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Category: Wildflowers

Wildflower Wednesday: American Germander

Wildflower Wednesday: American Germander

While walking along a salt marsh I visit frequently, I was surprised to see clusters of blooming flowers I’d never noticed before. It’s amazing how many things I still overlook, despite careful observation and multiple return visits throughout different seasons. But it also means there are still happy surprises and more plants to get to know. This new-to-me-plant ended up being American germander (Teucrium canadense), a member of the mint family (Lamiaceae) with a terminal, dense spike-like cluster of flowers. …

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Connecticut Appalachian Trail Section Hike

Connecticut Appalachian Trail Section Hike

Earlier this week I completed my second state (Connecticut), in an effort to ultimately complete the entire Appalachian Trail (AT) in sections. (Click here to read about my ~100-mile Massachusetts section hike from 2017). While Connecticut was a little less rugged than Massachusetts (with the exception of Bear Mountain at an elevation of 2,326 feet, the rest of the Connecticut AT is under 1,500 feet), it had beautiful open forests, very few “road walks”, and numerous wide sweeping views of…

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Fragrant Water Lily (Nymphaea odorata)

Fragrant Water Lily (Nymphaea odorata)

As one of the most common water lilies, fragrant water lilies (Nymphaea odorata) are a common sight on New England freshwater ponds, shallow lakes, and slow moving streams. Native to the northeastern United States and parts of Canada, the fragrant water lily has large (2-6 inches across), fragrant, white (sometimes pink) flowers. Although the large flowers can be quite conspicuous, they only open in the morning, and typically close around noon. So if you’re visiting a pond in the afternoon…

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Wildflower Wednesday: Ragged Robin

Wildflower Wednesday: Ragged Robin

Ragged robin (Lychnis flos-cuculi) is a non-native member of the Pink family (sometimes referred to as the Carnation family), originally from Europe. It has since become naturalized in parts of the northern United States, including Cape Cod. Although commonly found in bogs and marshes in Europe, in the U.S. it is more often found in moist but non-wetland areas and once established it can perform well in drier soils. The plant produces a rosette of low-growing foliage and numerous stalks…

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Wildflower Wednesday: Wood Anemone

Wildflower Wednesday: Wood Anemone

Wood anemones (Anemone quinquefolia) are low-growing delicate perennial herbaceous plants with three leaves arranged in a whorl below a solitary five-petaled white or pinkish flower. The leaves are actually divided into three parts, but with the deeply lobed lateral leaflets, it often appears as though there are five distinct leaflets. In fact, the appearance of five separate leaflets is sometimes so pronounced that when Carl Linnaeus named Anemone quinquefolia in 1753, he described the plant as having leaves with five…

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Orange-grass (Hypericum gentianoides)

Orange-grass (Hypericum gentianoides)

Yesterday’s snow managed to stick long enough for a lovely winter walk (unlike the last few snow storms that transitioned to rain before they were over and washed away all evidence of the snowfall by morning). One of the interesting things about a walk in the snow is that the stark white background makes the stalks, stems and seed heads of last year’s wildflowers even more evident. Among the much taller common evening primrose and sweet fern, even remnants of…

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Pink Lady Slipper (Cypripedium acaule)

Pink Lady Slipper (Cypripedium acaule)

Pink lady slipper flowers, which bloom in early- to mid-June, are a challenge to pollinate due to their unique shape. Only bumblebees and a few other larger species of bee are up for the task of pushing through the narrow opening into the center of the blossom. Unfortunately, pink lady slippers produce pollen, but no nectar. So after repeatedly coming up empty-handed after visiting a few flowers, the bees will learn there is no reward for their efforts and stop…

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Common evening primrose (Oenothera biennis)

Common evening primrose (Oenothera biennis)

The long, four-parted woody fruit capsules of common evening primrose (Oenothera biennis) are readily recognizable even in winter. These capsules are arranged in spikes at the tip of the stem. Common evening primrose often grows as a single tall stem, 3 to 6 feet tall, but can develop multiple branches. In the case of a plant having more than one branch, each stem tip will produce a spike of flowers, and ultimately a spike of these woody capsules. The seeds…

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Winter weeds: Swamp Rose Mallow

Winter weeds: Swamp Rose Mallow

Excited to put my new copy of Weeds and Wildflowers in Winter by Lauren Brown to good use, I spent the day hunting for unique seed heads and other dried flower parts. The seed capsules seen here were from swamp rose mallow (Hibiscus palustris) and were by far some of the most striking. Each dried swamp rose mallow seed head consists of woody five-parted capsules that appear to resemble a flower themselves. The insides of these capsules are lined with…

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Orache (Atriplex prostrata?)

Orache (Atriplex prostrata?)

Orache is a many-branched annual plant, common on coastal beaches, and along the upper edges of salt and brackish marshes. It can also be found in saline inland soils. Its weak stems produce a somewhat floppy, sprawling form. In my mind, however, this particular species of orache (Atriplex prostrata) is fairly confusing. It has numerous common names, including spearscale, hastate-leaved orache, triangle orache, spear-leaved orache, and many others, and it belongs to a fairly large genus, Atriplex, which contains between…

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