Pickerel weed likes to grow in shallow water and the large amounts of it growing along the shoreline of the Ashuelot River tell the story of how low the water level is. We still haven’t seen any more rain than a quick moving downpour or two and I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much pickerel weed here.
Ping pong ball size buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis) flower heads look like frilly pincushions with their long white styles sticking out of the tubular the way they do. This native shrub is almost always seen near water and I found this one on the banks of the Ashuelot River. Once the flowers go by a red seed head will form, which will turn brown as the seeds ripen. Waterfowl of all kinds love the seeds which, since buttonbush grows near water, are easy for them to get to.
Joe Pye is thought to have been a Native American healer who used this plant to treat early Massachusetts Bay Colony settlers suffering from typhoid fever, but the discussion over the origin of the name goes back and forth. For instance I’ve read that a Native word for the plant was “jopi,” which meant typhoid, and it is thought by some that jopi the plant name became Joe Pye the person name.
In any event Joe Pye weed (Eupatorium) is a common late summer sight in wet meadows. There are several species of this plant including hollow Joe-Pye-weed (E. fistulosum,) sweet Joe-Pye-weed (E. purpureum,) three-nerved Joe-Pye-weed (E. dubium,) and spotted Joe-Pye-weed (E. maculatum.) Hollow Joe-Pye weed is the most common species in this area.
There are enough different goldenrods (over a hundred it is said) which look enough alike to convince me that I don’t want to spend the rest of my life trying to identify them all, but some are quite easy to identify. One of the easiest is gray goldenrod (Solidago nemoralis). It’s one of the first to bloom and its flower heads always look like they have been in a strong wind that blew them over to one side of the stem.
Queen Anne’s lace (Daucus carota) is having a good year and I see the big flower heads everywhere, but despite their abundance I’m not finding more flower heads with the tiny purple / reddish floret at their center. Though another name for this plant is “wild carrot” you had better know exactly what you’re doing if you dig and eat the root because there are very similar plants like water hemlock (Cicuta maculata) that are among the most toxic plants known.
Legend says the tiny purplish / reddish flower at the center of the flower head is a drop of blood shed when Queen Anne pricked herself while making the lace. A more believable story says that it helps attract pollinators but the truth is scientists don’t really know why it’s there. This example had plenty of insects on it but I don’t know if they were pollinators. They looked more like fleas.
Invasive rabbit’s foot clover (Trifolium arvense) is short enough to be forced to grow right at the edge of the road if it wants to get any sunshine, so the roads look like they have been festooned with fuzzy pink ribbons for a while each summer. It’s an annual that grows new from seed each year and the seedlings must be tough, because they don’t seem to mind being occasionally run over, or the poor dry soil found along the road side. In fact they seem to thrive in it. I see more plants each year.
Golden clover (Trifolium campestre) is another imported clover originally from Europe and Asia. It is also known as large trefoil and large hop clover. The plant was imported through Philadelphia in 1800 to be used as a pasture crop and now appears in most states on the east and west coasts, and much of Canada, but it is not generally considered aggressively invasive. Each pretty yellow flower head is packed with golden yellow pea-like flowers. I see the plant growing along roadsides and in sandy waste areas.
Liatris (Liatris spicata) is a plant native to our prairies and you don’t find it outside of gardens that often here in New Hampshire. Every now and then you can find a stray plant in a meadow but it isn’t anywhere near as aggressive as black eyed Susan and some other prairie plants. It is also called blazing star and is grown commercially as a cut flower. I think that the closer you get to the tiny flowers, the more beautiful they become. It’s a very useful plant for attracting butterflies to the garden. Native Americans baked and ate the roots of some of the more than 43 varieties of liatris. They are said to taste like carrots. Other parts of the plant were used medicinally to treat heart ailments.
Bull thistle (Cirsium vulgare) originally hails from Europe. It is thought to have been introduced in the colonial era and has spread throughout the United States, much to the dismay of farmers and cattle ranchers. It is also called spear thistle, with good reason. I don’t know if it was imported intentionally or accidentally. This example was in the middle of a huge plant, easily the biggest thistle plant that I’ve ever seen, and an ouch or two could be heard while I snapped the shutter.
Bees love the thistle blossoms and of course that’s exactly why it has been so successful in spreading.
Blue, bell shaped flowers all on one side of the stem can mean only one thing; creeping bellflower (Campanula rapunculoides.) The pretty flowered plant was introduced as an ornamental from Europe and has escaped gardens to live in dry places that get full sun. It is a late bloomer but is usually finished by the time goldenrods have their biggest flush of bloom. It is an invasive plant that is hard to get rid of once it has become established. It will choke out weaker native plants and seems to love colonizing gardens when it is left alone. I usually find it on forest edges.
If you are trying to attract wildlife to your yard and have a pond or a swampy area then our native winterberry (Ilex verticillata) is an excellent choice of native shrub. They like very wet soil and, like other hollies, need male and female plants to produce fruit. The white flowers are tiny; barely more than 1/8 inch across, and can have up to eight petals. When pollinated they will become bright red berries and, because the berries have a low fat content, birds and animals eat them quite late in the season, so the berries color the landscape for most of the winter.
I found some beautiful purple phlox growing on the unmown side of a road. The flower heads were quite large and anyone with a garden would have been happy to have had them in it. I’m guessing that’s just where it escaped from; I doubt that it’s native but it certainly is beautiful.
This is the first time pointed leaved tick trefoil (Desmodium glutinosum) has appeared on this blog because I’ve never seen it before. It’s a plant that doesn’t mind shade and I found a few blooming examples at the edge of a forest recently. I don’t have a good shot of the foliage but you can just make a few of the sharply pointed leaves out on the left side of this photo.
Bright purplish pink, stalked flowers are clustered in long straight spikes (racemes.) It’s easy to see that they’re in the pea family but unlike some pea flowers, the reproductive parts are not completely hidden. The white pistil rises up and out of the keel. If pollinated each flower will grow into a green, flat seed pod with 2 or 3 jointed triangular segments that are very sticky. The seed pods will even stick to bare skin and they are where the “tick” in tick trefoil comes from.
You have to look closely to see the slightly curved white pistil rising from the keel of the pointed leaved tick trefoil flower. I can’t think of another flower in the pea family like it.
Here’s a little flower that has had me scratching my head for about a week. Though I’ve looked in every wildflower book I own and have searched on line I can’t identify it. It grew in pure sand and full sunlight in a waste area by the side of a road. The plants were about 3-4 inches tall and had several blooms on each plant. The leaves were narrow and sword shaped, and pointed on the tip. Each flower is so small that I can see color but not the shape without help from a loupe or a photo. I’m guessing that each one is no more than 1/8 inch across-even smaller than those of red sandspurry. I wonder if anyone knows what it is. It’s a beautiful little think and I’d love to know its name.
You find peace by coming to terms with what you don’t know. ~Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Thanks for stopping in.
The purple flower is a Large Spike Primrose.
Thanks very much for the help but the plant was identified as low baby’s breath (Gypsophila muralis.) Large spike primrose is native to the western U.S. They are similar in color though.
Could the unknown flower be spring beauty or relative? It’s hard to tell, and I think the flowers may be a bit bigger on spring beauty…
No, these were very small; you could fit a 10 of these blooms on a spring beauty, but thanks for trying!
I love the story of the Queen Anne’s Lace. Often I’ve noticed the tiny redish purple center and wondered about it. Thanks for filling me in!
You’re welcome Martha, and thank you!
The button flower is both unusual and beautiful! The shape is almost sea urchin-like with all the tube feet.
Thistles of various kinds abound here, and the bees sure do love them. They do hurt, and have managed to nail me through any gloves except for heavy leather ones. The blooms are beautiful, though.
Yes, the button bush flowers are certainly unusual. There aren’t many like them.
Thistles have perfected self protection, that’s for sure! Some are hard to work with but I always try to remember that they’re here for a reason.
regarding the sand spurry-like flower. Are the leaves opposite or alternate? Yes, it is similar to the spurry , but the flower pattern of the petals is different. I have seen red sand-spurry (Spergularia rubra) only once in my area.
I don’t remember exactly what pattern the leaves were in but they looked more randomly placed than alternate or opposite. It isn’t one of the sand spurries, but it is similar in size and growth habit.
I’ve posted the unknown flower to a facebook page – Plant Identification. There are some very acute botanists there. Hopefully, they’ll be able to ID it.
Love your postings and photos. Thank you!
Thank you very much for doing that. I didn’t know such a thing existed but I’m glad it does and I hope someone recognizes the flower.
I’m also glad that you’re enjoying the blog!
A bounty of belles. Speaking of which, I have encouraged that creeping bellflower to grow in small amounts, but now, after reading your post, I’m thinking I shouldn’t. And I like Joe Pye weed because the name makes me smile and also because I like the dusty rose shade.
We, too, have had very little rain. And the last two days have been scorchers.
Thank you Cynthia. I don’t think the bellflower needs much encouragement but as long as it stays in small patches you should be okay. Its roots are very hard to eradicate but as long as you like it there really isn’t any reason to dig it up.
I hope we’ll all see some cooler temps and rain before too long. They say that next week will be in the 90s every day here but it has to end eventually I suppose.
I have that little pink flower growing in my flagstone walk. I think it is so pretty en masse, I don’t weed it out. It self-sows quite readily!
Thanks for the ID on tick trefoil (Desmodium glutinous) – I saw it for the first time on my walk recently and wondered what it was. It looks like it also is a ready self-sower.
Thank you Eliza. If you ever find out what that little flower is I hope you’ll let me know! I wouldn’t weed it out either.
I’m guessing that the tick trefoil doesn’t flower that often because I never see them, but I do see the plants. Some native plants can go 12 years or more from seed to bloom and this might be one of them.
Thanks for that tip – I don’t recall ever seeing it before, so that may be the case.
Your unknown plant is very pretty; I hope you find out what it is eventually. I am glad you added the Latin name to your section on Joe Pye weed as I was looking at your photo and thought how familiar its flowers looked. Hemp-agrimony (Eupatorium cannabinum) is in flower now along the ditch and pond edges.
I enjoyed admiring you selection of plants and flowers very much Allan.
You’re welcome, and thank you Clare. I’ve had people write in with an identification sometimes 2 or 3 years after the post date, so I’ll keep hoping.
I like the dusty rose flower heads on Joe Pye weed and grow it in my own garden. That’s interesting that Eupatorium cannabinum is the only one native to Europe. I looked it up and it seems to look a lot like our natives.
Yes, it does look similar. I love the flower colour too – I think one of the local names for our Eupatorium is Raspberries and Cream.
That’s a great name, and it fits!
🙂
That pointed leaved tick trefoil must be difficult to shoot. You did great job.
Thank you. The flowers are about 1/3 of an inch across but the deep shade they grew in made them hard to get a useable photo of.
That makes your shots even better.
Beautiful goldenrods and golden clover. Lovely summer flower at its best.
Thanks very much. Yes, summer bloom is just about at it’s peak and it’s like heaven on earth here right now.
Who knows, you may have discovered a new species of flower!
I love this time of the year and your posts because there are so many flowers that you find and share your knowledge about with us. I didn’t know that rabbit’s foot clover was invasive, I guess that explains why I’m seeing more often the last few years.
I know of one place where there are creeping bell flowers growing, and they seem to be losing out to the native shrubbery, which provides too much shade for the bell flowers, at least that’s my hunch.
I wouldn’t want to tangle with a bull thistle plant, not by choice anyway. They may not be very people friendly, but the finches sure love the seeds from it.
The super macro mode of your new camera is truly super, you’re amazing me with the excellent photos of tiny flowers that you’re getting.
Thanks Jerry! Wouldn’t that be something! A new flower after so many years of looking at them.
Yes, rabbit’s foot clover is an invasive and it’s also one of the toughest plants that I know of. I know a spot where it gets regularly run over by trucks and it doesn’t bother it at all.
You could be right about the creeping bell flowers and hooray for the native shrubs!
I know what you mean about the finches and thistle seeds and they’re going to eat them no matter what we do to the plants. Once the genie is out of the bottle there’s no getting it back in.
The new camera is a joy to use but it hiccups every now and then like they all do. I shot some moss photos with it today that really surprised me. You’d think I had a microscope!
Reblogged this on Dawn of Divine Rays and commented:
Thank you very much, Allen. Lovely photo shots as usual. I love and enjoy growing phlox and liatris/Blazing stars. The liatris add a lot of interests to our garden when the wind is blowing and when the finches are feeding on the dried sprays. Wishing you a blessed and happy weekend. Namaste
Thank you, and the same to you! I’ve read that you can make a fragrant tea from the dried leaves of liatris. The bees certainly do love it!
Beautiful post, Allen…..
Thank you Scott.
Most welcome, Allen.
Your opening photograph is stunning – nothing like New Hampshire in the Summer months.
Thank you Mary. It certainly is colorful here at this time of year!
Lovely colours, lovely shapes your photographs are so artistic!
Thank you Susan. I was always taught that plants and flowers have a best side and that they should be planted with their best sides most prominent, so I suppose that I’m still looking for that best side and presenting it here.
Last year I had the first thistle appear on my property. I found I couldn’t cut it because every time I went out to deal with it, there were bees enjoying it. And it was stunning to look at. By the time it was about to go to seed, I suddenly saw the error of my ways and tackled it. Good gracious. It was taller than me, thicker at the base than my wrist. I had to “limb” it like a little tree, and take it apart bit by bit…and STILL got stabbed multiple times. And as I’m sure you can imagine, this year I have been spotting that plant’s descendants all over the paddock, and have been ruthlessly uprooting them. The bees are enjoying hundreds of blossoms of bee balm, planted last year in compensation.
Thank you Quinn. I had a picture in my mind of that massive thistle I saw as I read about your experience. I hope you had some tough leather gloves on! Luckily for you bull thistles are one of the easiest to eradicate by digging, just as you’re doing. If it was a Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense) you’d have a real war on your hands, because they have incredible root systems.
Planting bee balm was a great solution for the bees! I wouldn’t be at all surprised if you saw quite a few butterflies and hummingbirds as well.
In fact, just yesterday I posted pictures of a hummingbird AND a hummingbird moth in the bee balm – taken only moments apart, when I was trying to get a picture of a butterfly! That bee balm is some popular stuff – and pretty, too 🙂
I’d love to see your photos Quinn, but WordPress keeps telling me that your blog has been deleted.
A hummingbird AND a hummingbird moth is quite a catch!
Well, that’s mysterious because my blog is on Blogger! comptonia.blogspot.com
Here’s the address for the post with those images (scroll down):
https://comptonia.blogspot.com/2016/07/a-little-something-for-everyone.html
I hope you can get there 🙂
Thank you, yes I got there and saw your great shots! Unfortunately Blogger rarely lets me leave a comment. I jump through all these hoops and then it finally rejects the comment.
Wow. For a change I recognized about half of the flowers that you featured, Allen. So many of them are familiar flowers during this time of the year in my location.
Thanks Mike, I’m glad to hear it. I’m not real surprised though because I’ve learned enough about insects, especially dragonflies, from your blog to be able to recognize a few in the field. It’s learning by osmosis I think, when we learn whether we want to or not.
Last year, I planted 5 button bushes near my back pond. They were root stock I purchased through the dept of agriculture. They have grown, but no flowers yet. I can’t wait until they flower. I tried digging up some Joe Pye weed and planting it near the pond too, but I wasn’t very successful. None of it grew back this year. It always amazes me to see a pond in the spring and all the water is visable, but this time of year you can’t see the water through the pickerel weeds. Great post. I hope someone can help identify the last flower.
Thanks Laura. I found a new button bush near the river that’s only knee high and it’s flowering, but it also gets full sun all day so that might have something to do with it.
I wonder if you tried Joe Pye seeds if you’d have better luck. You can also buy established plants at nurseries.
I hope someone knows that plant too, but it’s so tiny it’s easy to miss!
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