Nature Challenge — Wildflower Walk

One of my naturalist mentors once mentioned that she prefers seeking out and photographing rare and unusual wildflowers instead of tracking birds or butterflies because they don’t fly off just before you snap the picture. 

Her comment makes me smile but I do believe there is wisdom in her sentiment.  Birds typically fly off before I’ve had a chance to thoroughly study their markings.   Plants, on the other hand, allow for prolonged investigation.  

So, for today’s challenge, we will focus on finding different flower species on your next walk.  

Here is the task.  During your walk seek out wildflowers by color.   Try to spot at least one for each color listed below.  Use the scoring method so that you can compare your success on subsequent walks.  Even folks with deep wildflower knowledge can have fun with this challenge. 

Assign 1 point each for species of yellow or white wildflowers seen; 

Assign 2 points for pink or purple ones;

Assign 3 points for orange, red, blue, green, or brownish wildflowers.

Give yourself an additional point for each one that you can identify.  Feel free to use an identification key guide.  My favorite is Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide by Lawrence Newcomb.  There may be others more specific to your geography.

See if you can break a score of 50.  Good luck!

This challenge is rated as moderate.