Late July Flowers
August 3, 2019 by New Hampshire Garden Solutions

The little flowers called dewdrops (Rubus dalibarda) are rare here, at least in my experience. I think I’ve seen them only 3 times in 60+ years. I first thought that they needed undisturbed soil to thrive, but I found this one growing in a powerline cut. It is listed as endangered in several states and is threatened in Michigan and Ohio. It is said to be more common in Canada.

Dewdrop is in the rose family. It is called false violet and is also known as robin runaway and star violet. The name false violet comes from its heart-shaped leaves. Like violets, it has two kinds of flowers, but one of its blooms grows unseen under the leaves. The Native American Iroquois tribe are said to have used the powered plants medicinally, as a blood purifier.

Soapwort’s (Saponaria officinalis) leaves contain a natural soap called sapronin. When the leaves are crushed and scrubbed together in water a soapy lather forms and in the past it was used for washing clothes and making soap. It hails from Europe and though it is used medicinally it is considered toxic and some people have violent toxic reactions to it. I’ve heard that soapwort is also called bouncing bet because of the way the unusual recurved petals bounce the flowers in a breeze, but I’ve also heard that bouncing bet was a name once used for a laundry woman. It grows to about knee high on a good day but I’ve also seen it sprawl along the ground. It was originally introduced as a garden plant and promptly escaped.

Soapwort flowers can be pink or lavender in full sun and whiter in shade. They usually have 10 stamens and always seem to have quite narrow petals when compared to the more rounded petals of a plant like phlox. The more curved the petals it is said, the older the flower.

Ping pong ball size buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis) flower heads look like frilly pincushions with their long yellow tipped, white styles sticking out of the tubular flowers 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 in Swanzey, even though the town has done their best to cut most of them and other native plants down. 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.

It’s a good year for pickerel weed (Pontederia cordata.) I saw this beautiful scene along the Ashuelot River in Keene recently. Someone should paint it; the light was amazing.

Brittle stem hemp nettle (Galeopsis tetrahit) is originally from Europe and Asia and is considered highly invasive in some areas, but is hard to find here. It is an annual, growing new from seed each year. Its small purple flowers grow in whorls near the top of the plant, which is often branched. I liked the way the heavy morning dew decorated its leaves on this morning.

Brittle stem hemp nettle flowers have a large 3 part lower lip where insects land. From there insects can follow dark purple stripes into the blossom. Once inside they’ll pick up some pollen from the 4 stamens that arc along the inside of the upper lip and hopefully pass it on to another flower. The 3/4 inch long flowers have long white hairs on their upper lip and the square stems are also covered in hairs. When you run your fingers over any part of the plant you can feel its stiff, bristly hairs but they don’t embed themselves in you, thankfully.

Though as a boy all I ever saw were white flowered hedge bindweeds (Calystegia sepium) it has gotten to the point where I see these bicolor ones as often as the plain white ones. Bindweeds are perennial and morning glories are annuals and one good way to tell them apart is by their leaves; morning glory (Ipomoea) has heart shaped leaves and bindweed has narrower arrowhead shaped, triangular leaves.

This is closer to the bindweeds I remember as a boy; simple white trumpets. I don’t know when the bi-color pink and white flowers began to appear but I have looked them up and they and the white flowered plants are indeed the same species. But they’re not morning glories.

Joe Pye weed (Eupatorium) starts blooming in late July, so it’s right on schedule. 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’s name. Monarch butterflies love these flowers but they always remind me that fall is almost here, so I’m not always crazy about seeing them, especially in July.

This plant that I find in a local garden bed has taken me on a wild ride over the last few years because it has been so hard to identify. Thankfully a lot of helpful readers identified it as gooseneck loosestrife (Lysimachia clethroides) last year. It turns out that it is very invasive but apparently it didn’t do well last winter because this year I’ve only seen about ten flowers, compared to probably a hundred last year. The plant is originally from China and Japan where it grows in moist mountain meadows, near streams and along roadways. Its extensive root system is what makes it so invasive.

There are a few orchids blooming now and one is the broad leaved helleborine orchid (Epipactis helleborine.) These orchids are originally from Europe and Asia and were first spotted in this country in Syracuse, New York in 1879. The plant has now spread to all but 19 of the lower 48 states and is considered an invasive weed. It doesn’t act very invasive here; I usually see only a few plants each year and every time I see them they’re growing in deep shade. In fact they grow in shade so dark I couldn’t get a good shot of the entire plant this year, so I’m using this one from 2017. I’ve never been able to find out how the plant comes by its common name. It seems a bit odd because it doesn’t seem to resemble either hellebore or false hellebore, though the pleated leaves are close to those of false hellebore.

After many tries I was able to get a shot of a helleborine orchid flower this year. Scientists have discovered that the flowers of the broad leaved helleborine orchids have a secret; their nectar contains the strongest narcotic compounds found in nature; comparable to oxycodone, and when insects (wasps) sip it they tend to stagger around for a while. This increases their chances of picking up the orchid’s pollinia, which are sticky little sacks of pollen that orchids produce instead of the dust-like pollen produced by many other flowers. Once the insect flies off it will most likely be oblivious to the pollen packets that it has stuck all over itself. By transporting its pollinia to another helleborine flower the insect will have repaid the orchid for its intoxicating nectar.

Big leaf asters (Eurybia macrophylla) are one of the first asters to bloom in late summer. They need big, light gathering leaves because they grow in the forest under trees. The leaves on this plant are very different from other asters, so it’s a hard plant to misidentify. As is common on many asters the wonky flowers look like they were glued together by a chubby fisted toddler.

The leaves on big leaf aster are heart shaped and about as big as your hand. They are especially impressive when they grow in large colonies. I’ve seen whole hillsides with nothing but these big leaves growing on them, so they must shade out other plants or have something toxic in their makeup that doesn’t allow other plants to grow.

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) has just started blooming. This plant 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. The first flowers often open in the center of the plant as this one did, and that can make it tricky to get a close photo of. Those spines are very sharp. Bees love them and there are usually plenty flying around when I try to take its photo.

Pokeweed (Phytolacca americana) flowers are about 1/4 inch wide and have 5 petal-like, rounded sepals. In the center of the flower are green carpels that come together and will form the purple black berry. It happens quickly and you can find both flowers and fruit in all stages of growth on a single flower head (Raceme.) Pokeweed was called pocon by Native Americans. The Delaware tribe used the plant as a heart stimulant and other tribes made a salve from it and used it as a cure for rheumatism. If it isn’t used correctly pokeweed can be toxic.

I like pokeweed’s very purple stems.

I’m seeing pretty little Johnny jump ups (Viola tricolor) here and there despite the heat and dryness. I think of them as a cool weather flower but apparently they don’t mind a little heat. This wild form of the modern pansy has been known and loved for a very long time. It is said to have 60 names in English and 200 more in other languages. In medieval times it was called heart’s ease and was used in love potions. Stranger names include “three faces in a hood.” Whatever it’s called I like seeing it. This one reminded me of a cartoon cat’s face.
One of the hardest lessons we have to learn in this life, and one that many persons never learn, is to see the divine, the celestial, the pure, in the common, the near at hand – to see that heaven lies about us here in this world. ~John Burroughs
Thanks for stopping in. Happy August?
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Posted in Nature, Orchids, Wildflowers | Tagged Ashuelot River, Big Leaf Aster, Brittle Stem Hemp Nettle, Broad Leaved Helleborine Orchid, Bull Thistle, Button Bush, Canon EOS Rebel T6, Dew Drop, Gooseneck Loosestrife, Hedge Bindweed, Johnny Jump Up, Keene, Liatrus, Native Plants, Nature, New Hampshire, NH, Olympus Stylus TG-870, Pickerel Weed, Pokeweed, Soapwort, Summer Wildflowers, Swanzey New Hampshire | 28 Comments
It’s amazing to see so many flowers there at this time of yer. We have been having a heat wave for nearly all of the past month and there are very few flowers of any kind in bloom here now.
That helleborine orchid is fascinating!
Thanks Montucky! I’m sorry to hear about your heatwave. I hope it doesn’t lead to a drought. We’ve been hot but have had showers enough to keep things growing.
The strangest thing about that orchid is how it can grow and bloom in such deep shade.
We have some of these growing as weeds in the alley, especially the Soapwort and pokeweeds. I’ve thought of pulling the pokeweeds myself, though they are along a neighbors’ fence. But then I thought, why deprive the birds?
Pokeweed can get quite big but it doesn’t really cause any harm. It grows on the edges of woods and in waste areas here.
I am delighted to hear what your first photo is as I have found lots of it in two places on our riparian woodlands! The Dewdrop! I have asked others online to help identify, but no one had figured it out. I also have a crop of the Brittle stem hemp nettle, and was able to identify but had not heard that it is rare here in New Hampshire. Such a pleasure to receive your blog, thx!
Thank you Deb. You’re lucky to know where so many dew drops grow.
I don’t see many of them or the brittle stem hemp nettle.
I often see joe pye weed and boneset growing together, and before they flower I always have to take a moment to remember which plant is which. The flowers really complement each other, I think.
Thank you Quinn. Funny you should say that. I just took a photo of boneset and Joe Pye weed together yesterday. I agree that they do compliment each other!
The easieste way to tell the plants apart when they aren’t blooming is by the way the boneset leaves seemed joined together where they meet the stem, as if the stem has perforated them. They look very different than those of Joe Pye weed.
The great swathe of pickerel weed is so lovely and such a wonderful shade of blue! I was also interested in the dewdrop with its pure white flower and long stamens.
Thank you Clare. I had to try several times over a few days to get that light you see in the pickerel weed shot, so I’m glad you liked it.
The dedrop is pretty special. I look for it every year but rarely see it.
I always loving your learning moments that accompany amazing photos. 🙂
Thanks very much Judy, I’m glad to hear that!
That was a brilliant picture of the nettle with the dew on its leaves. How odd that the dew should form such a regular pattern.
Thank you, I thought so too. I can’t imagine how it would happen.
Some plants get rid of excess fluid through special cells at the edges of their leaves. I think it’s called guttation. Lady’s mantle does this.
Thank you, that might be it. I’ll have to look it up!
I remember many of these late summer flowers from my days back east. These are beautiful photos, Allen, especially the pickerel weed scene.
We have the bindweed here too, including the bicolor, although mostly I see white ones. I quite trying to grow actual morning glories, as I found the local deer love to eat them. My favorite one to grow was the “heavenly blue” variety.
Thank you Lavinia. I thought that was indeed a beautiful scene.
I didn’t know deer ate the morning glories but I’m not surprised. Right now they’re making me unhappy by eating all the wild lettuce that I’m trying to get photos of.
I like heavenly blue too, and there’s a deep purple one that’s also beautiful.
“Happy August?” I agree with your implication! A flowery, colorful month but many of us start to think of what comes after. Also my birth month and I’m certainly not looking forward to what comes after! Thanks for that non-botanical tidbit! An interesting addition to your post!
Thank you Sally, for the chuckle. Some people do love August so I had to add that question mark. Like you, I’m not real thrilled about having to think about what comes later!
I’m with Susan. Heart’s ease is a beautiful name. With some of the flowers you featured, I feel as though fall is tapping us on the shoulder. One season begins to give way to another.
Thank you Laurie, it is indeed tapping us on the shoulder but so far I’ve been successful at ignoring it. Soon I won’t be able to!
Well, you taught me something again today. I had referred to helleborine as “a hell of a boring orchid”. But now knowing it has one of the strongest narcotics in nature makes it far less so. Bravo!
Thank you Steve. I had to laugh when I read your comment because I remember how surprised I was to read about the narcotic properties of this orchid. It will never win any blue ribbons at flower shows but it sure is interesting.
I always enjoy your beautiful photographs of flowers there and the wonderful lore you’ve dug up.
I used to eat pokeweed leaves in Texas. We either ate the young ones fresh (“poke salad”) or boiled and ate them like mustard greens.
Bindweed was a big problem in the Texas Panhandle where I used to harvest grain sorghum (the farmers called it “maize”). It would completely choke out a crop. Terribly exasperating to them!
On Sat, Aug 3, 2019, 4:14 AM New Hampshire Garden Solutions New Hampshire Garden Solutions posted: ” The little flowers called > dewdrops (Rubus dalibarda) are rare here, at least in my experience. I > think I’ve seen them only 3 times in 60+ years. I first thought that they > needed undisturbed soil to thrive, but I found this one growing in a > powerline cut” >
Thank uou Ron. I’ve had a lot of practice!
I’ve never talked to anyone who actually ate pokeweed. I’ve read a lot of bad things about it but I used to eat dandelion greens when I was a boy, so I’ve always wondered if all the dangers were being a bit overblown. I remember hearing the song “Poke Salad Annie” by Tony Joe White on the radio when I was a boy so I’ve known for a long time that people ate it.
The bindweed choking out cornfields is a surprise! I didn’t know it was that strong, but I have seen it quite tangled around other plants.
What a lot of beautiful images you posted. I particularly enjoyed the heart’s ease, a beautiful name for a beautiful flower
Thank you Susan, I like that name for a flower too!