Macro Monday :: Lingon Berry Flowers

Macro Monday :: Nature Notes

We went for a little hike in the forest yesterday, in the rain. Which always makes the forest smell so good! The Lingonberries is in full bloom now and by the looks of all the flowers, it looks like it will be lots of berries this fall.

Macro Monday :: "Coffee Flowers"

Macro Monday :: Nature Notes

Yesterday my daughter had a little birthday party with her friends, so the rest of us went hiking in the forest to our lean-to so she could have the house by herself for a couple of hours. I brought some needles and yarn and casted on a pair of thick wool socks the perfect project to knit on in the forest. Around our fire pit a lot of Dwarf Cornels grows and they are in full bloom right now. We call this flower for "kaffeblomst" or "coffeeflowers" because the black flowers looks like small coffee beans ;)

The white leaves in the top of the plant are not petals but regular leaves that have lost chlorophyll. The flowers are small and black and are seated in an inflorescence. What looks like a big white flower is really a collection of many small black flowers. When the flowers mature, they turn into crispy stone fruits eaten by birds and animals.

Macro Monday :: Cloudberry Flowers

Macro Monday :: Nature Notes 

The Cloudberries are in full bloom on the marshes, so hopefully there will be lots of berries to pick in a few months :)

Macro Monday :: Straight-Leaved Apple-Moss

Macro Monday :: Nature Notes

Spring is late this year and we still have lots of snow on the ground. But here and there in the forest things have started to sprout and grow despite the cold and snow. Like this moss - the Straight-leaved Apple-moss (Bartramia ithyphylla - stivkulemose in Norwegian). They are tiny tiny and very fascinating. 

Macro Monday :: Forget Me Not's

Macro Monday :: Today's Flowers

I love these tiny blue flowers that pops up all over my lawn and among the other wildflowers at the moment :)

Macro Monday :: Duppesoleie

Macro Monday :: Today's Flowers

Duppesoleie or Hvite Dupper (Ranunculus aconitifolius 'Flore Pleno') is a beautiful perennial. I got mine a few years ago so they have not become big and voluminous yet. I'm not sure what the english name for it is, but it might be Fair Maid's of France..?

Macro Monday :: Myrhatt or Marsh Cinquefoil

Macro Monday :: I Heart Macro :: Makro Montag

Myrhatt or Marsh Cinquefoil likes wet, boggy places, fens and peaty meadows.
When it is in flower, it is a good source of food for nectar-loving insects such as bees and hoverflies.

Kommasmyger :: Common Branded Skipper
Hesperia comma

Myrblåvinge :: Cranberry Blue

Plebejus optilete

 
 

Macro Monday :: Alpine Azalea

Macro Monday :: I Heart Macro :: Makro Montag

If you remember to look what's under your feet when you are out walking in the forest
- some of the most beautiful flowers might be there among the heather or the grass :)
This is Greplyng :: Alpine Azalea - one of my favorite wildflowers.
They are so tiny it's hard to capture with my camera...
What's your favorite wildflower?

Macro Monday :: Tinder Fungus

Macro Monday :: I Heart Macro :: Makro Montag

I love to look for Kjuker (norwegian) or Tinder funguses when we're walking in the forest. Last time I found so many pretty ones :)

Fomes fomentarius (commonly known as the tinder fungus, false tinder fungus, hoof fungus, tinder conk, tinder polypore or ice man fungus) is a species of fungal plant pathogen found in Europe, Asia, Africa and North America. The species produces very large polypore fruit bodies which are shaped like a horse's hoof and vary in colour from a silvery grey to almost black, though they are normally brown. It grows on the side of various species of tree, which it infects through broken bark, causing rot. The species typically continues to live on trees long after they have died, changing from a parasite to a decomposer.