Names in the land

The package with the half-quirked smile finally arrives, including just-out books eagerly awaited. As in waited for months -- in two cases for a year. I gloat as I pull them out. So which do I dive into? The nature guide, of course.

I am teh geeky. But how can I resist Ruby Meadowhawks and Eastern Amberwings (both dragonflies) or Gray Hairstreaks and Eastern Commas (butterflies) or Woods Stonecrop and Coltsfoot (wildflowers) or Old-Man-of-the-Woods (mushroom)? Not to mention my childhood favorite, that most cussworthy of trees, the Sassafras.

Though the dragonfly namers had nearly as much fun: Dragonhunter. Prince Baskettail. Halloween Pennant. Spangled Skimmer. Eastern Pondhawk. Stream Cruiser. Swamp Darner. Carolina Saddlebags. Dragonhunter, for all that's lovely. I am in awe.

Now to figure out what's blooming in Maryland in October.

ETA: More lovelies: in addition to the Speckled Grayshield and Giant Rocktripe (lichens) mentioned in comments, there's Ebony Speenwort, Rusty Woodsia, and Interrupted Fern (all ferns). The Groundsel Tree merely bemuses me, though -- it sounds like an indecisive sort.

---L.