Blue vervain (Verbena hastata) was surprised by all the rain and got its feet wet because it grew too close to the river. Many other plants made the same mistake, but only because we went so long without any real rain. They all thought they’d be high and dry but now we’ve had 2 weeks of rain and they’re swamped. All of their seeds will fall and float downriver to brighten someone else’s world, and that’s a good thing. We have so many flowers blooming here right now I haven’t got time to get photos of them all.
Burdock is the exception; I usually see burdock flowers everywhere but this year I’ve searched and searched and have only seen two plants blooming. But burdock is a biennial that grows leaves the first year and blooms and dies the second year, and last year there was an explosion of burdock blooms, so that means that I’ll probably have to wait until next year to see that many again. I’ve seen many non-flowering small plants, so the promise has been made. Above all else nature study teaches patience, and you either learn the lesson well or you find something else to interest you.
Common burdock (Arctium minus) must have come to this country very early, probably tangled in a horse or cow’s tail, because it was noted as being widespread in 1663. In fact it was so common then that some who came later wrote that it was native. Its spread across the country from New England to the Pacific took about 270 years, because the Native Americans of western Washington State said it had been recently introduced there in the 1930s. Burdock’s tubular purple flowers are densely packed into round prickly flower heads, but though many are familiar with the flower heads few seem to ever notice the flowers. As the above photo shows, when fully open long white styles grow from the dark purple flowers.
Slender fragrant goldenrod (Solidago tenuifolia) is a goldenrod that’s easy to identify because of its long slender, willow like leaves and its pleasant, vanilla like fragrance that is impossible to describe. The only other similar goldenrod is the lance leaved goldenrod (Solidago graminifolia) but its leaves are wider and have 3 to 5 veins as opposed to the single vein in a slender fragrant goldenrod leaf. It is also called flat topped goldenrod. Insects of all kinds swarm over slender fragrant goldenrod and you have to be careful that you aren’t going to inhale one when you smell it.
Swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) usually blooms in early July but I’ve been watching this plant and it just bloomed. These are extremely beautiful flowers that seem to glow from within when the light is right, and I have to get a shot of them when I see them. They are of the kind that you can lose yourself in and suddenly discover that you’ve been admiring their beauty for far longer than you had intended. Time might slip away but as the bees taste the nectar, so can you taste the place of deep peace from which flowers come.
I probably see one orange hawkweed (Pilosella aurantiaca) plant for every thousand yellow hawkweed plants so I thought I’d show some again this season. Orange hawkweed is native to the alpine regions of Europe, so apparently it likes high places. Maybe that’s why I never see it. I’d like to see more of it; orange is a hard color to find among our wildflowers. This is only the second time I’ve found it this summer.
Tall blue lettuce (Lactuca biennis) can get very tall indeed and often towers over my head. A cluster of small, pencil eraser sized, blue flowers sits at the tip of the long stem. This plant is very similar to the wild lettuce (Lactuca canadensis) which bears yellow flowers. Both plants were used medicinally by Native Americans but they should only be used by those who know them well, because it is said that they can cause death by cardiac paralysis.
The flowers of tall blue lettuce can be white, deep blue, or ice blue. The deep blue ones are always the hardest to find but also the most beautiful and worth the effort. I haven’t seen a single one this year though.
White rattlesnake root (Prenanthes alba) is sometimes called white lettuce but it isn’t a lettuce, though they are in the same aster family that the lettuces are in. It’s probably thought to be another lettuce because it blooms at the same time and in the same locations as the wild lettuces do, but instead of the daisy like petals of lettuce flowers these look more bell shaped and lily like. The Native American Choctaw tribe used the tops of the plant in tea that they used to relieve pain. It is said that the common name comes from the way that some Native American tribes used the plant to treat snakebite.
Nobody seems to know how shaggy soldier (Galinsoga quadriradiata) got from Mexico to New Hampshire but everyone calls it a weed; even in its native Mexico. The plant is also called common quick weed or Peruvian daisy and is common in gardens, where it can reduce crop yields by as much as half if left to its own devices.
Tiny shaggy soldier flowers are about 3/8 of an inch across and have 5 white ray florets widely spaced around even tinier yellow center disc florets. It’s a very challenging flower to photograph.
When I see a rose of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus) I always think of my time spent as a gardener in Florida. I worked in the gardens of a large hotel and the job included trimming what seemed like miles of tropical hibiscus hedges (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis) and rose of Sharon is a kind of hardy hibiscus in the same family as the tropical hibiscus. The hardy version shown here has large trumpet shape blossoms in early fall.
Purple cone flowers (Echinacea purpurea) are having a great year and bees, butterflies and other insects are benefiting from it.
There are many little yellow flowers that look much alike so I admire their beauty but leave their identification to someone else, just as I do with little brown mushrooms. It can sometimes take weeks to identify a flower you’ve never seen before properly and life is just too short for all the little yellow ones, in my opinion. But this one is different; it’s called Canada St. John’s wort (Hypericum canadense) and its flowers are some of the smallest I’ve tried to photograph. You could pick three or four of them and hide the bouquet behind a penny, so small are the blooms. I think they might even be smaller than those of dwarf St. John’s wort. The bright crimson seed pods are a bonus, and surprising for a plant with yellow flowers. I once thought they were flower buds but I’ve watched closely and I know that isn’t accurate.
I find spearmint (Mentha spicata) growing in the sunshine at the edge of the woods. Like wild mint (Mentha arvensis) spearmint has been used since before recorded time both medicinally and as a flavoring. Pliny wrote of it and the ancient Romans cultivated it to scent their bath water. Spearmint is originally from Europe but the Pilgrims brought it on their first trip to America, so valuable was the plant to them.
Instead of growing in the leaf axils as they do on wild mint, tiny spearmint flowers appear near the top of the stem. They are said to be pink or white but these were white, blue, pink and lavender. Their scent is very refreshing on a hot summer day and always reminds me of spearmint gum. Imagine; you are seeing flowers that people admired 2000 years ago.
Virgin’s bower (Clematis virginiana) is a late summer blooming native clematis vine that drapes itself over shrubs so it can get all of the sunshine that it wants. I’ve also seen it climbing into trees, but in this photo it has set its sights considerably lower and grew over nearby plants. As long as it finds the sunshine it needs, it doesn’t matter what it grows on. An extract made from the plant is hallucinogenic (and dangerous) and was used by Native Americans to induce dreams. Mixed with other plants like milkweed, it was also used medicinally. It is a very toxic plant that can cause painful sores in the mouth if eaten.
Another name for virgin’s bower is traveler’s joy which it is, but its small white flowers are another reminder that fall is near.
Puffy little bird’s foot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus) is everywhere. It’s in the pea family and grows about a foot tall, and is a common sight along roadsides and waste areas. It gets its common name from its clusters of brown, 1 inch long seed pods, which someone thought looked like a bird’s foot. The plant has 3 leaflets much like clover and was introduced from Europe as livestock feed, but has escaped and is now considered invasive in many areas. It can form large mats that choke out natives but I haven’t seen much of that happening here.
Last year with a lot of help from readers this beautiful little thing was identified as low baby’s breath (Gypsophila muralis.) The flowers are tiny; about the same size as those on red sandspurry, and blossom on the ends of wiry stems. Its leaves are also small and sword shaped and very hard to see in this photo. This entire plant shown would fit in a tea cup with room to spare. It is an annual plant native to Europe and available commercially, sold as cushion baby’s breath. Thanks again to all who helped with this one. I had never seen it.
Beauty is something that changes your life, not something you understand. ~Marty Rubin
Thanks for coming by.
I hate to sound like a broken record, but I’m constantly amazed by your ability to photograph the tiniest of flowers so well! And, they are often very beautiful once they are brought to our attention through your blog.
I also find it hard to believe that there are categories of flowers that you don’t attempt to identify, you seem to be so good at it, with the patience required to do so.
I’ve said this before, but not lately, I’d love to join you on one of your flower or fungi excursions in an attempt to get better at finding the things that you do. While your photos are great, it isn’t the same as seeing the things that you do in person.
Thanks Jerry! I’ve learned a lot about what not to do when getting shots of small things and surprisingly I seem to remember them from year to year. Still, some are always a challenge.
Little yellow flowers are like little brown mushrooms. There are hundreds that look enough alike to make them take forever to identify and I just can’t see spending that much time on a single flower. There are still some that I never have been able to ID.
It would be fun to take a walk together some day. I’m sure I’d learn a lot about birds!
Swamp Milkweed is a very special plant. The flowers are fascinating, like all Milkweed flowers. I love the vanilla scent.
Thank you, I agree!
Your description of the swamp milkweed was so very beautiful. I’ve always found them quite alluring.
Thank you Jennifer. I’d have a yard full of them if I could.
It’s a pleasure to see your summer flowers! It has been so hot and dry here that hardly anything is in bloom.
I hope you get some rain soon. We’re getting plenty now.
I hope you don’t have any fires nearby too!
I am glad that you found an orange hawkweed. Some call it fox and cubs here.
I’ve heard that but I’ve never heard anyone here call them that. I usually go flower hunting alone though, so that might have something to do with it.
I can only echo the words of the previous commentator, I totally agree with him. I particularly appreciate the use of the word enchanting.
Thank you Susan. That’s a word we don’t hear often enough!
The flowers on the native clematis remind me of autumn sweet or summer sweet clematis. I suppose it’s much the same?
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Yes, they look much alike but the Autumn clematis is from Japan and can be invasive. It has more flowers and a much more pleasing fragrance too.
August, beautiful August. If only you weren’t so hot!
Yes. I think we’ve had enough of this tropical type weather but it sounds like we might want to get used to it. This is precisely why I didn’t stay in Florida!
Yes. Sigh. The Maine that I where I grew up seems to changing. Now, some change is good, but this sort of change—the warming of the planet—is not.
No, and I’m not liking it.
Same here!
a bouquet hidden behind a penny…. such a wonderful image. thank you!
You’re welcome Robin. I thought it was better than saying “very small” over and over again.
Enchanting photography as always, along with interesting commentary.
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Thank you Ben. I try to keep it as interesting as I can.
I have yet to see you fail, sir.
Thank you Ben.
🙂