Link to photo here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/60721674@N00/571568867/
or
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1396/571568867_21665650ce_o.jpg
What plant produces this small flower? I saw them lying on the ground while hiking at Cunningham Falls State Park in Maryland. They are about the size of my finger tip.
Thanks!
2007-06-19 10:13:42 · 5 answers · asked by swampitoho 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Botany
The photo in question is most probably that of a puffball
mushroom with the scientific name Geastrum saccatum ·
(Sessile Earthstar). It is a fungus .
Kindly click on the links below to confirm or reject --
http://gardenbythesea.org/about/mushroom/photos/m043.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Geastrum_triplex.jpg
flowers of Mountain laurel ( Kalamia latifolia ) for comparison-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Laurel1.jpg
2007-06-19 20:51:28 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
Those are flowers of Mountain Laurel bushes They're very pretty and cool-looking, with that star-like structure. I'm kind of surprised you didn't see any still on the bush, but maybe the season is close to done by now. Some of the dried brown leaves in the picture look rather like Mountain Laurel leaves - spear-shaped, leathery, glossy dark green (when alive)
2007-06-19 13:23:25 · answer #2 · answered by John R 7 · 1⤊ 3⤋
I'm not American so I can't give you a precise answer but what you're looking at there is certainly not a plant. It's some kind of fungus. As the lady said before me it looks like an earthstar.
2007-06-19 14:16:17 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
Those look like Earthstars, not flowers or plants at all but a type of fungus! They are related to puffball mushrooms.
2007-06-19 12:51:18 · answer #4 · answered by irishmoss86 2 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Kalmia latifolia Mountain Laurel
2007-06-19 17:47:03 · answer #5 · answered by glenn t 7 · 0⤊ 3⤋