Mississippi River Wakerobin

My Species Story

I first encountered this lovely little plant in a pretty bad state -- well past its prime of the year and possibly run over by a lawnmower, it was on the edge of the East Magnolia Woods at the Landry Property.

Even in that state I knew it was unlike anything I'd seen before, and when I added it to iNaturalist and discovered its local provenance (endemic to Louisiana and Mississippi, in the Loess Plains) and its captivating name – Wakerobin – I was looking forward to seeing it again in a fresher form.

The first winter after we moved to the Landry Property, I discovered I was in luck. It grows all over the place here! There are fairly extensive patches in all of the wooded areas of the property, and every year I find more patches and seemingly larger and more mature plants, especially back toward Hub Creek on the South end of the property.

I was even lucky enough to find a rare yellow-flowered individual in the area near the creek in the Spring of 2023.

Now I look forward to these marbled green friends emerging in the beginning of the year, a sure sign of the seasons changing and early Spring coming soon.