In the native plants area at Elm Bank. Spectacular, about 5 feet tall and fluffy pink, like Astilbe on steroids. Rose Family.
Queen of the Prairie, Meadowsweet (Filipendula rubra)
Queen of the Prairie
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Author Archives: Axie
Culver’s Root
This is in the native plants area at Elm Bank. Around 6 feet tall. Very striking. Can easily be cultivated in gardens! Several native tribes made a tea of the roots to use an an emetic. Culver was an 18th century doctor who popularized its use. It’s related to digitalis (foxglove) and is toxic if ingested. Cotton Mather’s daughter died of Culver’s Root poisoning when she was treated with it for some minor malady. (Cotton Mather, 1663 – 1728, was a Puritan minister in Massachusetts, famous for his role in the Salem witch trials.) Snapdragon family.
Culver’s Root, Culver’s physic, Bowman’s root, Blackroot (Veronicastrum virginicum)
Great Laurel
This big plant and several others, all blooming, are around an area that’s usually swampy but this year it’s dry. I was surprised to see it because all the ones in people’s gardens finished blooming weeks ago. Beautiful! This is the same woods that has the regular mountain laurel. Heath family. Native to eastern North America.
Great Laurel, Great Rhododendron (Rhododendron maximum)
Bonus picture: The rhododendron was along a shady trail, a very short walk from a sunny field full of fleabane, black-eyed susan, and red clover.
Hedge Mustard
I took this picture a few weeks ago when it first bloomed, but couldn’t identify it until recently, now that it is a couple of feet taller and has developed distinctive narrow seed capsules (siliques) that vertically hug the stem. I should take new pictures. In Europe it’s cultivated as food, for the leaves and the seeds which can be ground into mustard paste. Used as a condiment particularly in northern Europe. Also, was used to soothe sore throats, and called Singer’s Plant. Family Brassicaceae. Native of Europe and North Africa.
Hedge Mustard (Sisymbrium officinale)
Yellow Wild Indigo
A nice surprise in the town forest parking area. In the fall, the foliage turns gray and the whole plant breaks off from the root and forms a tumbleweed, which rolls around distributing the seeds! Toxic. Pea family.
Yellow Wild Indigo, Horsefly-weed (Baptisia tinctoria)
Sweet Pepperbush
A shrub growing all along the pond at the town forest. Turns out these are just buds, which will open to little white flowers with a sweet fragrance. The fruits look a little like peppercorns (but are not spicy), hence the name. White Alder family. Native.
Sweet Pepperbush, Summersweet (Clethra alnifolia)
Update: here’s how they look in late July:
Spotted Wintergreen
Distinctive blue-green leaves with a pale stripe, which stay green through the winter. Endangered in Canada, Illinois and Maine. Wintergreen family. Native. (I actually sat on the ground for a second to take this picture and was immediately swarmed by dozens (millions?) of black ants! The lesson: don’t sit on Antopolis.)
Spotted Wintergreen, Striped Wintergreen, Spotted Pipsissewa (Chimaphila maculata)
Bonus pictures: I noticed the spotted wintergreen because we were investigating why so much bark was sheared off this tree near the entrance to the town forest. Apparently someone missed the curve on Central Avenue, shot through the trees, scraped one and was stopped by another, where the bumper and other debris are still on the ground…
Update from the Needham Times: A Medfield juvenile is charged with leaving the scene of an accident, operating to endanger, using a motor vehicle without authority, unlicensed operation, and speeding. Bad!
Bitter Dock
A common tall weed, but it’s interesting to see upclose the little white fruits. They can turn red in the sun. The taproot can be 5 feet long. Native to Europe.
Bitter Dock (Rumex obtusifolia)
Monkshood
This is considered a wildflower, but I have not yet seen it in the wild. (This is my yard.) This is a very toxic plant and has been used for murders for centuries (the Roman emperor Claudius is thought to have been assassinated by his own doctor with a draught of monkshood)! (A British woman was convicted in 2010 of killing her lover with a curry laced with monkshood.) Also was used for killing wolves and rabid dogs. Used to create poison for arrow tips for hunting and warfare. If you touch your lip to the root, the juice will cause numbness and tingling! Wear gloves to pick the leaves! The name Aconitum means “without struggle.” Ominous! From Wikipedia: “In his first potions class, Harry Potter is mocked by Severus Snape for not knowing that monkshood, wolfsbane, and aconite are the same plant, in an attempt to humiliate him.” Buttercup family.
Monkshood, Wolf’s Bane, Dogbane, Soldier’s Helmet, Friar’s Cap, Old Wife’s Hood, Blue Rocket, Women’s Bane (Aconitum Napellus)
Fringed Bindweed
A vine with small white flowers. Heartshaped leaves. At this size, you can barely see why it’s called Fringed — there is a fringe of tiny hairs at every joint on the stem. Buckwheat family. Native.
Fringed Bindweed (Polygonum cilinode)