Many of our larger marsh ponds are starting their summer shrink, which crowds their leafy inhabitants, as you can see from this image taken yesterday:
The contrast between the circular pad leaves of the water lilies and the arrowhead-shaped leaves of the green arrow arum plants becomes more apparent at times like these.
I’ve been photographically monitoring the above arrow arum colony on a weekly basis for several years now. I think I’ve become obsessed with the wild beauty of the plant, especially its graceful, subtly-veined leaves, which are extraordinarily photogenic:
This native wetlands plant (Peltandra virginica) is part of the large arum family and also is known as tuckahoe and duck corn. It grows to about three feet tall and its leaves can reach up to 18 or more inches in length. Muskrats eat the plant’s stalks and leaves, while ducks love its seeds. Native Americans pulverized the plant’s roots into flour for making bread.
(Images taken in Brooklin, Maine, on July 7 and 9, 2022.)