Afternoon Delight

  Posted on October 10, 2023 By

 34 Comments

Celestial Lily (Nemastylis floridana)

At times, later is better. I qualify as a world-class procrastinator, but once in awhile, I actually plan on being late when it comes to nature. No need to arise early if one is planning to photograph a sunset. Of course, if you arrive after the sun sinks below the horizon, your plans sink right along with it. So, later can be better but TOO late is not advisable.

A couple of weeks ago, Gini and I began searching for a favorite bloom of fall in our area, the Pine Lily, also known as Catesby’s Lily. Although not a rare species, it is not exactly common and is pretty picky about where it grows. It likes to keep its feet moist and loves the pine flatwoods and savannahs. It can be found in the southeastern coastal plain states.

Our search for this particular plant included research on its habitat and reports of areas where it had been seen in past years. We have previously found it in a couple of spots and planned to include those in our search. While perusing fall blooming information, we ran across a reference to the Celestial Lily, a very attractive blue flower with which we were not familiar.

Coincidence? Fate? Luck? Call it what you will, the day following our research found us at the entrance of Colt Creek State Park in Polk County, Florida, about 20 minutes from the house. Cheerful Ranger Sunny exchanged our entrance fee for invaluable information. She had found an area of blooming Celestial Lilies and gave us a map highlighting her sightings. An outstanding nature photographer, she also advised the little flowers only bloom in the late afternoon, typically between 4:00-6:00 P.M.

It was a few days before we could return, but when we did, our late-in-the-day excursion produced not only the Celestial Lily but also a trove of Pine Lilies! The afternoon had turned cloudy and a rather gusty breeze made for a bit of a photographic challenge. Lower temperatures and a bit of light mist made the hike pleasant.

Sometimes, arriving late to the party makes us merrier.

Celestial Lily (Nemastylis floridana). The blue flowers are 1-1.5 inches wide, consist of six petals and are borne on thin grass-like stalks. The USDA calls this the Fallflowering Pleatleaf. I’ll stick with its more heavenly common name. This plant likes open, sunny wetlands found in or near pinelands. It is found nowhere on earth outside of Florida and is listed as an endangered species.

Pine Lily (Lilium catesbaei). Also known as Catesby’s Lily, is named for the British naturalist, Mark Catesby, who explored the flora and fauna of America in the early 1700’s. Found throughout the coastal plain states of the southeast, it produces the largest flowers of any member of the lily family. Growing to a height of 2-3 feet, it loves moist pine flatwoods and nearby prairies. Within Florida, it is a threatened species, due primarily to loss of habitat.

Sherman’s Fox Squirrel. Guardian of the pine woods pathways.

Yellow-eyed Grass (Xyris spp.). There are over two dozen species of Yellow-eyed Grass in Florida. This is one of them. This speciemen was about three feet tall and we encountered a lot of it along the path, although none was in full bloom. The small flowers appear very delicate.

A wand of bright purple lay across a part of the path and we hope to return soon to capture more photos of a few different species of Liatris. In Florida, almost 20 species are named Blazing-star or Gayfeather.

Just before sunset, clouds along the horizon lifted just a bit to spotlight a White-tailed Deer and her fawn. A perfeclty delightful end to a late day in the woods.

Early morning exploration is our “normal” operating mode. The middle of the day has been surprisingly rewarding at times, despite the warnings of Noel Coward. A late day hike which revealed the impossible amalgamation of orange, red and yellow Pine Lily was so satisfying. The discovery of a new plant which offered an incredibly beautiful flower, and only if you were present at the “happy hour” of blooming, well – the Celestial Lily made our Afternoon Delight – heavenly.

Enjoy your search for a natural place and come back for a visit!

 Category: Fauna, Flora, Florida, Photography      Tags: , , , , , ,

34 Comments on “Afternoon Delight”

  3. That’s a pretty thorough hike around the Celestial Lily. Up, down, and all around. It’s a pretty one and well deserves the examination. The Pine Lily resembles the Wood Lily I see here. The Fox Squirrel does look like it’s ready to take on all comers.

    Your title had me wondering exactly what you two were up to.

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    • Thank you, Steve.
      We’re looking forward to seeing more of those two lilies as well as their pretty friends scattered throughout the forest.

      The two of us are almost always up to something which shall not be mentioned in a public forum. (You are the only one to be suspicious about the title. Humming along with the Starland Vocal Band would not be amiss.)

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      • Nice to know us old folks still have it. When I was 30 I never would have suspected it.

        Between you, Linda, and Steve I am in a state of constant jealousy over the continued flora and insect encounters you all have. It’s not enough to entice me to move in a southerly direction but it is enough to envy your seemingly endless warm weather subjects.

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      • No worries, Steve. We’ll continue to suffer the warm winter so you don’t have to.

        Of course, we are all constantly jealous of your fabulous landscapes and actual “colors” of autumn.

        Liked by 1 person

  4. The blue lily looks a little how we both feel right now. Fragile after almost two weeks of cold/flu, a virus that I hesitate to christen with a capital C so as to become ”one of them”. And the Pine lily looks so much like a pot plant we nurture , one that we know as day lily that is also targeted each year by a nasty lily beetle that turns the leaves black with sticky eggs that then muliply in no short time and destroy the previous good looks.

    Despite the ravages of Northern Flu I persevered though the pain and suffering to bring you a review of Terns of North Americ, a truly wonderful collection of photographs, many of them taken in FL of course. How blessed you are in having both Disney and Terns with which to enjoy your days.
    Stay cool young dudes. Slowly, slowly.

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    • We really enjoyed finding the flowers in the middle of the forest instead of the local commercial nursery.

      So very sorry you are both not feeling tip-top. Perhaps a trip to sunny Greece – oh, wait – never mind.

      Just be careful in completing that book review. We wouldn’t want you to take a Tern for the worse.

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  5. A bit out of my league here, but I do recognize the Squirrel and the Deer. Always get a good education on new plants every time I visit!

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    • Hah! I don’t even have a league, so I just muddle along the best I can.

      Thanks to those ancient science teachers who instilled within me an insatiable curousity about Nature. Then I married Gini and our collective curiousity knows no bounds.

      Now, if I can just curtail her urge to pinch the heads off dragonflies ……..

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  7. I’m so pleased that you are an excellent photographer, Wally, as you have used your talent to superbly show us that Celestial Lily in all its glory – a delightful splash of colour in its environment. The Pine Lily is quite remarkable too, and showy enough to look like a desirable house plant, although I suspect that it would be short-lived in such a situation. Your squirrel and deer images are so heart-warming.

    Our short warm dry spell has now ended and we are getting cooler and wetter weather.

    My very best wishes to you and Gini – – – Richard

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    • You certainly do provide nice comments. Thank you!

      I once again relied upon my most noteworthy and highly devloped skill to achieve some of these images: L-U-C-K.

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  8. I’m so glad you posted an assortment of photos of the Celestial Lily. Even without the text, I think I might have identified it as a relative of our so-called Prairie Celestial: Nemastylis geminiflora. I’ve only found it twice, out in the hill country. While the flower itself is beautiful, its gravel and dirt environment wasn’t as attractive as the setting for yours. It’s interesting that both ‘celestials’ have an alternate common name of ‘pleatleaf.’ The pleatleaf that I see is quite different, but like the ‘celestials,’ it’s also a member of the iris family.

    The yellow-eyed grasses are among my favorites, but when I was in east Texas last weekend it seems the drought had severely limited their numbers, or at least brought an early end to their blooms. The lushness you’ve shown here is gorgeous; I’m hoping increasing rains may encourage some late blooms here.

    As for that pine lily, all I can do is ‘oooh’ and ‘aaah.’ I’m so glad you found it, and shared it.

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    • We’re so thankful to Ranger Sunny who provided a heads-up about the blooms.

      Hoping to find more blooming yellow-eyed grass. Turns out there is a version which often has white blossoms, Carolina yellow-eyed grass (Xyris caroliniana).

      The Pine Lily is fun to find!

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    • We’ve seen it in years past there and a couple of other spots with similar habitat – wet pinelands.
      The Celestial Lily was a welcome new one.

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  10. Ok, now that song is stuck in my head. I think the dim lighting and moist environment combined to give you absolutely radiant colors, and beautiful images. Thanks for introducing me to two flowers I had no idea existed!

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  11. The Celestial Lily and Pine Lily are both stunningly beautiful, as are your photos of them and the other subjects in your post. Your late day hike looks like it was wonderful!

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  13. Ah, so you went in search of the Great Catesby. I guess that makes you F. Scott FitzJones. The Liatris is certainly recognizable as such, whatever species it may be.

    Your experience with the ranger differs from what I’ve found, namely that too often the people on duty in parks know little or nothing about the plants there.

    The celestial in Austin is Nemastylis geminiflora, which tends to produce flowers in twosomes. Too bad your species is endangered as well as endemic. Your final picture of the celestial shows that you really got into your subject.

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    • Well, the afternoon was a novel experience.

      Sunny has made a real effort to learn about the nature she helps protect. Unique and refreshing.

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    • I probably hurried at times due to the rain and therefore didn’t have time to fiddle to much with setiings which resulted in better than normal results.

      We see deer often, but they don’t usually stand that still for long.

      Thanks for dropping by, Brian.

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