New Flowers Everywhere!

Late May, and the wildflowers are blooming just everywhere, coming on so fast I can hardly keep up with them.  Here's just a sampling of some of the more interesting ones I found and photographed this week.


In Congress Park:

Common Fleabane may be "just" a common weed, but it sure is pretty in pink, especially when backed by bright blue Ground Ivy.

 Several Horse Chestnut trees in the park are laden with large floral clusters.  I've heard that Ohio Buckeye grows there too, but I wouldn't know how to distinguish that tree from this one.

In the Skidmore Woods:

Orange-fruited Horse Gentian stalks are ringed with little red flowers that will later yield bright orange fruits the size of cherry tomatoes.

Some of the oak trees are ringed with Squaw Root, which is parasitic on the tree's roots.

Perfoliate Bellwort, named for the way the stem appears to pierce the leaves, is the last of our three native bellworts to bloom, after Sessile-leaved and Large-flowered.

Bog Meadow Nature Trail:

Water Avens may look like it's still in bud, but this is as open as its flowers will get. Look for this interesting flower in shady damp spots.

I found only two Nodding Trillium in bloom in an area where they used to abound.  I have heard that this trillium is disappearing from parts of its established range, but I hope that this is just an anomalous year for the patch at Bog Meadow.

Roadsides everywhere:

 Both Red-osier Dogwood and Sweet Viburnum (Nannyberry) are blooming with snowy clusters along the roads  this week, but the Nannyberry clusters can be told from a distance by their more rounded tops.  Up close, you can see that each floret has five petals, while dogwoods' florets have only four.

Golden Ragwort is usually found where the ground is damp and can often be seen in roadside ditches.

The same can be said for Ragged Robin.  Sometimes whole fields will be filled with their vivid pink.