Janet Brien's photos with the keyword: Erithronium hendersonii

Pictures for Pam, Day 151: Henderson's Fawn Lilly

10 Apr 2019 45 31 992
(+9 insets!) I've been having a lot of fun working on the pictures I took up on our hillside the other day. When I went up there, the one reason that got me to make the trek was the hope to find Henderson's Fawn Lilies. As I had mentioned, these outrageous beauties are fairly small and feature blossoms that are about three inches at their widest point. Their petals range in color from nearly white with just a hint of lavender to a rich, shaded purple. Every one has its own unique appearance because the flowers open with the petals sweeping up and back. They are one of the most elegant wildflowers I've ever photographed and it will always amaze me that they grow in profusion on our property! The challenging aspect of this flower is that they like to grow very low to the ground with their gorgeous faces positioned downwards. If you hope to do this flower justice, you must take your pictures from ground level so you can aim up and capture their breathtaking countenance. This is when an avid fan must flop on the ground, contort in strange shapes and occasionally appear to be balancing on one's head to get a good shot. I'm used to these shenanigans of course, but this flower really makes me work for nice angles! My hillside photography had me rolling around in the plants and twisting in strange shapes to get my pictures. And, when I'm focused on my photography I'm not paying attention to things that I ought to. Like poison oak, for instance. Did you know that our hillside is infested with this stuff? Right now it's exploding into growth and every one of the vine-like canes is covered with urushiol oil—that's the stuff that causes us to break out in a rash if we come into contact with it. At one point something brushed my eyelid and drew along the crease before I could pull away. I looked to see what it was. How nice...a poison oak cane. I rubbed my eyelid with a wet finger and promptly got back to my photography. When I got back to the house I wisely changed my clothes, treating them as if they were radioactive. I was sure they were covered in poison oak oil but didn't think any of it had touched my skin. Well, other than my eyelid...and anyway, I rubbed it off, right? Yeah. That's right. NOT. At about 2am the next night I was awakened to itching. My eyelid was so ITCHY! In a sleepy stupor I wondered what that was all about. And lots of spots on my left hand were itchy too. As a professional recipient of poison oak over the years it didn't take long to sink in. Oh no. Poison oak. Looking in the mirror, I could see that my eyelid was swollen and my hand was covered in welts. *whimper* I got a wet paper towel, heated it in the microwave and gently pressed it on my itchy spots. The heat releases the antihistamines that cause the itching and instantly stop the maddening urge to scratch off your skin all the way to the bone. Ahhhh...the moist heat gave me immediate relief and I went back to bed. So, I did pay a price to get my pictures but I am fine with it. The rash will go away in a week or so and all will be well! Today's main image appears to be a windswept model, her tresses blowing in the gale! Isn't she magnificent? The first two insets were also taken on the hillside the other day and give you other views of the colors and petal arrangements. The nearly white one I call my Cinderella...she looks ready for a ball, dressed in her finest! I have also included lots of others that I captured in years past. I hope you enjoy them and can see why I am so very enchanted by this stunning flower! Pam, I did a search for "lily" on your photo stream and found many pictures of the incredible orange day lilies that grow so nicely for you. I picked your Orange Day Lily as my choice today...what rich, gorgeous orange tones they have. Your picture is just perfect and does that flower proud! Thank you for sharing it with us, I adore lilies of all kinds and these are really lovely. Sending big hugs from southern Oregon!! Explored on 4/10/19, highest placement, #3.

89/366: Elegance (+1 inset)

01 Apr 2016 26 14 1047
(+1 in a note) The past few days I've been going on short walks part-way up the Upper Table Rock on the way into my work, and right now is when these stunning flowers are in full bloom. To the left and right of the trail there are countless blossoms to appreciate. I don't think most people really see the beauty of these flowers, which require viewing from a very low stance so that you may look up at its lovely face. I took this picture a couple of years ago and was very pleased with how it turned out...and finally, I can share it with the world! :) (By the way, earlier in this project, I shared another picture of one of these flowers...roll your mouse over the image to see it!) Explored on April 1, 2016. Highest placement, page 5.

53/366: Elegant Erythronium (+5 more in notes)

25 Feb 2016 23 11 912
(5 more in notes above) Living in rural southern Oregon has shown me that even on my own property, some of the most beautiful flowers in the world can be found. This is a close up of a Henderson's Fawn Lily, which blooms during March all over our hillside and lower forest. This lovely blossom faces downwards, so getting a proper picture requires one to flop onto the ground and angle your camera up for a "face" shot! These flowers are usally lavender-purple, but some species are creamy yellow to bright yellow in color. There are a few of the creamy yellow ones along our ridge top, a wonderful surprise for me to find! If you roll your mouse over this picture, you will see other pictures I've taken of Henderson's Fawn Lily, and a couple of Oregon Fawn Lilies too! :)

Henderson's Fawn Lily: The 12th Flower of Spring!

18 Mar 2012 240
[best appreciated at full size against black] I found this graceful budding flower at the end of the ridgeline hike from our house, and I wanted to show a close up of the bud because I think it's just so beautiful. Everything about this plant is lovely. I'll be showing one of its leaves on a later date--they're gorgeous! And wait until you see this flower in full blossom! I'm happy to find many of these popping up all over our hillside, so there will be many beautiful flowers to take pictures of as they mature! This image was taken in March, 2012.

Henderson's Fawn Lily in Full Bloom

28 Mar 2012 1 325
A couple of weeks ago, I posted a picture of a flower bud that I found up along our ridge line. I didn't know what it was until Steve and I went to the Upper Table Rocks and we found a few in bloom. I waited for ours to begin blooming and yesterday I climbed up to the top of our hill and found countless blossoms growing everywhere! And to realize that Steve and I have been here for over FIVE YEARS and I never knew we had these flowers!! Unbelievable!! I feel very sad that I missed so much beauty for four years but on the other hand, this year I have a very nice camera to take pictures with! :D Henderson's Fawn Lily is part of the genus "Erythronium", which includes 20-30 species which grow from tooth-like bulbs in early to mid-spring. This species only grows in a small area in southwest Oregon and just south into Northern California. However, they are very prolific in their range and hillsides can be totally covered with these beautiful flowers with their equally lovely mottled leaves. If you would like to know more about this lovely flower, Wiki has a great page here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erythronium_hendersonii Thanks to all of you who have visited and have left comments and favorites! I try to go to all of your pages within a day or two and is a highlight for me to see your beautiful photography! :)

Henderson's Fawn Lily Leaf

28 Mar 2012 217
[best appreciated at full size against black] When I posted the Henderson's Fawn Lily bud a couple of weeks ago, I mentioned their beautiful leaves, promising to take a picture to show! I hope you like it! I may show another version of the flat part of the leaf so you can see the gorgeous mottled pattern, but I loved this edge shot with its wavy edge, and I hope you like it too! This image was taken in March, 2012.