Flower

Whorled Loosestrife Flowers in Open Woods

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Late May to early June is the blooming time for Whorled Loosestrife, Lysimachia quadrifolia in Pennsylvania, in particular South-central PA. These delicate loosestrife plants are about two feet tall and have lance-shaped leaves in whorls. You can find them flowering in open woods, at the edges of fields and along hiking trails.

About a dozen plants of Whorled Loosestrife blooming in the open woods.
About a dozen plants of Whorled Loosestrife blooming in the open woods.

Cohorts include Spotted Touch-Me-Nots and blackberry vines. Photo above taken 8 June 2010.

Flower buds project well over the whorled leaves, one flower for each leaf.
Flower buds project well over the whorled leaves, one flower for each leaf.

Whorls have typically four leaves and flowers but on the mountain ridge here we often see whorls of five. More rarely plants will have whorls of three. Photo above taken 31 May 2010.

Flowers and leaves in whorls.
Flowers and leaves in whorls.

In the photo above taken 31 May 2010 the Whorled Loosestrife plant on the left has five leaves per whorl and the one on the right has four leaves per whorl.

The flowers are truly star-like with five golden-yellow petals. Each has red dots around the center of the flower.

08jun2010

..whorled loosestrife flowering profusely

plants are two feet tall, whorled leaves

Whorled Loosestrife, Lysimachia quadrifolia,

loosestrife-whorled-lane.jpg   08jun2010

About a dozen plants of Whorled Loosestrife blooming in the open woods. Cohorts include Spotted Touch-Me-Nots and blackberry vines.

loosestrife-whorled-flower-buds.jpg   31may10

Flower buds project well over the whorled leaves, one flower for each leaf. Whorls have typically four leaves and flowers but we often see whorls of five.

loosestrife-whorls.jpg

In the photo above taken 31 May 2010 the Whorled Loosestrife plant on the left has five leaves per whorl and the one on the right has four leaves per whorl.

The flowers are truly star-like with five golden yellow petals. Each has red dots around the center of the flower.

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Longleaf Summer Bluets Flower Among Blades of Grass

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A perennial yard weed that is really cute appears in late Spring and may be found flowering until mid-Summer. We see it in the lawn and near the edges of the lane where it grows in gravel and dry rocky soil at the top of the mountain ridge.

The trumpet-like flowers have a long bell with four flaring petals in white with tones of lavender. The flower buds are a rosey-pink to lavender color. Photos below taken on 8 Jun 2010.

Clusters of small trumpet-like flowers held above pairs of narrow leaves.
Clusters of small trumpet-like flowers held above pairs of narrow leaves.

Narrow, strap-like, sessile leaves are opposite one another on branching stems that barely reach ten inches tall.

Longleaf Summer Bluet, Houstonia longifolia, may also be known as Long-leaved Bluet. Its flowers are in small clusters and are more trumpet-like than the flowers of Bluets, which are not in clusters. Bluets have a way of holding their yellow eyed flowers up to the sun that the Longleaf Summer Bluet lacks. Its flowers are often held out to the sides.

Longleaf Summer Bluets bloom among the grass in the lawn.
Longleaf Summer Bluets bloom among the grass in the lawn.

In parts of New England the native Longleaf Summer Bluet is considered threatened. It is listed as endangered in Connecticut and Massachusetts, it’s of special concern in Maine, and it appears only in historical records in Rhode Island, which means the Longleaf Summer Bluet may already be extirpated there.

We seem to have plenty of the long-leaved bluet here on our mountain ridge in PA, but I haven’t seen it anywhere else.

Mayapples Yellow When Ripe for Lemonade

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Mayapple, or American Mandrake, is one of those interesting plants that is easy to recognize because of its uniqueness. No other plant looks quite like the umbrella plant, does it? One or two deeply cut leaves have an overall round shape with a truly variegated edge. No two leaves seem to be alike, yet they are similar.

Appropriately named Mayapple, Podophyllum peltatum, starts blooming in the beginning of May. A single large white flower about two inches across blooms underneath the cover of one or two large leaves. The leaves seem to protect the flowers kind of like an umbrella. Check out some nice photos of Mayapple flowers in an earlier post about this native woodland plant.

Mayapple fruit at the fork of two large umbrella-like leaves.
Mayapple fruit at the fork of two large umbrella-like leaves.

Photo above taken 6 June 2010.

A single ripening fruit juts out from between the fork of two Mayapple leaves. I’m not sure what blight caused the yellow spots on the leaves of this Mayapple, but when the foliage is dying back it sometimes happens. Into July we can find mayapples turning yellow even though much of the foliage has already withered away.

The fruit is edible and can be enjoyed as a refreshing cold drink. One year I picked a handful of yellow fruit, cut them up and squeezed out the liquid in to a glass of ice cubes. I expected more of a citrus taste as Peterson’s Edible Plant Guide suggested the juice could be added to lemonade. Without sugar it would have been too tart and bland at the same time. At the very least Mayapple fruits are a survival food packed with vitamin C.

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Asiatic Dayflower Blooms For One Day

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The Asiatic Dayflower, Commelina communis, is a cute three petal flower with two upper blue petals and one lower white petal. The lower white petal is so thin or narrow that often it is not even noticeable. The two larger blue petals stand out like Mickey Mouse ears. Long stamens stand out and anthers are bright yellow. A sheath is underneath each flower as a sort of pocket.

Three-petal bloom of the Asiatic Dayflower.
Three-petal bloom of the Asiatic Dayflower.

In the photo above taken 6 June 2010, the thinner stem to the left of the larger stem on the right is that of the Asiatic Dayflower. Note the oval pointed leaves and the sheath that houses the flower until blooming time.

A related plant called Virginia Dayflower, Commelina virginica, has three blue petals and otherwise the flower appears the same as the Asiatic Dayflower. The Virginia Dayflower is native to Eastern North America, but it’s very rare compared to the alien Asiatic Dayflower.

Dayflowers are named appropriately as they bloom for only one day, so they’re no good for cut flower arrangements.

Leaves are linear-veined, pointed ovals that sheath the stem. These plants spread by laying down their stems and rooting at the leaf nodes. This reclining habit also helps to differentiate the Asiatic Dayflower from the native dayflowers, which grow in an erect posture.

Asiatic Dayflowers photographed here were growing along the upper west lane near blackberries in a partially shaded area with Spotted Touch-Me-Nots.

Much better pictures of the Asiatic Dayflower can be seen in an earlier post about it blooming in South-central PA.

Peterson’s Edible Plant Guide indicates the dayflowers are edible and may be enjoyed by adding young stems and leaves to salads or using them as cooked greens.

Elderflowers Bloom in June for August Elderberries

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Elderflowers bloom at the end of spring and the beginning of summer and ripen into dark purple elderberries by the end of summer.

Tall elderberry shrub reaches for the sunlight.
Tall elderberry shrub reaches for the sunlight.

In the photo above taken 6 June 2010 there are over 3 dozen elderflower clusters. Additional flower clusters were observed blooming on the same plant on 22 June 2010. The flower clusters occur at tips of branches. When the elderberries ripen they get heavy enough to bend the branches down. Berries are ripe for picking when the clusters hang down and are very dark purple.

Elderberry shrubs, Sambucus canadensis, have large, opposite, pinnately compound leaves with leaflets opposite one another. Toothed leaflets are lance-shaped and occur in pairs except for the terminal leaflet.

Elderflower cluster and compound leaves.
Elderflower cluster and compound leaves.

Note that the upper right leaf has nine toothed leaflets. The flower cluster rises up from the terminal end of the branch between two compound leaves.

Individual elderflowers are creamy white with five rounded petals and protruding stamens, which gives the flower cluster a fuzzy appearance from a distance.

Close-up view of an elderflower cluster.
Close-up view of an elderflower cluster.

All around the area we see elderflower bushes at the edge of fields, where the trees meet the open sunny fields. Many bushes are growing near water, in culverts, in drainage areas, and near streams. The tall elder shrub photographed above grows next to the edge of a lane where a natural spring trickles water down the side of the road, especially in Springtime and after heavy rains.

A common elderberry bush at the edge of a farmer's field.
A common elderberry bush at the edge of a farmer's field. Photo taken 10 June 2010.

When the elderberry bushes are in bloom is the best time to find these shrubs if you’re going to collect the elderberries. The berries won’t ripen until late summer. By then we’ll be ready to make elderberry jelly!

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Partridgeberry Forest Flower Twins

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Partridgeberry, Mitchella repens, is a member of the Madder Family, Rubiaceae. It’s one of the plants that just make me think, “Forest Flowers.” You won’t find it growing anywhere else but in a forest or perhaps in a shade garden. Partridgeberry is native to the Eastern North America.

The terminal white or pink trumpet-like flowers are fragrant. The four petals are fuzzy-looking due to hairs on the inside of the petals. Twin flowers seem to be connected at their bases by a common stipule.

Small, rounded opposite leaves and twin flowers of partridgeberry.
Small, rounded opposite leaves and twin flowers of partridgeberry.

Stems are creeping with small, opposite, leathery, round evergreen leaves. Leaves usually have a light-colored midrib and sometimes the other leaf veins stand out with a lighter color. Leaves are otherwise dark green and entire, or untoothed.

Low-growing partridgeberry with its twin flowers.
Low-growing partridgeberry with its twin flowers.
Partridgeberry on the forest floor with old oak leaves.
Partridgeberry on the forest floor with old oak leaves. Photo taken 3 June 2010.

Twin flowers coalesce into a single red berry that may last through winter and remain at the tip of the vine until Spring. Peterson’s Edible Plant Guide tells us the berry is edible – it just doesn’t taste like anything. The tasteless berries can be used as a survival food or added to salads for a bit of color.

Partridgeberry does seem to have medicinal properties. A leaf or berry tea was used historically for treating female problems, such as irregular or painful periods and childbirth pain, which lent partridgeberry the nickname Squaw Vine. Astringent qualities of the tea led to its external use for skin irritations and as a wash to soothe arthritis.

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Spiderwort Flowers Plentiful and Pretty

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About five years ago we went to a Native Plant Sale held at Millersville University, Lancaster County, PA. We picked up two native plants, Wild Ginger and Spiderwort, Tradescantia virginiana.

Wild ginger is much more plentiful in the wild, at least in the places we’ve looked. The wild ginger we planted has spread out a little bit and the original plant carried its flower from earlier this year until the second week of June. Spiderwort flowers beautifully in the later part of May into June.

Greenery of the spiderwort plant rises up early starting in April. Photo below taken 11 April 2010.

Leaves of spiderwort are already up 8-10 inches.
Leaves of spiderwort are already up 8-10 inches.
Spiderwort greenery getting taller.
Spiderwort greenery getting taller.

A couple of weeks later (23 April 2010) the foliage is over a foot tall. The linear leaves arch over as they get taller. It will take 2-3 weeks from this stage for the spiderwort to start blooming. Check out how small this spiderwort plant was in 2006.

Many purple-blue flowers of spiderwort.
Many purple-blue flowers of spiderwort.

This year I should have staked up the plant as it got heavy with blooms and now is laying over to the side. The flowers are still really pretty!

Heavy blooms of spiderwort made the flower stems bow down to the ground.
Heavy blooms of spiderwort made the flower stems bow down to the ground.

Didn’t get flowering pics until 31 May 2010. Spiderwort flowers were blooming until 11 June for a 2-3 week blooming period for 2010.

Younger plants may have fewer flowers open at one time. Each bloom lasts for a day and then only in the morning. The blossoms wilt and turn to jelly by mid-day.

Pretty Spiderwort flowers.
Pretty Spiderwort flowers.
Beautiful purple blossoms.
Beautiful purple blossoms.

Note the stamens with golden-yellow anthers, fuzzy purple hairs, and the flower pistil with a round end or stigma in center of bloom. Note that the lower left flower has four petals instead of the typical three – only saw one flower with four petals out of about 80 blossoms. Click on any of these photos for a larger view.

Purple spiderwort flowers are hairy in the center.
Purple spiderwort flowers are hairy in the center.
Beautiful spiderwort flowers!
Beautiful spiderwort flowers!

The flowers are so pretty that people used to make them into candy. Peterson’s Edible Plant Guide says all you have to do is rinse the flowers with water, dry gently, brush with egg white and coat with sugar. Not sure the effort would be worth the taste, but at least they’d be real pretty!

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Dame’s Rocket Blooms in Purple and White

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May’s beautiful colors were highlighted in the country by the large swaths of pink, lilac, purple, and white flowering Dame’s Rocket, a.k.a. Dame’s Violet, Hesperis matronalis.

Four-petal flowers cluster in terminal spikes at the top of three feet tall stems. For a two or three-week period in May Dame’s Rocket will be blooming in South-central Pennsylvania.

Great patches of purple and pink colors from Dame's Rocket flowers.
Great patches of purple and pink colors from Dame's Rocket flowers.
Dame's Rocket blooming in waste area between two roads.
Dame's Rocket blooming in waste area between two roads.
Dame's Rocket on slope above drainage culvert.
Dame's Rocket on slope above drainage culvert.
Flowering above a culvert with celandine.
Flowering above a culvert with celandine.
Dame's Rocket flowering at the edge of woods with locust trees in bloom.
Dame's Rocket flowering at the edge of woods with locust trees in bloom.
Group of purple flowering Dame's Rocket.
Group of purple flowering Dame's Rocket.
Spreading purple clusters of Dame's Rocket.
Spreading purple clusters of Dame's Rocket.
Flowering stalk with alternating leaves and four petal flowers.
Flowering stalk with alternating leaves and four petal flowers.

Dame’s Rocket seems to prefer shady areas near the tree line or at the edge of the trees where the forest meets the road. The ones photographed above were growing in a waste area in between a two lane road and a highway access road.

Native to Europe and Asia, Dame’s Rocket was brought to America hundreds of years ago for its beautiful flowers. It has since escaped gardens to become naturalized in the Eastern U.S. where it is often seen in fields and near roads. It has been so successful that three states consider it invasive. Colorado has it on its B list of noxious weeds, Connecticut has banned it, and Massachusetts has prohibited it.