Bog white violet with pine cone

I could blame it on the bluebonnets, although Indian paintbrush and white prickly poppies surely played a role.

Despite my commitment to document changes at the Big Thicket’s Solo tract on a monthly basis, I’m well behind in posting what I’ve found during my visits; all of those glorious spring wildflowers demanded to be shown first.

While I finish reports on my visits to the Solo tract in February, March, and April, I’ll offer these gems as appetizer: a pair of white bog violets (Viola lanceolata) that by mid-February had spread by the hundreds throughout the area.

Also known as lance-leaf violet because of their long, strap-like leaves, the flowers’ range is limited by their preference for a consistently wet location: coastal plains, bogs, swamps, wet meadows, and wetland pine savannahs like those of the Solo tract. In areas where land development has led to habitat loss, the violet often is listed as threatened.

Visited by a variety of pollinators, the diminuitive flower, from only two to six inches tall, is marked with purple lines that serve as nectar guides for insects, and pretty accents for appreciative human eyes.

Comments always are welcome.