A Wisp of Bog Lily
May 1, 2014
I saw what I think was a lily right by the side of the trail through the Little Manatee River State Park this February. Had to play with it. I thought it was a bog lily, also called swamp lily, but when I looked up swamp lily earlier today, I saw that the swamp lily has six petals. This one had only five. I suppose that, given what I’ve done to it, I could call it anything I like. I prefer bog lily because the first bog (or swamp) lily I saw, a few years ago, almost caused me to fall into the bog in which it was growing. I kept getting closer and closer to it with the camera, not looking where my feet were going. Had to pull out my foot from the tenacious earth—with some force and a sucking sound. It was a bit scary. I had no idea what that flower was but thought bog lily was a good name for it. Back home on the Internet I was surprised to find a hit with that name. Besides having only five petals, this flower was much shorter than the one I saw in the bog. . . . After more fussing at the Internet just now I’m prepared to believe that one of the petals of this bog lily fell off.
Romancing Reality 