Wildflowers in Winter - Part Three

For the week of January 30 to February 5, the assignment from Wildflower Morning is to share stories or poetry about wildflowers. My choice is a childhood favorite lyric of song from the Hansel and Gretel opera by Engelbert Humperdinck. In this song at the start of Act Two, Gretel is singing about the unusual wildflower, the Jack-in-the-Pulpit. I have not had the pleasure of actually seeing this unique flower with the descriptive name. My good friend, Gawilli, has one growing in her yard, and she blogged about her treasure here.

There Stands a Little Man

There stands a little man in the wood alone.
He wears a little mantle of velvet brown.
Say, who can the man there be,
Standing underneath the tree
With a mantle of velvet brown?
His hair is all of gold, and his cheeks are red.
He wears a little black cap upon his head
Say, who can the man there be,
Standing, oh so silently,
With a little black cap upon his head?
With a little black cap upon his head?





The photo of the Jack-in-the-Pulpit is from National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wilderflowers, Eastern Region, Revised Edition, published by Alfred Knopf:New York, 2001