Green
‘Tis not shamrocks but wood-sorrel (Oxalis spp.) greening the ground in our back yard on February 25th.
And if it’s more three-part green leaves ye be craving, here’s another view of southern dewberry
(Rubus trivialis), this time from February 27th in the northeast quadrant of Mopac and US 183:
© 2019 Steven Schwartzman
Portraits of Wildflowers 
beautiful, especially the one with the flower buds
gwenniesgardenworld
March 17, 2019 at 5:01 AM
I’ve seen lots of dewberry patches lately, often with buds and flowers.
Steve Schwartzman
March 17, 2019 at 9:04 AM
This bit o’ the green is nicer than the vile green they die the Chicago River every year.
melissabluefineart
March 17, 2019 at 7:57 AM
We’ll take our green natural, thank you.
Steve Schwartzman
March 17, 2019 at 9:05 AM
Yes, even when it ain’t easy.
melissabluefineart
March 18, 2019 at 9:58 AM
Even if it’s not Shamrock, it is still fitting for St. Patrick’s Day. I wish you a happy one,
Pit
Pit
March 17, 2019 at 9:55 AM
And an appropriately green day to you, too.
Steve Schwartzman
March 17, 2019 at 10:08 AM
Thanks! 🙂
Pit
March 17, 2019 at 11:10 AM
Gern geschehen.
Steve Schwartzman
March 17, 2019 at 11:35 AM
☘️
ksbeth
March 17, 2019 at 10:33 AM
I went native, Texas style.
Steve Schwartzman
March 17, 2019 at 11:01 AM
This is great! maybe not shamrocks but they’ll do very nicely! cheers, Robbie O’Frosty.
Robert Parker
March 17, 2019 at 12:45 PM
In response to your cheers I’ll wish you greetings and greenings.
Steve Schwartzman
March 17, 2019 at 1:10 PM
That wouldn’t look bad on a St Paddy’s Day shirt “Greetings & Greenings”
Robert Parker
March 17, 2019 at 1:50 PM
And equally appropriately on a botanist’s or nature lover’s shirt. I thought the phrase “greetings and greenings” might be unique, and apparently it almost is, the one exception that turned up being in connection with a company that purports to sell the world’s best cat litter. When I reversed the phrase to “greenings and greetings” I got no hits. Interestingly, in response to both searches Google asked if I meant “greetings and greetings.” My answer is no and no.
Steve Schwartzman
March 17, 2019 at 3:28 PM
Perfect for the day, or any day, really!
Susan Scheid
March 17, 2019 at 7:39 PM
I’m with you on the “any.” Here’s to chlorophyll!
Steve Schwartzman
March 17, 2019 at 9:49 PM
I’ve been so distracted by this and that, I didn’t even realize yesterday was St. Patrick’s day until I saw your post. I’m sure my Irish ancestors are aghast, or would have been, were they still around. The oxalis makes a perfectly acceptable symbol for the day, besides being pretty all on its own.
When I was looking at the dewberries yesterday, I was suprised to find full-sized berries on the vines already. It won’t be long until birds and people have a seasonal feast ready for them again.
shoreacres
March 18, 2019 at 6:51 AM
Then your dewberries are way ahead of ours; I haven’t seen a single fruit that’s even getting started.
Speaking of holidays, when I encountered unusually light traffic this morning I first wondered if today is a holiday I’d forgotten about. Turns out it’s spring break for all the schools here. Then it occurred to me that the way to solve Austin’s traffic problems is to permanently close all the schools. In many cases there’d be no marked difference in what the students come away knowing, and we’d save a ton on property taxes. Oh, cynical me.
Steve Schwartzman
March 18, 2019 at 10:00 AM
Dewy Dewberry. There must be a 4-leaved Oxalis in all that? Probably in there with Waldo.
Steve Gingold
March 18, 2019 at 2:34 PM
Somehow I’ve never thought about a four-part oxalis leaf. What’s good for clover should be good for oxalis, right?
Steve Schwartzman
March 18, 2019 at 9:55 PM
Yep. Saw them on Google.
Steve Gingold
March 19, 2019 at 3:35 AM
In the results of your Google search I noticed Oxalis tetraphylla, whose species name says that four is the norm for that species. Maybe someday I’ll find a rare four-parter in a species of oxalis that’s normally a three-parter.
Steve Schwartzman
March 19, 2019 at 5:48 AM
Southern dewberry? That is a Rubus that I never heard of. Are the berries any good?
tonytomeo
March 21, 2019 at 12:04 AM
You bet: just as good as any other blackberry. Dewberry picking down here goes way back.
This species has a broad distribution across the southeastern part of the country:
https://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=RUTR
Steve Schwartzman
March 21, 2019 at 6:24 AM
Hey, it is in Oklahoma! I dew not remember it.
tonytomeo
March 22, 2019 at 7:52 AM
Perhaps it’ll come to you in dew time.
Steve Schwartzman
March 22, 2019 at 7:57 AM
If it were hybridized with knotweed, would it be ‘don’tberry’ or ‘don’tweed’?
tonytomeo
March 23, 2019 at 8:53 AM
Either would work well.
Steve Schwartzman
March 23, 2019 at 9:53 AM