I often wonder who gets to name wildflowers...
Slogging through ankle deep mud and waist high swamp grass, I come upon this odd looking plant. Brown cupped flowers with white petals that look like sails lost in the wind. Long green pods standing upright around the edge.
I can't find it in my field guide - can't quite figure out how to describe its parts. Further searching in books at home leaves no better answers. Finally a naturalist friend points me in the right direction.
Red-whiskered Clammyweed (Polanisia dodecandra)! A name as odd as the plant itself. And, I wonder how "whoever" came up with that name. I suggest "Weird-white-flowered-large-podded Weed"?
I'll be back in the field looking for red whiskers and checking for something clammy...
[Thanks to Tom Norton for helping me with the identification]
