Multiflora Rose

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Thorny climbing shrub. Can be white or pink. introduced to the eastern U.S. in 1866 as rootstock for ornamental roses. Native to eastern Asia. (Photo June 4.)

Multiflora Rose, Seven-Sisters Rose (Rosa multiflora)

Spiderwort

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Each flower lives only one day, but each plant produces 20 or more flowers per stem. The sap has a viscous quality and can be stretched between your fingers like a thread of spider silk. The stems, leaves and flowers are edible, raw or added to stew. The flowers can garnish your salad!The Lakota made a blue paint from the flowers and a poultice for insect bites and stings from the crushed leaves.

(The spiderwort genus is named after John Tradescant, who was a gardener for King Charles I of England (1600-1649). His son brought spiderwort seeds or plants from Virginia to England in 1637. It became a popular exotic plant. Native. (Photo June 4.)

Spiderwort, Cow Slobber, Widow’s Tears, Trinity Flower, Indian Paint (Tradescantia virginiana)

Cow vetch

Vetch

Okay, locally we have at least three kinds of vetch to keep straight. This is cow vetch, and the other two are common vetch (which is magenta and looks like a sweet pea) and crown vetch (pale pink and shaped like a crown). This is similar to a pea in habit, with tendrils that fasten on to (and can strangle) other plants. Widely used as forage for cattle. Pea family. Origin: Eurasia.

Cow Vetch, Tufted Vetch, Bird Vetch, Boreal Vetch (Vicia cracca)

Wild Asparagus

Wild AsparagusThere is a bit of meadow where these stalks have emerged. They seem few and far between so I wouldn’t feel right harvesting them. But they look good! (Later when they fruit, they’ll have small red berries that are poisonous to humans.) There is an asparagus recipe in the oldest surviving cookbook, which is a Greek book from the third century AD. Native to Europe, Africa and Asia. Introduced to North America around 1850.

Wild Asparagus (Asparagus officinalis)

Wild Crab Apple

Flowering CrabNative to North America. They require cross-pollination by insects… they’re food for many butterfly larvae. Plus, a beautiful sign of spring. (Photo taken May 1, 2013)

Wild Crab Apple Tree (Malus coronaria)

Garlic Mustard

Garlic MustardLeaves smell garlicky when crushed. An invasive that crowds out more delicate native wildflowers. It was brought to North America as a cooking herb in the 1860s. Mustard family. (Photo taken April 30, 2013.)

Garlic Mustard (Alliaria officinalis)

Creeping Charlie

Creeping CharlieDark blue and purple orchid-like flowers. This plant is introduced and invasive. It belongs to the Mint family. (Photo taken April 30, 2013. I’m way behind on posting photos, so I’m going to add the actual dates I collected the photos, for the AFs who are trying to compare this year with last year—you know who you are!)

Creeping Charlie, Ground Ivy, Gill-over-the-ground, Haymaids (Glechoma hederacea)

Thin-leaved Sunflower

Near the aqueduct bridge. I include the leaf picture to show how much the leaf helps in identification. You can see the leaves are directly opposite each other (instead of alternate). Also they have toothed edges. The really distinctive thing about them is that in addition to that central dividing line (the midrib), they have two prominent veins running somewhat parallel to the midrib. That seems to be a consistent characteristic among sunflowers. This variety is only 2-5 feet tall. Native. Aster family.

Thin-leaved Sunflower (Helianthus decapetalus)

Blackhaw Viburnum

Looking for color wherever it might be—these are a beautiful deep blue. The fruit becomes edible after a frost, and is then eaten by birds. Black Haw has a long history of medicinal uses, mostly for all kinds of women’s issues, primarily to prevent miscarriages and ease menstrual cramps. It’s a decoction of the bark that is used—it contains a chemical relative of aspirin as well as other active components. However it is not “recognized as safe” by the FDA. Adoxaceae family. Native.

Blackhaw Viburnum, Sweet Haw, Black Haw, Stag Bush (Viburnum prunifolium)

Wreath Goldenrod

A.F. Irit thought this would make a good wreath, and that turns out to be the name of this goldenrod, one of the few varieties that has the flowers in clusters near the stem like this, and not in terminal clusters. You can see that the stem is blue-gray, inspiring the other name. Native.

Wreath Goldenrod, Blue-Stemmed Goldenrod (Solidago caesia)

Bonus pictures: this plant is near a high aqueduct bridge which overlooks a tributary to the Charles River. The bridge is covered with graffiti…