Clintonia/ Blue Bead lily
(Clintonia borealis)
|
Clintonia can be found in deciduous or mixed coniferous woodland with rich soil They have 2 to 5 (commonly 3) light green shiny oval leaves (15 to 30cm long). |
|
Buds may be observed in late May.
|
|
They bloom in early June. Flowers are bell shaped and occur in groups of 3 to 6 at the end of one 15-40cm long stem
|
|
The blue berries which give Clintonia its other name – Blue Bead Lily, can be observed in late July/ early August. The berries are poisonous to humans but are eaten by chipmunks. |
Choosing your plants
• Select a patch of clintonia plants in an area that you visit regularly.
• Mark the patch with a ribbon on a stick or other marker to make sure that you always visit the same place.
• If you have a large patch of plants mark off a one metre square area and observe only the plants within the square. Take care not to damage the plants when marking your square!
What to record
• Record when the first flowers open.
• Make a note of when 50% of the flowers are open.
• Finally record when nearly all of the flowers are open.