Came up uninvited with a potted tomato plant. Beautiful form. Contains a toxic white sap, so mostly avoided by mammals, but visited by insects. Native perennial. Bellflower family.
Pale-spiked Lobelia (Lobelia spicata)
Pale-spiked Lobelia
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Category Archives: My yard, Needham MA
Tall Blue Lettuce
I love this name. Small flowers, under a half inch wide, that are only open when it’s sunny. A thick cascade of flowers–can be blue, but these are white. A tall plant, up to 15 feet, with milky juice. Has a history of medical uses but not of food use. Annual or biennial. Aster family.
Tall Blue Lettuce, Woodland Lettuce (Lactuca biennis)
Sweet William
From a distance this resembles Dame’s Rocket and Phlox, but the toothed edges of the petals give it away. This name first recorded in a 1596 garden catalog! (They must mean a different sort of catalog.) Edible flowers. Native to southern Europe and parts of Asia.
Sweet William (Dianthus barbatus)
White Avens
Now, a more modest little flower, growing with the fleabane and pokeweed in our wood pile. Rose family. Native.
White Avens (Geum canadense)
Butterfly Weed
Okay, this will be the last one from the meadow. I have this in my garden and now I know why it survives my neglect so well — because it’s a native that doesn’t need any help. Milkweed family. Native to eastern North America.
Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa)
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)
Common Mullein
Near a bridge over the Charles in Sherborn. This is one of those really tall vigorous weeds– the flower spikes can reach 10 feet! They live to be 2 years old — the first year they’ll have a rosette of foliage only, and the second year the flower spike will appear, and that’s it. Each plant can make over 100,000 seeds in a year, and the seeds are very hardy and can last for dozens of years… so they can wait in the soil for the right conditions. It’s considered a pioneer plant, meaning when an area has been burned, for instance, this is one of the first plants that will appear. Was introduced to Virginia from Europe. Not many creatures will eat mulleins — mostly insects that also are native to Europe. Some birds eat the seeds. The leaves are soft and furry — hummingbirds line their nests with them!
Update: the new first shot is of an open blossom, shot in my yard in late September.
Common Mullein (Verbascum thapsus)
Enchanter’s Nightshade
The genus Circaea is named after Circe the enchantress in Greek mythology, who was said to have used this plant for her magical purposes. I think this is one of the best names! Has only two petals, but they are deeply lobed so they look like four. Evening Primrose family. (Not related to deadly nightshade.) Native.
Enchanter’s Nightshade (Circaea lutetiana)