-morning when I arrived at the secretive fen complex somewhere in central Ohio.  Dew still clung to the shadows as the sun carved through the remaining fog.  My footsteps fell silently on the moist, fallen leaves as I slowly made my way through the perimeter forest.  Suddenly I was greeted by a large, open expanse of wet prairie colored gold with Indian Grass and spotted with blue, yellow and purple flowers.  Willow-leaved Aster (Symphyotrichum praealtum), Ohio Goldenrod (Oligoneuron ohioense) and Nodding Ladies-tresses (Spiranthes cernua) were scattered amongst the grass but I was most interested in the splashes of brilliant blue just peaking above the vegetation.

Lesser Fringed Gentian - Gentianopsis virgata

The clear, sapphire skies were only bested by the even more intense hues of the fringed gentians.  The plants pictured above were just starting to unfurl their four fringed petals as the sun spilled over the fen.  Under cloudy and nighttime conditions these flowers curl their petals tightly together in a vertical fashion, which honestly makes for just as pretty a capture as fully open.

Lesser Fringed Gentian - Gentianopsis virgata

There are two Gentianopsis species native to Ohio; the lesser fringed (G. virgata), which is featured in this post, and greater fringed gentian (G. crinita).  Both are nearly identical at first glance but can be separated with relative ease.  The amount of fringing around the petals a means for distinguishing which species you have but can be very variable.  The lesser gentian's fringing tapers to nearly none at all at the rounded end of the petal (seen above), while the greater gentian's fringing runs continuously and evenly all the way around the petal.  The leaves are your best bet with the greater fringed having shorter, more wide lanceolate leaves; while the lesser fringed has long, much narrower and almost linear leaves.  Both species are listed as potentially threatened with G. virgata predominately in the southern half of the state and G. crinita found in the northern half; most frequently in the northeast near Lake Erie.

Lesser Fringed Gentian - Gentianopsis virgata

Gentianopsis virgata is a calciphile, growing in calcareous situations such as fens, seeps, shorelines and marly sand.  These gorgeous annuals were once much more common throughout our state and the Great Lakes region until draining and habitat destruction ruined their unique and diverse wetland homes.  I would love to travel back to pre-settlement Ohio and look out across the large fens and wet meadows come October and see this remarkable plant bloom by the thousands.

Lesser Fringed Gentian - Gentianopsis virgata

Each flower seems to have been carefully stitched and made of the finest silk and then allowed to tatter and fray in the chilled Autumn winds.  I could have spent all day in the presence of these remarkable wildflowers.  I just wanted to sit down on a patch of grass and feel the sun warm my body and soul as the migrating birds whistled their goodbyes for the year and hope that moment would last forever.  I love finding places where the stain and evidence of mankind disappears and I'm left feeling alone in the world.  A good alone, the kind only a true outdoors loving person understands.  No sounds, smells or sights other than what exists naturally and belongs.  I don't know how other naturalists and pro-nature folks feel but my best moments in nature are when I'm alone, I've never felt so at peace as in those perfectly timed moments.  They really are one of life's ineffable experiences.

Lesser Fringed Gentian - Gentianopsis virgata

I hope this amazing fen complex exists for years to come; its seclusion and secret is safe with me.  Places like this don't increase in number but are ever losing ground to natural succession, man-made destruction and climate change.  I look forward to seeing my new found friend again next year as the leaves begin to change and winter beckons once again.  That's the beauty about botany; each of these species of plant that I find so mesmerizing is 'someone' I know who comes and goes at a specific time and place.  It's that 51 weeks of patience in-between that keeps me going.  Always something to look forward to and picture in your mind.  I apologize for the extended absence but rest-assured I'll be back soon to continue bringing you the natural treasures of Ohio.  I have plenty more to come over the winter months including finishing up my Bruce peninsula trip and Ohio prairies series!  Thanks for reading!