Grows in bogs and near water, blooms til first frost. Beautiful. Notice how the petals are not separate, but kind of pleated. Borage family. Native to Europe and Asia.
True Forget-me-not (Myosotis scorpioides)
True Forget-me-not
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Category Archives: Purple and blue
Flat-top Goldenrod
Growing at water’s edge at Longfellow and at the Needham Town Forest. Blooms late summer through fall. Aster Family. Native.
Flat-top Goldenrod, Grass-leaved Goldenrod (Euthamia graminifolia)
Swamp Milkweed
I need enhanced macro power! Anyway, thanks to A.F. Donna for suggesting I check out Longfellow Pond. There are several new finds there. This is swamp milkweed—the flower clusters are not as spherical as common milkweed, and the color is brighter. Has specialized roots for swamp living. Attracts Monarch butterflies.
Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata)
Wild Basil
In a clearing at Noanet with asters and indigo. The dried leaves are milder than commercial basil. Looks a little like Self-heal, but on these, the top petal flips up, and in Self-heal that top petal flips downward. Mint family. Native.
Wild Basil (Clinopodium vulgare)
Sessile-leaved Tick Trefoil
Sessile-leaved means the leaves are basically growing right out of the central stalk with no leaf stems. You can see the green seed pods that grab onto passersby like ticks. Bean family. Native.
Sessile-leaved Tick Trefoil (Desmodium sessilifolium)
Blue Vervain
Up to 6 feet tall. Likes a good swamp. Part of a really great wetland restoration project on the Wellesley campus. Native. Vervain family.
Blue Vervain, Swamp Verbena (Verbena hastata)
New England Aster
There are many kinds of asters. This one is distinguished by how tall it is, with the flowers at my eye level, clasping leaves, and largish flowers, 1 – 2 inches wide. Native. Aster family.
New England Aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae)
Bonus picture from the lake (this is the Wellesley College campus):
Great Burdock
These can get to be 9 feet tall. All parts were used medicinally — leaves, roots, flowers, and seeds. One way to distinguish it from common burdock is that the flowers are on little stalks, whereas in common burdock the flowers cluster directly on the main stem. Aster family. Native to Europe, Asia. Cultivated in Japan because they like to eat it, especially the roots, julienned and braised with a sauce or pickled in sushi, or as a snack chip.
Great Burdock, Beggar’s Buttons (Arcticum lappa)
Bonus: Most of these are purple, but there was also a white one:
Liatris
Drought tolerant and a favorite of butterflies. Native. Aster family.
Liatris, Blazing Star, Gay Feather, Button Snakeroot (Liatris)
Purple Bergamot
This is flowering in the field of wonders (at Wilson), but I took this at Centennial and it’s in better focus. Mint family. Native.
Purple Bergamot (Monarda media)