Now, a more modest little flower, growing with the fleabane and pokeweed in our wood pile. Rose family. Native.
White Avens (Geum canadense)
White Avens
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Category Archives: White
Swamp Azalea
This is growing right by the pond with the water lilies. I couldn’t get very close because it was swampy—it was kind of a jungle back there. Plus I got lost for awhile, which made it even more of an adventure! Fragrant. Heath family. Native.
Swamp Azalea, Swamp-honeysuckle, Clammy Azalea (Rhododendron viscosum)
Sweet Cicely
Then when you come out of the bright meadow into the shady woodlands, there is this delicate little plant. Has a licorice scent when crushed. Parsley family. Native.
Sweet Cicely, Sweet Jarvil (Osmorhiza claytoni)
Bonus picture: Here are the hound dogs waiting patiently while I took all these pictures.
Queen Anne’s Lace 2
I posted about this flower previously and when I researched it, I found out that it sometimes has a tiny dark red flower in its center, supposedly to attract insects (but it’s so tiny, would they really notice?) So when I saw this group of plants, I checked, and some did have this little flower, tiny and almost black– see it?. (It’s the drop of blood where Queen Anne pricked her finger while making lace.)
Queen Anne’s Lace, Wild Carrot (Daucus carota)
White Coneflower
The genus name Echinacea is derived from the greek word for sea urchin (echino), referring to the spiny center! (In the native plants area at Elm Bank.)
Coneflower (Echinacea)
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)
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!
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)
Bunchberry
Photographed by B on a recent hike in New Hampshire. I felt off wildflower duty since this is not really my turf. However, this flower is found in our area, so here it is. The leaves are in whorls, and the white petals are really the bracts, not petals, and the flowers are a cluster of small greenish flowers in the center. Will have bright red berries in late summer, good bird food.
Bunchberry, Creeping Dogwood (Cornus canadensis)