Week 8

Welcome to another week of native plants! This week we'll focus on more plants of interest for fall. There will be three or four more entries for this blog, then it will take the rest of fall and winter off, to re-emerge in Spring as plants poke their heads above the leaves.

1) Euthamia caroliniana SLENDER GOLDENTOP Asteraceae - Aster Family

Native perennial to two feet. Leaves very narrow, with a single vein and conspicuous resinous dots.

Found in old fields and roadsides. Flat topped florets of ten to fifteen yellow ray blooms in September to October. Often seen with Agalinis purpurea from week five of this blog

2) Helenium autumnale COMMON SNEEZEWEED Asteraceae - Aster family

Native perennial to three feet. Found most often in wet meadows, ditches and roadsides. Stem winged. stems terminate in clusters of yellow, daisy-like flowers with wedge-shaped rays florets with distinctive, tri-lobed floret tips. Domed disk flowerhead yellow. - Once dried and used as snuff- thus the common name of "Sneezeweed" Blooms late summer to frost.

3) Chrysopsis mariana MARYLAND GOLDENASTER Asteraceae - Aster Family

Native perennial of dry woods and roadsides. Stems to two feet. Wooly pubescence on young plants. Upper stem leaves lanceolate, lower stem leaves oblanceolate. Yellow flower heads to one inch wide. Sticky bracts founds below petals. Blooms late summer to early fall.

4)

week 7

It's Thursday again, time for another installment of the "Name that Native", the native plant ID blog from the Blomquist Garden of Native Plants. This week we have a healthy dose of Solidago (goldenrods), along with a few other native perennials of particular interest right now. Most of these can be seen blooming along our rural roadsides and in sunny woodland patches and clearings as I write this. Enjoy!

p.s. in the last entry, I accidentally duplicated a few species from earlier posts- sorry

1) Solidago altissima CANADA GOLDENROD Asteraceae - Aster Family

Native perennial to seven feet. leaves alternate, elliptic, pubescent beneath and often scabrous above. Flowers in panicles of fifteen to twenty blooms. Yellow ray flowers. Often seen in large clumps in ditches, roadsides and old fields. Blooms often resemble large yellow cones, or "christmas tree-ish" in general shape. Blooms September and October.

2) Solidago rugosa WRINKLELEAF GOLDENROD Asteraceae - Aster Family

Native perennial to five feet. Stems and leaves pubescent. Leaves lanceolate near the base and ovate towards the apex. Leaves with pronounced "sandpaper" texture. Flowers in a pyramidal paniculate arrangement, each flower head with a minute bract subtending. Ray and disk flowers, ray flowers pistillate, disk flowers perfect- approximately 5-6 of each per head. Blooms September and October along streambanks and sunny bottomlands.

3) Solidago bicolor WHITE GOLDENROD Asteraceae - Aster Family

Native perennial to three feet. Leaves rarely basal, mostly cauline, pubescent, often with attenuate base, elliptic. Narrow panicles with ten to twenty blooms apiece. Disk flowers yellow, Ray flowers white. Our only eastern goldenrod with white ray flowers- easily distinguished by this characteristic during blooming.

4) Bidens aristosa BEARDED BEGGARSTICKS Asteraceae - Aster family

Native annual to six feet. Leaves pinnately divided with five to seven segments- these being laceolate and serrate. Ray and disk flowers yellow. Seeds with two prominent "hooks" that allow them to attach to fur or clothing, and in that way disperse themselves. Blooms in September and October in moist meadows and ditches.

5) Elephantopus carolinianus CAROLINA ELEPHANTSFOOT Asteraceae - Aster Family

Native perennial to three feet. Leaves alternate, sessile, oblanceolate with crenate margins. Pubescent below, glabrous/pubescent above. Violet flowers in a capitate cluster. Flowerheads subtended by three foliaceous bracts. Ray flowers absent, disk flowers with lilac corolla. Similar in appearance to Elephantopus tomentosus, the latter more densely pubescent, appearing in drier sites, and possessing a large basal leaf cluster with extremely reduced cauline leaves. E. Carolinianus blooms July to October in moist woods.

6) Saccharum giganteum SUGARCANE PLUMEGRASS Poaceae - Grass Family

Native grass to eight feet. Found most often near ponds, stream edges or in moist ditches. Reddish plumes appear in late summer, and it these foot long collections of fuzzy panicles that make this grass so easy to identify this time of year. Sugarcane Plumegrass is a larval food source for the Clouded Skipper.

7) Chamaecrista fasciculata PARTRIDGE PEA Fabaceae - Pea Family

Native annual to three feet. Leaves pinnately dissected, closely resembling those of Mimosa.

Partridge pea is a plant of waste places, roadsides, powerline cuts, etc. Attractive yellow pea flowers are a favorite of a number of insect pollinators. Chamaecrista fasciculata is often used a s part of a reclamation seed mix for re-seeding disturbed sites. Blooms August to October.

8) Chasmanthium laxum SLENDER WOODOATS Poaceae - Grass Family

Native perennial grass to three feet. Found often in moist woods near stream/riverbanks or on moist slopes. Woodland relative of Chasmanthium latifolium, a native grass of more open, sunny riverbottoms. Slender Woodoats is usually found in sparse colonies, but with adequate moisture can form running woodland meadows much like some Carex species.

Welcome to week six of the native plant I.D. blog from the Blomquist Garden of Native Plants at the Sarah P. Duke Gardens. This week will be a mixture of wild grasses and perennials of interest at the moment. Only seven plants this week, so a bit shorter than the usual ten.

1) Panicum anceps BEAKED PANICGRASS Poaceae - Grass Family

One of our most common piedmont old-field grasses. Can be seen during August and September in fruit at the same time as another species in today's list, Purpletop. The mature seeds resemble the curved beak of a bird, thus inspiring the common name. Beaked Panicgrass is found throughout the eastern U.S. from Canada to Florida and as far west as Kansas.

2) Tridens flavus PURPLETOP Poaceae - Grass Family

One of our most attractive native grasses, Purpletop typically reaches heights from three to five feet, with drooping floral spikes. As the seeds mature, the florets turn a deep brownish-purple, and are very noticeable among other, often shorter old field grasses such as Andropogon and Panicum species in August and September. Purpletop is a host plant for the larval stages of a number of butterfly and moth species, some of which include the Common Wood Nymph and the Little Glassywing.

3) Coreopsis verticillata THREADLEAF COREOPSIS Asteraceae - Aster Family

Native perennial to two feet. Stems glabrous but often pubescent at leaf nodes. Leaves cauline, in a opposite pair arrangement or sometimes in whorls of three. Ternately dissected, with individual leaf segments very thin. Blooms from a diffuse corymb. Yellow ray and disk flowers from early to late summer in dry woods and slopes. Often found among Eupatorium rotundifolium, Epigaea repens and Mitchella repens.

4) Lobelia cardinalis CARDINAL FLOWER Campanulaceae - Bellflower Family

Native perennial from three to six feet tall. Stems usually pubescent. Leaves alternate, lanceolate, serrate to crenate, petioles becoming shorter as you travel up the stem. Flowers in racemes near apex of stem, corolla a scarlet tube seen from mid to late-summer. Found in wet meadows, moist woods and streambanks. Excellent at providing nectar for Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds.

5) Impatiens capensis JEWELWEED Balsaminaceae - Touch-Me-Not Family

Native annual to five feet tall. Stems glabrous, producing copious fluid when crushed. Flowers in axillary panicles. Flower a heavily spotted orange-red tube with spurred sepal bent back underneath bloom. Tightly wound capsules expel seeds when touched, giving rise to another common name, SPOTTED TOUCH-ME-NOT. Blooms all summer until frost. We have two native species of Impatiens the other being Impatiens pallida. Globally there are eight hundred and fifty species in the genus Impatiens. Jewelweed, like Cardinal Flower, is an excellent nectar producer for our native hummingbirds.

6) Apios americana GROUNDNUT Fabaceae-Pea Family

Native vine. Twining stems arise from fleshy, round tubers, inspiring the common name. Alternate, pinnately compound leaves with five to seven leaflets. Axillary inflorescence with seven to ten creamy brown/purple flowers mid summer. Fruit a three to four inch legume in late summer. early fall. Found in moist woods/bottomlands.

7) Coreopsis tripteris TALL TICKSEED Asteraceae - Aster Family

Native perennial to six feet. Stems and leaves glabrous. Leaves pinnately compound with three to five lanceolate leaflets, often with revolute margins. Flowers in a diffuse corymb, each bloom with six to ten yellow ray flowers and numerous brownish disk flowers. Blooms July to September in meadows and open woods. Often found on circumneutral (pH +/- 7) soils.

Welcome to week five of the plant ID blog from the Blomquist Garden of Native Plants. This week will be a Eupatorium fest, with five of our native species represented. Other species represent many of our late-summer/ Fall blooming perennials. Don't forget to use this link if some of the botanical descriptions (ex. villous) are confusing. You can find definitions there for these terms. Enjoy!

1) Apios americana GROUNDNUT Fabaceae - Pea Family

Native vine of bottomland woods. Pinnate leaves with 5-7 lanceolate leaflets. Climbs by twining. Flowers in a terminal inflorescence of 7-15 distinctive, purple-brown blooms in early to mid summer. Fruit a legume 2-4 inches long seen in late summer.

2) Vernonia noveboracensis NEW YORK IRONWEED Asteraceae - Aster Family

Native perennial of wet meadows and streambanks. Lanceolate, serrate leaves dark green above, lighter green beneath, 4-8 inches long. Leaf base attenuate to petiolate. Perfect flowers, disk flowers a deep violet/purple. Stems often to six feet. Blooms July - September.

3) Eupatoriadelphus fistulosus TRUMPETWEED Asteraceae - Aster Family

Native perennial with tall, erect stems (often hollow) to six feet. Lanceolate, serrate leaves in whorls of 4-7. Flowers held in a terminal, paniculate cyme lacking ray flowers. Disk flowers 4-5 per flower head, pinkish/purple. Blooms July - September in wet meadows, ditches and along streambanks.

4) Eupatorium serotinum LATE FLOWERING THOROUGHWORT Asteraceae - Aster family

Native perennial to six feet. Stems pubescent on upper section, glabrous below. Leaves 4-7 inches long, opposite, serrate, lanceolate. Flowers in terminal corymbs, many flowers per head (often 15-20). Ray flowers absent. Disk flowers white to creamy/lavender, five lobed. Flowers July-September in old fields, roadsides, waste places.

5) Eupatorium perfoliatum COMMON BONESET Asteraceae - Aster Family

Common native perennial to five feet. Stems herbaceous, villous. Leaves six to eight inches long, serrate, lanceolate, pubescent, typically perfoliate. Flowers in terminal cymes with many blooms (15-20). Ray flowers absent, disk flowers white to pink, five-lobed. Flowers July - September in wet meadows, ditches.

6) Eupatorium hyssopifolium HYSSOPLEAF THOROUGHWORT Asteraceae - Aster Family

Native perennial with erect stems to three to four feet. Narrow, linear leaves two to four inches long in whorls of four. Leaves resin-dotted below. Upper leaves with fascicles of smaller leaves attached. Flowers in terminal cymes of five blooms each. Ray flowers absent. Disk flowers white to pinkish white, five lobed. Blooms July - September in old fields and waste places.

7) Eupatorium capillifolium DOGFENNEL Asteraceae - Aster Family

Tall native annual to six or seven feet. Often more than one stem per crown. Leaves thin, linear, aromatic, alternate, one to three inches long, pinnately or often bi-pinnately disssected to create a fine, filiform texture. Paniculate flowerheads in racemes, each head 3-5 flowered. Flowers white to cream colored in late summer.

8) Aureolaria virginica DOWNY FALSE FOXGLOVE Scrophulariaceae - Figwort family

Parasitic native perennial with (parasitic) association with members of the White Oak group of native trees. (Quercus stellata, Quercus alba, etc). Erect or drooping pubescent stems to three feet. Lanceolate leaves entire, sometimes lobed, two to five inches long. Solitary flowers arise from leaf axils. Yellow, tube/trumpet shaped flowers to two inches long in June and July. Found in mixed woodlands/wood edges.

9) Agalinis purpurea PURPLE FALSE FOXGLOVE Scrophulariaceae - Figwort family

Native annual. Many branched stems to three feet. leaves opposite, thin, linear, often curled. Violet flowers in terminal racemes. Corolla tube purple with creamy yellow throat. Found in waste places, old fields, ditches, etc. Blooms late summer into fall.

10) Pseudognaphalium obtusifolium RABBIT TOBACCO Asteraceae - Aster Family

Native annual or biennial to three feet. Stems single, erect, finely pubescent. Leaves linear, pubescent, margins often revolute, sessile, two to three inches long. Flowers in branching corymbs at top of stem. Ray flowers absent, disk flowers creamy white, tiny, often hidden within the floral involucre. Flowers late summer through fall in waste places, old fields, roadsides, etc.

August 2010, week 2

Happy Wednesday! Welcome to week four of "Name that Native", the plant identification blog from the Blomquist Garden of Native Plants. I took a few weeks off, almost a month actually, to take some vacation and then get through the vacation withdrawal syndrome, but we're back in action! Today we've got a few coastal plain natives as well some mosses thrown in the mix with our piedmont natives.

1) Solidago nemoralis GRAY GOLDENROD Asteraceae Aster Family- Common native perennial to four feet. Spreads by short rhizomes, with both basal and cauline leaves. Cauline leaves rapidly reduced in size as you travel up the stem. Leaves elliptic,crenate, scabrous on upper surface and pubescent beneath. Yellow flowers in heads of 10-15 occuring in panicles. Found along roadsides, woods edges and old fields. Blooms July-September.

2) Hieracium venosum RATTLESNAKE WEED Asteraceae Aster Family- Native perennial of dry woodlands and wood edges. Basal leaves 1-3 inches long, lanceolate to oblanceolate. Pubescent, with prominebt leaf hairs highly visible. Prominent purple-black veins a good diagnostic characteristic. Mostly leafless flowering stem .5 to 1.5 feet tall. Yellow, somewhat dandelion-like flowers in a many-headed corymb. Blooms April to July.

3) Polytrichum commune HAIRCAP MOSS Polytrichaceae Haircap/Smoothcap Moss Family-

Moss species found in moist woodlands, wood edges and along river and stream banks. Individual fruiting stems resembling miniature pine trees. Commonly seen among granitic outcrops/seeps with various other moss species, including Sphagnum spp.

4) Schizachyrium scoparium LITTLE BLUESTEM Poaceae Grass family- Native perennial grass to four feet tall. Forms upright clumps, slender green leaves tinged with blue near the base. Purplish flowers appearing in 3-4" racemes above the foliage in August. Silver seeds heads persist through winter, when this year's foliage dies and turns a golden orange. Common along roadsides, old fields and wood edges.

5) Thuidium recognitum THUIDIUM MOSS Thuidiaceae Tamarisk Moss Family- Moss species often found in moist seeps, streambanks or shaded slopes near moving water. Many of our moss species are very hard to identify. The genera Thuidium can often be keyed out by examining the individual stems. Thuidium stems strongly resemble a miniature fern frond.

6) Vaccinium arboreum SPARKLEBERRY Ericaceae Heath Family- Native shrub to fifteen feet. 1.5-2-5" leaves sub-orbicular, glossy. Unique, reddish exfoliating bark. Often found among other xeric (dry woods) species (Mitchella, Hieracium) on granitic slopes. Latest flowering and fruiting of our piedmont blueberries. Fruit a small black berry in late summer. Blooms April-June.

7) Ilex glabra INKBERRY Aquifoliaceae Holly Family- Native shrub to 6-8 feet. Found most often in sandhills/coastal plain regions- well adapted to sandy soils, though will tolerate other soil types. Evergreen leaves crenate/serrate near leaf tip, oblanceolate, coriaceous. Small glands present on leaf underside. Fruit a black drupe appearing in late summer. Rhizomatous, forming spreading colonies. Dioecious. Blooms May-June.

8) Persea borbonia REDBAY Lauraceae laurel Family- Native tree to 40-50 feet. Evergreen leaves elliptical. Perfect flowers in axillary racemes. Fruit a dark blue drupe in late summer. Important wildlife species in moist forests of the sandhills/coastal plain region. Susceptible to Laurel Wilt, a fungal disease. Blooms in May-June

9) Chamaecyparis thyoides ATLANTIC WHITE CEDAR Cupressaceae Cypress Family-

Medium evergreen coniferous native tree to 40-60 feet. Upright form, once used a source of telephone poles. Fibrous bark a gray/brown. Often mistaken for Juniperus virginiana. Thrives and forms large stands with periodic burns- suffers from fire suppression. Native of moist forests/acidic swamps.

10) Gaylussacia brachycera BOX HUCKLEBERRY Ericaceae Heath Family- Rare native evergreen groundcover shrub to 6". Native of xeric slopes- often found with other xeric companions such as Quercus prinus and Hammamelis virginiana. Only known NC population found in 2003 by blog author in northern Durham county. Rhizomatous, forming very large colonies. Endangered due to forest habitat destruction and the self-sterile nature of these large colonies. Flowers in short racemes of whitish-pink umbellate blooms. Blue/black berry forms in July-August. Flowers in May.

July 2010, week 2

Welcome to week three of "Name That Native", the native plant identification blog from the Blomquist Garden of Native Plants at the Sarah P. Duke Gardens. This week's focus will be on native vines. Enjoy!

1) Campsis radicans TRUMPET CREEPER Bignoniaceae- Trumpet Creeper Family

Common native vine, climbing or trailing habit. Pinnately compound leaves w/ 7-15 leaflets, leaflets ovate and coarsely serrate, 1-3 inches long. Flower corolla an orange-red funnel 2-3 inches long. Fruit a gray-brown capsule 6-7 inches long. Younger vines with smooth bark, older vines reaching 5 inches in diameter or more, covered in coarse, light brown bark. Blooms in June and July in woods, wood edges and disturbed sites.

2) Bignonia capreolata CROSS VINE Bignoniaceae- Trumpet Creeper Family

Common woody vine, climbing or trailing habit. Leaves pinnately compound. Climbs using tendrils. Glabrous leaflets often semi-evergreen, 3-6 inches long, lanceolate, often with slightly cordate base. Flowers in axillary clusters, corolla reddish-orange tube, often yellow within. Fruit a flattened capsule to 6 inches or more. Blooms april-May in mixed woodlands.

3) Hibiscus moscheutos ROSE MALLOW Malvaceae- Mallow Family

Tall native perennial to 6 feet. Resident of swampy meadows and ditches. Leaves ovate-lanceolate to 8 inches long, unlobed or with two lateral lobes. Pubescent above and below. Flowers in leaf axils on upper stem. Petals usually white, sometimes pink with reddish patch at base. Fruit a pubescent capsule to 1.5 inches. Blooms June-August.

4) Vitis rotundifolia MUSCADINE Vitaceae- Grape Family

Common native vine of woods and wood edges. Conspicuously flaky bark on older stems. Climbs using tendrils. Continuous pith. Leaves ovate to slightly cordate, usually glabrous, coarsely serrate. Flowers May-June. Fruit a purple-black berry seen in mid-late summer.

5) Pycnanthemum tenuifolium NARROW-LEAVED MOUNTAIN MINT Lamiaceae- Mint

Family

Aromatic native perennial to three feet. Leaves thin, linear, highly aromatic when rubbed or crushed. Blooms a group of flat corymbs. Individual corollas whitish-pink. Seeds black. Blooms June-August in open areas, meadows, pastures, road edges.

6) Justicia americana AMERICAN WATER-WILLOW Acanthaceae- Acanthus Family

Native perennial of stream and riverbottoms. Narrow, linear leaves to 10 inches. Plants to 3 feet. Commonly found growing in standing or moving water. Purple-white flowers often found in pairs fused back-to-back. Blooms June-October.

7) Silphium compositum ROSINWEED Asteraceae- Aster Family

Tall native perennial to 10 feet or more. Basal leaves large, alternate, unlobed or palmately lobed, glabrous or pubescent. Cauline leaves often absent or much reduced. Paniculate flowerheads numerous, held at end of largely leafless stem. Blooms May-September along wood edges, old fields and roadways.

8) Asclepias verticillata WHORLED MILKWEED Asclepidaceae- Milkweed Family

Native perennial of dry woods, roadsides and meadows. Stems to 30 inches. Leaves narrow, linear, whorled around stem, 1-2 inches long. Greenish-white flowers in umbels on upper stem- often tinged with pink-purple coloration. Blooms June-September.

9) Ruellia carolinensis CAROLINA WILD PETUNIA Acanthaceae- Acanthus Family

Common native perennial to 1.5 feet. Leaves ovate to elliptic, pubescent to 4 inches long. Flowers form from glomerules in middle and upper leaf axils. Violet corolla trumpet-shaped. Blooms May to September in dry fields and woods.

10) Rudbeckia triloba BROWNEYED SUSAN Asteraceae- Aster Family

Native perennial to 3 feet. One to many stems per crown. Ovate leaves, lower stem leaves usually 3-lobed, inspiring the specific epithet. Upper leaves usually unlobed, often sessile. Leaves 3-5 inches long by 1-3 inches wide. Stem and leaves pubescent or glabrous. Ray flowers golden yellow, disc flowers black-purple. Blooms July-October in woodlands, pastures, wood edges and roadsides.

July 2010, Week 1

July 2010, Week 1

This is the second installment of "Name that Native", an ongoing plant identification exercise from the Blomquist Garden of Native Plants at the Sarah P. Duke Gardens. Follow along and enjoy the experience of getting to know our plant neighbors!

11) Verbesina occidentalis, YELLOW CROWNBEARD Asteraceae- Aster Family

Common native perennial of roadsides and field edges to 5 feet. Opposite, serrate lanceolate to ovate leaves arranged along stems with four pronounced "wings" of tissue running between the leaf axils and creating an "x" in cross section. Small yellow flowerheads in corymbs seen August to October.

12) Parthenocissus quinquefolia VIRGINIA CREEPER Vitaceae- Grape family

Clinging native vine. Palmately compound leaves with usually five leaflets, occasionally 3-7. Climbs using tendrils with adhesive disks to cling to bark, etc. Yellow-green flowers in panicles of cymes seen May to July. Fruit a dark blue drupe. Found in woods and wood edges.

13) Parthenium integrifolium WILD QUININE Asteraceae- Aster family

Native perennial to three feet. Found in woods, wood edges and roadsides. One to three stems per crown with basal and cauline lanceolate serrate leaves. Leaves often glabrous. Numerous flowerheads in corymbs of small, white flowers of both ray and disk variety, disk flowers perfect but sterile.

14) Eurybia divaricata WHITE WOOD ASTER Asteraceae- Aster family

Native perennial of woodlands and wood edges to two or three feet. Cordate, lanceolate serrate leaves, usually glabrous. Numerous blooms from August to October with white ray flowers and yellow disks. Forms large colonies. Reasonably tolerant of dry soil.

15)Thelypteris noveboracensis NEW YORK FERN Thelypteridaceae- Marsh fern family

Native fern of moist places. Forms large colonies of fronds to one foot. Fronds a light green, often widest in the middle of the fronds length. Common in piedmont along stream bottoms among Carex spp.

16) Callicarpa americana BEAUTYBERRY Verbenaceae- Verbena family

Lanky native deciduous shrub to twelve feet. Opposite, ovate-lanceolate leaves, pubescent beneath. Small pink-purple blooms in cymes found in leaf axils in June and July. Deep purple-magenta drupes in late summer. Found in moist woods in the coastal plain, occasionally piedmont.

17) Elephantopus tomentosus DEVIL'S GRANDMOTHER Asteraceae- Aster Family

Native perennial of dry woodlands and wood edges to two feet. Leaves basal, oblanceolate, densely pubescent. Violet blooms from July to September, each with small, pubescent bracts subtending.

18) Chasmanthium latifolium INDIAN WOODOATS Poaceae- Grass family

Native perennial grass to four feet. Common along river and stream bottoms in open woods. Colonizing grass that spreads eagerly by both rhizome and seed. Good choice for pond edges/streambanks for erosion mitigation. Noted by it's pendulous flat spikelets made up of numerous seeds.

19) Rudbeckia laciniata CUTLEAF CONEFLOWER Asteraceae- Aster Family

Native perennial to five feet. Polymorphic leaves with youngest being closest to entire and oldest being almost pinnately compound, usually glabrous. Disk flowers a raised globe. Yellow rays often reflexed. Blooms July-October. Often found in moist soil along stream banks.

20) Lindera benzoin SPICEBUSH Lauraceae- Laurel family

Native, deciduous small tree/shrub to twelve feet. Leaves strongly aromatic opposite, often glabrous, acuminate, ciliate margins. Small, yellow dioecious flowers born on the glabrous stems in March and April prior to leaf emergence. Fruit is red drupe seen in August and September. Host plant for larval stage of Spicebush Swallowtail butterfly.