July 24 The One and Only

Lilium Michauxii or as we say "Carolina lily" is one of the area's botanic gems. It is the state wildflower of North Carolina. We treasure it for its beauty and deer eat it for its tastiness. 

In the Spring I scoured the property for any of the unusual plant structures. You may notice the whorled leaves above. That makes it easy to spot about 4 months before it blooms. I had located 2 communities on my property, about 1/2 mile apart. Together they total 17 plants. I surrounded each plant with a circle of quartz rocks so they'd be easy to spot and keep track of. Pretty early on, deer browsed 9 of them, an entire community. the other community, being close to the house survived. Last week I was faithfully watching 6 budding plants. Today, I have one bloom. Deer got 4 and knocked over one, which may still bloom. The one and only survivor is a beauty.

There is an interesting side note here. The wildflower is named for the great French Botanist André Michaux. Michaux played a role in a bizarre American history footnote. He was French but spent much of his adult life collecting botanical specimens in the US for himself and European collectors. His base was Charleston SC, where he maintained gardens and spent winters. 1792 found Michaux in Canada exploring to and above the treeline near Hudson Bay. When he returned, a stop in Philadelphia was in order. Michaux had concocted a plan to travel west beyond the mountains we now know as the Rocky Mtns. He presented at the Philadelphia Philosophical Society, such a proposal, seeking funding. Vice President of the society and also US secretary of state Thomas Jefferson loved the plan. Remember, Philly is the US capital in 1792. He and Michaux mapped out a route and objectives. The Mississippi Valley and Louisiana were claimed and controlled by Spain at this time. Jefferson did not want to anger the Spanish by sending a US government supported expedition into their territory, so it would be funded by the a private entity, the society, and its stated purpose would be scientific. Members of the society pledged funds. They wrote their names on a document with the amounts pledged and signed it. This document has survived and is the only document which has the signatures of the first 4 presidents of the US. Plans proceeded into 1793, then something derailed them. The French Ambassador, Genet enlisted fellow Frenchman Michaux to undertake a secret mission on behalf of France. Michaux did not wish to take on this role but he was indebted to his country and did not refuse. Genet wanted Michaux to travel to Kentucky and secretly set up plans to fund a military invasion of the Mississippi Valley and Louisiana. An American Revolutionary General wanted to lead a group of Kentuckians against the Spanish. It was none other than George Rogers Clark. Michaux proceeded to cross Pennsylvania, float down the Ohio to Louisville where he schemed with Clark. We don't know what took place because upon his return to Philadelphia, Genet had been sacked and his replacement knew nothing of the scheme. On top of that, plans for the western excursion were in disarray. Michaux headed to Charleston. France ended up acquiring the Mississippi and Louisiana and then sold it to the US. Jefferson then proceeded with sending Lewis and Clark westward. It could have been Michaux.