Wild Rice and Jewels

The wild rice beds (Zizania palustris) are lush and flowering profusely. If the rice is able to ripen, there will be a lot of very fat geese and ducks heading south this fall. Next to the rice beds, along the shore of the Mississippi, are many jewels of the flower variety.

First, a look at the rice beds. You may have never seen wild rice as it flowers. Here is rice plant in flower:

The rain last night knocked down many of the wild rice flowers that had already completed their mission. This next photo shows that the flowers form below the spike that contains the growing rice kernels. It's easy to see that wild rice is a plant in the grass family.

The rice kernels are still young and green and tightly clasped to the spike at the top of the plant.

As I said at the beginning, the beds are lush. Here's how they look in front of our place. I've not seen the beds this lush and full in years past.

This summer has been a good one for flowers. There are several flower-jewels on the shore.

First up in the Jewelweed (Impatiens capensis), also known as Touch-Me-Not. It is an exquisite little flower. The juice from the stem of the Jewelweed is said to be an effective treatment for poison ivy and other rashes.

Right next to the Jewelweed is this tiny little plant with tiny little purple flowers. I have no idea what this plant is, but I love the color of its flowers.

  

Just to the left of the tiny purple flower above is the fuzzy purple flower below. Again, I don't know what name it carries I just think it's pretty.

It's been a good year, too, for Canadian Thistle. For a noxious weed, they certainly have pretty flowers.

 

While I was admiring the thistle, a bee stopped by to harvest some pollen.

And finally, just a bit further along the shore are some Spotted Joe-Pye Weed (Eutrochium maculatum) plants. These plants, in addition to being striking are attractive to butterflies and bees. And, me, too.

 Wild rice and jewels on the shore of the Mississippi...it's a good time to be in the neighborhood!