Monday, May 11, 2009

Little Brown Jug Wildflower

When my mother gave me this she told me the name was Wild Ginger.Thought that was the name until I went to the Wildflower Pilgrimage in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, April 2008. Wild Ginger is a totally different plant, but the Little Brown Jug is sometimes called Wild Ginger (like my mother did), according to the Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers book. You can see why it is called Little Brown Jug. This first photo of the brown jugs was taken April 4, 2009.
The funniest part of this is that I never even knew those 'jugs' were underneath the leaves until I started learning about wildflowers. This plant had been in my yard at least 5 years, moved twice. This photo was taken April 18, 2009.
A closer look at the brown jugs, taken April 26, 2009.
The jugs are under these pretty green leaves.
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27 comments:

T said...

Who knew?!

It's a lovely plant.....can it be purchased at a nursery?

Anonymous said...

This is great! We have this plant, especially near the creek area, and I did not know what it is. We also have wild ginger and I knew it was something different. Can't wait for it to stop raining so I can go look underneath the leaves. THANKS!

Mary said...

What a fascinating plant! I've never seen it that I know of, but now if I think I see one, I will know to look for the little brown jugs!

Jen said...

New one to me. SO what's in those jugs?

Connie T. said...

This is a pretty plant and what is under it is neat.

Lynne at Hasty Brook said...

I saw these for the first time at the New River festival in West Virginia. Neat plants. I can't remember- are the little jug supposed to be stinky?

Prospero said...

This is quite an interesting plant. The jugs remind me of the pitchers on a Nepenthes plant. Great photos!

Unknown said...

Very interesting plant! Noah is so cute...........What a Mother's Day Gift!!

Unknown said...

What a cool plant! love the little jugs and think it's funny that you didn't notice them for so long. :)

Dawn Fine said...

Thanks for the ID on my little brown jug plant!
Great photos here ...I cant wait until I see another one..I will be sure to look for the jugs!

Leedra said...

Lynne - I don't know....now you are going to have me smelling the ground.

Leedra said...

Jen - I don't really know...but it always looks like little specks of something. I always wonder how anything could be in there. Last day or two been wondering could I snip one off and plant it and get a new plant. Meaning seeds are in there....but I don't know.

Ruth's Photo Blog said...

That is the coolest plant I've ever seen.Thanks for sharing these very interesting photos.
Blessings,Ruth

Susie said...

Wow! That's neat Leedra! What an interesting little discovery.

Unknown said...

I would have never guessed the little brown jugs were under those beautiful green leaves either. Great shots.

Connie said...

This is amazing - I should start peeking under the leaves!

DeniseinVA said...

Never heard of the jug plant before Leedra, fascinating. This is why I love blogging.

Rose said...

Now this is neat and something I did not know...I hope I can remember it.

Shelley said...

I learned something new today! Neat plant!

abb said...

I thought I knew my wildflowers, but I've never heard of this one, and though the foliage looks familiar, those little brown jugs do not at all!

George said...

Thanks for teaching me about Little Brown Jug. That is a wild flower of which I was not familiar. Thanks for the description and the photos.

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Hi Leedra, Congrats on the birth of your grandbaby. He's adorable--and I love his name.

Someone here in the Glade has a Snowball tree. I love it!!!!

Great pictures of your House Finches.. When you first said "Purple"--I wondered about that. BUT--what do I know???? ha

Your bluebirds are/were gorgeous. I loved seeing them in the nest. The feathers are beautiful. AND then--seeing one of them on the ground was so cute. I can't wait 'til mine are born. It should be in a couple of days.

I agree about that Red Hot Poker... It's no wonder Jimmy doesn't like it. I don't either!!!! ha

I have some little Irises in my yard that Dad Adams gave us. He called them American Irises.. Don't know what their 'real' name is. They are similar to the ones you posted.

And finally, the Little Borwn Jug is interesting. They DO look like jugs. I wouldn't ever think to look below the leaves. NEAT!!!!!

Sounds like you had a wonderful week--and CONGRATS again.
Hugs,
Betsy

NCmountainwoman said...

One of my earliest memories is that of digging little brown jugs with my grandmother. Thanks for bringing back those memories.

Leedra said...

NCmountainwoman - So what did you dig them for? Are they medicine for some ailment? Just curious.

Girl Tornado said...

It's a beautiful plant topside. Quite interesting on the bottom side. I've never heard of it!

Tina said...

Pretty cool plant..kept its secret for so long!! I've never seen one before...quite interesting.

Unknown said...

QUOTE: I saw these for the first time at the New River festival in West Virginia. Neat plants. I can't remember- are the little jug supposed to be stinky?


The jugs and crushed stems will usually have a faintly sweet scent, reminiscent of sasparilla. This isn't by chance, the plant is actually an excellent source for Safrole essential oils.

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