Oh man, these are looking great around the arboretum pond, where the pickelweed used to be in bloom. My height, with showy blossoms about 6 inches across. This is also growing in the local river marshes alongside the purple loosestrife for a major show. Native.
Swamp Rose Mallow, Rose Mallow (Hibiscus moscheutos)
Bonus picture: if you turn around from photographing the mallow, you see Matt, who came for tai chi class and then stayed to add ambience to the arboretum.
A woody vine, can grow to 35 feet! Will have fruit pods up to 6 inches long. Can be invasive, but often cultivated in gardens. Very showy. Trumpet-Creeper family. Native.
Trumpet Creeper, Cow Itch Vine, Hummingbird Vine, Hellvine, Devil’s Shoestring (Campsis radicans)
Has red berries. The leaves are distinctively not like common raspberries, and the flowers look like wild roses. They are flowering when other raspberries are fruiting. Rose family. Native.
Purple-flowering Raspberries (Rubus odoratus)
I thought of Goldenrod as a sinister figure in the hay fever department, but apparently the pollen that causes allergy problems is mainly from Ragweed, which blooms at the same time but is pollinated by the wind. Goldenrod pollen is too sticky and heavy for wind pollination so it relies on insect pollination. They are popular garden plants in Europe, and roadside weeds here. It contains rubber, and Thomas Edison experimented with making goldenrod a practical domestic source of rubber. Aster Family.
Goldenrod (Solidago altissima)
3-10 feet tall. This is an early stage of blooming. Foliage bright red in autumn. The fruit can be made into a lemonade-like drink, but make sure you aren’t using the related plant, POISON sumac. The leaves and berries were mixed with tobacco and smoked. Also used as a dye. Cashew family. Native.
Staghorn Sumac (Rhus typhina)
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)
At the Arboretum, even their weeds are impressive. This bloom is at eye level. This is how it appears during the day, and will open fully at at dusk. Each bloom only lasts until the following noon. In the second picture you can see how the buds snuggle into the leaves. As usual, it’s edible (the leaves) and was used medicinally (to heal bruises and wounds). Evening Primrose family. Native. (The day I took this, I found about a dozen new plants to add. I need an “I brake for wildflowers” bumper sticker.)
Common Evening Primrose, German Rampion, Hog Weed, Fever Plant (Oenothera biennis)
An herbal treatment for mild depression. Name comes from its traditional flowering and harvesting on St. John’s Day, June 24. The genus name Hypericum comes from the Greek words hyper (above) and eikon (picture), because traditionally people used it to ward off evil by hanging St. John’s Wort over a religious icon in their house on St John’s day. Native to Europe.
St. John’s Wort, Chase-devil (Hypericum perforatum)
These are lovely in the dappled shade. Not sure if this variety is strictly wild… Lily family. Native to Europe and Africa.
Wood Hyacinth (Hyacinthoides hispanica)
Bonus picture for A.F. Marilyn, who likes when I include other photos from the general environment. I saw this ripped missing leaflet as I walked from the arboretum back to the school, walking from Eden back to the city.
