This is called Large Twayblade. It's a member of the orchid family. I'm not terribly familiar with orchids, but when I saw the flowers, I thought they were reminiscent of orchids, so I was glad to see my hunch was right.
As you can see, this is not exactly a stand-out flower. No eye-popping color. Very low to the ground, mixing right in with the grass growing around it. I consider it a lucky sighting!
The flowers are very different-looking. They have kind of a waxy look to them, and you can see they are also a little translucent. They remind me of the webbed foot of a duck. The flowers themselves are probably only about 1" long.
I spent a long time with this flower, photographing it from many different angles, trying to capture its essence and beauty. However, I don't think you want to see 4o more pictures of it!
Another close-to-the ground flower, this is Common Speedwell. This is even more dainty than the Twayblade, with the flowers being only about 1/4".
It reminds me of Ground Ivy in its habit. My specimens seem to only be about 4 or 5" tall, but apparently they can get as tall as 18" (soil quality is a determining factor... I'd say clay and silt aren't conducive to tall growth).
What it lacks in size it makes up for in quantity. We have quite a few sizable patches of it growing in the more "waste areas" of the property (i.e. around the driveway).
Quite lovely, don't you think?
This is a flower I'm still trying to get an ID on. Also very tiny flowers, maybe 1/2". Possibly 5 or 6" tall.
Whatever it is, it's cute. If anyone has any ideas as to what this is, please chime in! So far this year I've been pretty lucky identifying wildflowers that are new to me, but this one has me stumped for now.
