This is the time of year that our roadside landscapes begin to look like a Monet painting. Right now purple loosestrife dominates with sprinkles of goldenrod here and there. Soon we’ll see the pink of Joe Pye weed and the white of asters and boneset.
The chocolaty brown flowers of the groundnut (Apias Americana) are among the most unusual flowers seen at this time of year. They are borne on a vine that twines its way among other sunny meadow plants. This plant is also called potato bean because of the walnut sized, edible tubers that grow along its underground stem. They are said to taste like turnips and were a favorite of Native Americans.
I tried to get a bee’s eye view looking into a spotted touch me not blossom (Impatiens capensis.) When I saw the photo I could see that I had failed that but I was surprised when I saw so much red on the lip of the blossom. It looked like candle wax had dripped on it. This plant gets its common name from the way its seed pods snap and release the seeds when touched. Other names include orange Jewelweed, common jewelweed, spotted jewelweed, and orange balsam. The name “jewelweed” comes from the way that raindrops sparkle on its wax coated leaves.
Showy tick trefoil (Desmodium canadense) is a legume in the bean family. This plant gets part of its common name from the little barbed hairs that cover the seed pods and make them stick to clothing like ticks. The “showy” part of its common name comes from the way that so many of its small pink flowers bloom at once. As the plant sets seeds its erect stems bend lower to the ground so the barbed seed pods can catch in the fur of passing animals.
Gray goldenrod (Solidago nemoralis) always looks like it has been in a strong wind with all of its flowers blown over to one side of the stem, but this is the way it grows naturally. It is one of the earliest blooming goldenrods, coming along right after early goldenrod (Solidago juncea.) It can be seen leaning out of the growth at the edge of forests, reaching for the sun.
I think our native Joe Pye weed (Eutrochium purpureum) is at its most colorful when it is in bud, just before it blooms. There are many varieties of Joe Pye weed and some are sold in garden centers. They can get up to 7 feet tall and often tower over other plants. They are named after Joe Pye, who the latest research says was a Mohegan sachem (chief) that lived in western Massachusetts and saved early European settlers from typhus by brewing a tea made from this plant. Joseph Pye was educated by Samson Occam, himself a Mohegan herbalist and Christian convert who kept an extensive diary.
Yellow toadflax (Linaria vulgaris) was imported from Europe in the mid-1800s as an ornamental and, as the all too familiar story goes, escaped cultivation to become a noxious weed. It’s a pretty weed though, and in this area isn’t as prevalent as our native blue toadflax (Nuttallanthus canadensis.) Blue toadflax seems to be having a banner year. I’ve never seen so much of it, or seen it bloom for so long. Yellow toadflax is very similar to Dalmatian toadflax (Linaria dalmatica,) another import, but Dalmatian toadflax has broad, heart-shaped leaves and yellow toadflax has long, narrow leaves.
Tall blue lettuce (Lactuca biennis) is an odd plant that can reach 10 feet tall in some cases, with a cluster of small, pencil eraser sized, light blue flowers at the tip of the long stem. I always wonder why the plant needs such a tall stem and such large leaves if it is only going to produce tiny flowers, but that’s nature-it always leaves me guessing. This plant is very similar to wild lettuce (Lactuca canadensis) which bears yellow flowers. Both plants were used medicinally by Native Americans.
When I was a young boy the only hedge bindweed flowers (Calystegia sepium) that I saw had simple white flowers, but over the last few years I’m seeing more with pink and white bi-colored flowers. Each flower usually only lasts for a day, so you’ve got to be quick with the camera if you see one that you like. Hedge bindweed is another plant that was introduced from Europe. As invasive as it is, it isn’t as bad as field bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis,) which is close to impossible to eradicate. Bind weeds are so hard to get rid of because they are perennials, while true morning glories (Ipomoea) are annuals.
Steeplebush (Spiraea tomentosa) gets its common name from the shape of its flower clusters. The only other shrub that blooms at the same time and has similar shaped flower clusters is meadowsweet (Spiraea alba,) but it has white flowers. It’s easy to see that steeplebush is related to the Japanese spireas that are used in gardens; the flowers look much the same. Steeplebush likes to be near water and can be found at pond and stream edges. Native Americans used tea made from the plant’s leaves as a medicine.
There were red clover plants (Trifolium pretense) growing in the shade all along the edge of a field, but this single flower head had a ray of sun pointing right at it, so of course I had to see what made it so special. As I knelt before it to take its photo I could see that it was such a beautiful thing that it was no wonder the sun had chosen to illuminate it.
On field milkwort plants (Polygala sanguinea) what look like petals arranged on a central stem are actually individual flowers packed into a raceme no bigger than the end of an average index finger. Each tiny overlapping flower has two large sepals, three small sepals, and three small petals that form a narrow tube. Several different kinds of bees help pollinate this plant. Its flowers can be white, purple, pink, or green.
Long time readers of this blog know that part of the reason I spend so much time walking through the woods is because I’m hoping to find orchids. They don’t just grow along the sides of the road here like they do in England and Scotland; here you have to search long and hard to find them, and if I’m lucky I find one new one each year. This year’s find is the northern club spur orchid (Platanthera clavellata v. Ophioglossoides) pictured above.
The northern club spur orchid will most likely never win a blue ribbon at any flower shows but it is a native orchid and I was very happy to find it. This plant has a single leaf and a single flower stalk that grows to about 4 inches tall. The flowers are tiny-no bigger than a pencil eraser-and have long, curved nectar spurs. If the nectar doesn’t work and insects don’t pollinate the flowers the plant can self-pollinate. Its seeds are like dust and are carried by the wind. One unusual thing about the flowers is the slight twist they have in relation to the stem. It is one of the smallest Platanthera species in the northeastern U.S. and likes to grow in wet woods and bogs.
I’ve tried off and on for years to show you an accurate depiction of what the deep woods of New Hampshire look like but have rejected every attempt. Finally, this photo that I took to lead me back to the northern club spur orchids is the one that shows them best. An old tree fell and opened a gap in the canopy that let in a little sunlight, and that’s probably why the orchids chose to grow here. The forest is a quiet, peaceful place where you can hear the true music of life played as it has been for millions of years.
I did find Calypso [orchids] — but only once, far in the depths of the very wildest of Canadian dark woods, near those high, cold, moss-covered swamps. I felt as if I were in the presence of superior beings who loved me and beckoned me to come. I sat down beside them and wept for joy. ~John Muir
Thanks for stopping in.
For once there were quite a few wild flowers that I recognise from my own walks in Old Hampshire. I’m glad you found your orchids.
It seems like a lot of ours came from Europe originally, so I’m not surprised. I’m glad I found those orchids too!
Thanks for taking me on this tour. I truly enjoyed it. You are such a plant explorer. And I really appreciate the way you wrote about what you were seeing: “This is the time of year that our roadside landscapes begin to look like a Monet painting.” Yes, indeed!
You’re welcome Cynthia. I would imagine your roadsides in Canada must be every bit as beautiful!
They really are. What I find interesting is how certain wild flowers seem to go so well with the others blooming at the same time. Queen Anne’s Lace and Blue Chicory, for example.
I agree. One of the most beautiful sights I’ve seen was a field full of dandelions and blue violets. You don’t know how much I wish that I had been taking pictures in those days!
I understand. That’s why I often have my little camera with me these days.
Me too! I rarely leave home without it.
Some very interesting wildflowers. When we lived in Wisconsin we had a huge stand of jewelweed. It was pretty but hard to control. I’m surprised that bindweed is not in the same genus as morning glory, somehow. And they still sell Linaria as an annual in these parts.
Thanks! jewelweed is very easy to pull up but it does tend to come right back in the same place the following year. They must put out plenty of seeds.
It is odd that morning glories and bindweeds are in the same family but not the same genus. I’m not sure why that is, but it would be a good question for a botanist.
I’m surprised they’re selling yellow toadflax at all. Better not tell the farmers!
First I would like to thank you for your posts. I have always been very interested in anything related to nature and your posts allow me to get my nature fix at a time when I don’t quite have the time. Your subject matter is ‘right on’ . I also enjoy the close up pics very much.
I do have a question-
We have several hundred honey bee hives. The goldenrod crop is very important to us. I have been noticing a strange knot of leaves at the top of the plant where the flower should form. Do you have any idea what is happening to these plants? Goldenrod is the most important late summer and fall nectar source for us. It’s inclusion in honey extraction also results in a rapid and very smooth crystallization resulting in a completely natural creamed product.
Again, thanks for taking the time to do your posts
Jim Howe
Vermont
Thank you Jim, I’m glad you’re enjoying the blog.
The gall that you speak of is called bunch gall. They’re caused by a gall midge (Rhopalomyla solidaginis) which lays its egg in a leaf bud. When the larva hatches the plant stops growing taller but continues to produce leave and the new leaves bunch all together at the top of the plant, forming the type of gall that you’re seeing. From what I’ve read this midge likes only Canada goldenrod (Solidago Canadensis,) and with over 100 different species of goldenrod I don’t think you have anything to worry about.
Very nice to see the photo of the woods. At first glance, not all that much different from some places here.
I love to see the flowers that we don’t have here (groundnut, tick trefoil, Joe Pye weed,Tall blue lettuce, Steeplebush, Northern club spur orchid)!
I think our woods probably look like most found in the northern hemisphere, but we can’t match your mountains. I’m really surprised by all of our native plants that don’t grow there. I’m not sure that I’ll ever fully understand why plants choose to grow and not grow in certain places.
Good evening Allen, lovely pictures, especially the Groundnut and your deep woods picture. Your deep wood picture looks a lot like some areas here on the mountain! I find it so refreshing to be in the woods hiking and camping especially when I am alone, it’s very peaceful to me to find those special places like your picture!
Thank you Michael. I think I’ve been in these woods since I was old enough to walk, so they seem like home to me. Like you I really enjoy hiking through them alone and finding special places to sit for a while and drink it all in. It really is refreshing!
Your first picture was a work of art indeed.
Thank you. I think that one was the easiest of all to get.
Easy to get maybe but not everyone would see it like you have.
The forest is a quiet, peaceful place where you can hear the true music of life played as it has been for millions of years.
Simply beautifully put. You create poetry with your photos and words.
Thank you Martha. It’s the great beauty that I see each day bubbling to the surface, I think.
I loved the picture of your deep woods as it helps me to imagine where all these beautiful things grow. Amelia
I’m glad that it helped, but most of the flowers in this post, except for the orchid, actually grow in meadows like the one in the first photo, or at the edges of the forest. The woods are quite dark and many flowers won’t grow in such dim light.
I enjoyed accompanying you (albeit in words) on your journey today, some wonderful photographs, the last one really helps me to understand what you see.
Thank you Julie, I’m glad that you did. It has taken me quite awhile to get a good shot of the woods because it’s often quite dark or there are too many trees in the way. When the old tree fell it solved both of those problems and I was able to finally get a decent photo.
You sure know how to find interesting and beautiful flowers! I recognize about half of these, I don’t think that I’ve ever seen the other half, but I will look for them after seeing your photos of them. I think that there are some that aren’t found in Michigan, but I won’t know until I look for them.
I’ve been toying with the idea of creating a database on my computer to help me identify flowers. It wouldn’t have to be very elaborate, just the common and scientific names, and a photo. But even that seems like a daunting task as far as entering all of them into the database.
Most of these flowers are everywhere here so they aren’t hard to find, but there are some like groundnut and field milkwort that you really have to search for.
I’ve also been thinking about a database as an extra page on this blog but it really is a monumental task that I’m not sure I could finish if I started. If you want it just to identify wildflowers I’d buy a copy of Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide. You can get used copies for under $5.00, and it’s the best one.
I could really use a guide, but the database I would do would be to help me remember the names of flowers that I’ve already seen. There’s so many of them, their names slip my mind.
Boy, do I know that! I think, when people come with me on walks, that they are often disappointed that I don’t know the name of every plant that we see, but I have to look many of them up just like anyone else. You might “know” them all but remembering all of their names is next to impossible.
‘Like a Monet painting…’ Very apt description of high summer blooms!
I’ve noticed the bi-colored Hedge Bindweed too- interesting!
Thanks! I’ve got to dig a little deeper into the bindweeds, I think.
You have inspired me to get out into our local conservation area and the woods behind the family farm.
That’s great! There’s no telling what you might find but I can guarantee that it will be beautiful, interesting, or both!
Absolutely amazing pictures, discoveries, descriptions … showing the possibilities nature has to offer.
Thank you. The possibilities really are endless. I see something new almost every day.
I’d see more if our weather would cool off. We’re hot, humid and slightest breeze. Ugh
We’ve had that kind of weather too, off and on for a couple of months now. It doesn’t make getting out there any easier!
I love reading your posts and this one was so good. I haven’t noticed any of our Hedge Bindweed flowers with a pink tinge but the Common Bindweed which is meant to be pink and white varies here from being all white to nearly all pink. I often wonder why this is. Perhaps a difference in soil composition? The shot of the forest does indeed give me some idea of where you walk – wonderful!
Thank you Clare. It could just be a name thing, but we have so many bindweeds that my mind gets bound up just trying to sort them all out. We have field bindweed, false bindweed, and lesser bindweed, among others. Someday I’m going to have to bring some home and sit down with a book and see if I can sort them all out.
I’m not sure why some flowers choose to be one color or another but I’d say that the minerals in the soil had a lot to do with it. Some hydrangeas, for instance, are very sensitive to soil composition.
The yellow toadflax is beautiful – just beautiful, noxious weed or no. Thanks for another excellent post. 🙂
Thank you Jim, I think so too. It always reminds me of snapdragons.
Snapdragons, yes. That was my thought as well.
The pictures of the flowers are so beautiful. I also enjoy your comments as I find them both educational and entertaining. What a pleasure to read your blog and view your photos!
Thank you Donna. It’s kind of you to say so and I’m glad that you’re enjoying the blog. If there is something you’d like to see here that you aren’t seeing just let me know and I’ll try to do something about it.
Namaste Allen,
Once again, beautiful photo shots and very informative data of wild plants. I specially love the wild potatoes and Joe Pye Weed. Have been wondering how to grow them as it can get quite dry here sometimes and PA is famous for its clay soil. Thank you so much for sharing your part of the woods with us. Sending bright Reiki blessings your way. – Agnes
Thank you Agnes. Clay soil can be difficult, but if you mix in plenty of sand and peat moss it can be made suitable for most plants. You can also use finely shredded pine bark, which will add some acidity to the soil as well. The problem with clay is the water doesn’t percolate through it, and adding these things help remedy that. Once you have the soil conditions corrected you can keep plants from drying out by planting shorter plants in front of taller ones. If you planted goldenrod in front of Joe Pye weed, for instance, the goldenrod would shade the soil and keep the Joe Pye weed’s roots moist. This is the way they grow naturally here. Adding plenty of peat moss to the soil will also help keep it moist. I hope this helps get you on the road to a native plant garden!
Thank you so much, Allen. Sending Reiki blessings your way. God bless.
You’re welcome Agnes. The same to you!
Reblogged this on Dawn of Divine Rays.
This is a real treat, the new orchid and the other wild flowers are beautiful. I miss lush gardens, too difficult here in the TX heat, so your walk was a wonderful way to spend my morning.
Thank you Mary. It’s too bad that you couldn’t gather up some native Texas plants into a garden. I’ve seen some very beautiful ones from that area, including the bluebonnets. Natives would be much better able to handle the heat.
I actually had several beautiful perennial gardens, but the rabbits thought I was planting for them and after the first year w/gorgeous blooming flowers that was it. Most of the yard is in shade by our towering oaks so it really is a hit or miss on what will survive. I have been exploring more though for naive TX perennials and starting to build little areas here and there. But, not all is lost the large field behind us has some wonderful wildflowers that give us a great show once a year.
Rabbits are hard to control, as are deer and woodchucks. This year for the first time in over twenty years the deer ate all the leaves off close to 200 hosta plants. I would have been much better off planting natives.
Some of the most beautiful “gardens” I’ve seen have been natural fields and meadows, and you’re lucky to have one so close!
As always Allan, a delightful summary of what you have seen. I do enjoy following you on your walks.
Thanks Jim!
Congratulations on finding the new orchid, Allen. Your images of all of the different flowers are simply gorgeous (and that first image really does remind me of Monet).
Thanks Mike. Finding new orchids is always a thrill!
Enjoyed your pics and info about Joe Pye weed.
Your picture of the deep woods of New Hampshire caused me to reflect that in recent years when walking purely for exercise I stay closer to home. When walking in the woods I want to truly be there.
Thank you. I agree that the woods aren’t usually the place to exercise the body. They’re for spiritual exercise.
I love the groundnut flowers, very pretty. Congrats on finding the Norther Club Spur. It would be very easy to overlook, given its size.
Thanks Laura. Yes, that orchid would be real easy to miss. Finding it was just luck.
What a splendid guide to your local wildflowers whether native or not. I like orchids too so it was nice to see a new one.
Thank you Susan. I bought my kayak to be able to get closer to orchids, and i hope to be able to show you some beautiful rose pogonia orchids next year.