I’ve passed this Ontario wildflower a thousand times because it’s inconsequential to my eyes. Minor details are the very things I look for when exploring with the macro lens. It reveals the obscure beauty of a forest sprite. This wildflower is new to me.

Enchanter’s nightshade has the rare distinction of possessing only two petals, though they seem like four. Native through much of the Northern Hemisphere, Circaea lutetiana has purported magical properties, Circe being the Greek enchantress and Lutetia being the Latin name for Paris, or “witch city.” It isn’t a true nightshade and isn’t poisonous, but is of no apparent use to the casual herbalist.