Virginia Wildflowers is a natural history photo gallery and casual field guide to the wildflowers of Virginia. Most of the photos you will find on this website were taken by me, near my home in southwestern Virginia. This region, which includes the Appalachian and Blue Ridge Mountains, is rich in biodiversity. It is a beautiful…
Lily-leaved Twayblade
Purple Twayblade, Lily-leaved Twayblade, Large Twayblade, or Brown Widelip Orchid Liparis liliifolia This inconspicuous, native orchid blooms in May and June. Each plant grows from a new underground corm; the previous year’s corm withers away. Two oval, waxy leaves emerge in April and eventually reach 4 to 6 inches in height. The small flowers begin to…
Yellow Hawkweed or King Devil
Hieracium caespitosum (H. pratense) I’ve been spotting a new wildflower around town this week, and I even saw it a couple of days ago on top of Salt Pond Mountain, near Mountain Lake. It is hard to miss this plant because the flower stalks are tall and straight and they are topped with sunny yellow flowers…
Green and Gold
Golden Star or Green and Gold Chrysogonum virginianum You might be familiar with this plant from home gardens. It is a native wildflower with a spreading habit and long-lasting flowers, so it makes an excellent ground cover in the garden. The bright yellow flowers with contrasting brown stamens are held high above the light green,…
Yellow Lady’s Slipper Orchid
Moccasin Flower Cypripedium sp. Usually, sometime around Mother’s Day, you can expect to find Yellow Ladies Slipper Orchids growing in open woods and along streams in Southwest Virginia. Growing up to 2½’ tall, this native orchid is large, conspicuous, but relatively uncommon. The foliage of yellow ladies slippers, or mocassin flower, is quite distinctive. An…
Putty-root Orchid
Adam and Eve Orchid or Putty-root Orchid Aplectrum hyemale Putty-root orchid is found throughout Virginia in moist forests, but it is often obscured by other herbaceous growth in the spring and summer, and by leaf litter in the fall and winter. In early May, you’ll notice the flower stalks emergining from the ground. In the early…
Wild Stonecrop
Woodland or Wild Stonecrop Sedum ternatum Wild stonecrop is a native sedum that prefers shaded woodlands. It is a mat-forming succulent with rounded leaves arranged in a whorled pattern. Fertile, upright stems bear beautiful, bright white blooms in May and June. Each flower has four white petals. Wild stonecrop is usually found on bare slopes…
Addison’s Leatherflower
Clematis addisonii Addison’s Leatherflower, Clematis addisonii, is a threatened species that is native to the Ridge and Valley Province in Virginia. Most of the remaining populations occur here in Montgomery County (Southwest VA). The plant prefers dry, rocky, limestone hillsides, banks and ravines. Addison’s Leatherflower is a perennial vine that starts out as an erect…
Purple Phacelia
Phacelia bipinnatifida Purple phacelia is a native, biennial wildflower that blooms in spring and bears clusters of lavender-blue flowers. At a distance, the flowers resemble wild geranium—delicate, cup-shaped flowers dangling loosely from the top of a 1-2 ft. plant. But in this case, the flower color is more purple than pink—more like the flower color…
Dwarf Larkspur
Delphinium tricorne Sometimes in blue, sometimes in white, and sometimes in both blue and white, dwarf larkspur can be found blooming right now in local woodlands. This plant is among the showiest of the spring wildflowers, and it is a great reason to schedule some time outdoors soon. Before dwarf larkspur comes into bloom, the first cluster of basal leaves are…
Marsh Blue Violets
Viola cucullata Marsh blue violet is a woodland violet with blue flowers that prefers moist places. The heart-shaped leaves grow from the base of the plant (no stem!) on long stalks. The beautiful blue flowers are held above the leaves on even longer stalks. The full height of the plant is between 5 and 10…
Green Violet
Hybanthus concolor Can a plant that is almost 3 feet tall really be a violet? It turns out it can, based on some of the technical features of the flower. Unlike the violets that you are already familiar with, this member of Violaceae has tiny green flowers, hairy stems, and alternate, elliptical leaves that can grow up…
Mayapples
May Apples (Podophyllum peltatum) Mayapples are beautiful, umbrella-like plants that grow in moist woods. Some of the plants have just one large, deeply divided leaf, while others have two leaves. A relatively large white flower appears under the 2-leafed plants sometime in May; a green berry or “apple” develops soon thereafter. By mid-June, the plant begins to fade to…
Jacob’s Ladder
Polemonium Jacob’s Ladder is a biblical reference to the story of Jacob, who dreamed of a ladder to heaven. This plant’s leaves branch in an opposite fashion and appear like rungs on a ladder. The small (1/2-inch) purple or bluish (lavender) flowers grow in clusters and have a bell-like shape with protruding stamens. The plant…
Wild Geranium
Wood Geranium, Cranesbill, or Wild Geranium Geranium maculata What a spring it is for wild geranium! Today I found drifts of them growing along the roadside next to Big Stoney Creek in Giles County. Although these were open-grown, I also found plenty growing in the woods around Glen Alton and White Rocks campground. Wild geranium…
Meadow Rue
Thalictrum For this beautiful plant, it’s all about the foliage. Meadow rue has soft gray-green foliage that might remind you of the delicate leaves of columbine. The large, compound leaves are ternately divided (i.e. they are divided three times like a fern) into nine leaflets. The margin of each individual leaflet is gently rounded into…
False Solomon’s Seal
Smilacina racemosa Note the placement of the flowers of this plant at the tip of the stem. It is otherwise very similar to Solomon’s Seal in appearance: an upright, unbranched stem bearing alternating oval leaves. The plant produces bright red berries later in the season. Click on any image below to open the gallery.
Birdsfoot Violet
Viola pedata This violet gets its name from the cut-out shape of the leaf: it looks like a bird’s foot! Something else remarkable about this pretty little plant is the broad, flat face of the flower (1-inch wide), which is somewhat reminiscent of a cultivated pansy. The petals are lilac-purple to blue-white, and sometimes the…
Jack in the Pulpit
Arisaema triphyllum What’s not to love about this native wildflower? It is exotic–practically sexy with all its twists and curves. Take a look at the photo gallery to see how variable in size and color the flowers of Jack in the Pulpit can be. One thing they all have in common though, is the little…
Showy Orchis
Galearis spectabilis is the Showy Orchis! This orchid miraculously appears on the forest floor in April and May in Virginia. It likes limey soils like we have here in Montgomery County, and it is often found on the edges of swampy terrain. This week it is coming up on the hillside at my house and near the…
Goldenseal
Hydrastis canadensis or Orange-root Goldenseal is also known as orange-root because of its thick, yellow rhizome (or underground root). This inconspicuous wildflower is in danger of being over-harvested because the plant has numerous medicinal uses. It is purported to have anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory, and laxative effects, among others. Extracts of farm-raised goldenseal are sold in salves…
Solomon’s Seal
Polygonatum biflorum This handsome woodland plant grows upright as an unbranched stalk of alternating, oval leaves. The leaf edges are smooth. The plant has a look-alike, false solomon’s seal, but the two are easy to tell apart if the plants are in bloom. The flowers of solomon’s seal are born underneath the leaves, as seen in…
Trailing Arbutus
Epigaea repens Trailing arbutus is a native, evergreen, creeping plant that grows in mixed forests. It is easy to overlook this plant because of its low stature, but I frequently see it growing on the eroded banks of roads and trails as I am out walking in the forest. I think it is more noticable…
Gaywings
Fringed Polygala or Gaywings Polygala paucifolia At first glance, the color and texture of this flower call to mind an orchid. The complicated structure, complete with wing-like sepals, resembles a flying bird or airplane. Two petals are joined together to make a tube; a third, lower petal is fringed. The rosy pink or purple flowers…
Eastern Red Columbine
or Wild Columbine Aquilegia canadensis This beautiful red and yellow flower grows in thin soil on rock ledges and along rocky slopes in woods, ravines and bluffs. The dainty flowers dangle from delicate stems, rocking constantly in the breeze. You can find columbine growing from April to July in Virginia. The elaborate flowers are only…
Bishop’s Cap
Miterwort or Bishop’s Cap Mitella diphylla Bishop’s cap is a delicate, white wildflower that prefers moist, rich woodlands. It is content on limestone or sandstone-based soils. I’ve found it growing abundantly at Falls Ridge Preserve in Montgomery County in mid- to late spring, and also along the Blue Ridge Parkway. The name of the flower…
Mountain Bellwort
Uvularia puberula If you look at the photo above, at first glance, the plant looks a bit like Solomon’s Seal, but it is glossier and the leaflets are more rounded. The stem is different too: it zigzags back and forth at every leaflet, and each stem is branched into two distinct parts. For two years now, I’ve…
Largeflower Bellwort and Perfoliate Bellwort
Largeflower Bellwort (Uvularia grandiflora) and Perfoliate Bellwort( Uvularia perfoliata) Here are two bellworts with “perfoliate” leaves but a few subtle differences. Large-flowered bellwort is a tall, nodding plant in springtime with large, dark yellow flowers that are sometimes hard to see because they can be hidden in leaves. The yellow “petals” hang in a disorderly, twisted fashion and the petals are…
Wild Ginger
Wild Ginger (Asarum canadense) You will find wild ginger, or Canadian ginger, growing in deciduous forests throughout the east coast, including Appalachia, but don’t bother looking for it in winter. This ginger is a deciduous, herbaceous plant (leaves disappear in fall). Ginger colonies form in the springtime from branching rhizomes that form just below the…
Honesty
Money Plant or Honesty Lunaria annua A native of Europe, this biennial has spread across much of the United States because it seeds so easily. In it’s first year it is a small plant, but in the second year it grows to 3 feet in height before it flowers and goes to seed. Well established now…
Golden Ragwort
Senecio aureus or Packera aurea Blooming now, April through May, is Senecio aureus, or Golden Ragwort! The flower stalks of this spring wildflower can grow 12 to 30 inches in height, towering over a low, spreading groundcover of heart-shaped leaves. Each of the basal leaves is bluntly toothed and has a long stem, or petiole. The underside…
Yellow Corydalis
Corydalis flavula The neatly dissected, compound leaves of Corydalis will remind you of Dutchman’s Breeches or Bleeding Hearts. That’s because these plants are all in the same family–the fumewort family. The plants in the Corydalis genus have elongated flowers that are held above the leaves. The species pictured here, Corydalis flavula, is a short, wild…
Spring Beauty
Claytonia caroliniana and Claytonia virginica There are two kinds of Spring Beauties in our area. Above is the “wide-leaved” Spring Beauty, or Claytonia caroliniana. The single pair of leaves on this small plant are ovate to lanceolate; the margin is entire. The lovely pink to white flowers are sweetly marked –each of the 5 petals…
Great-spurred Violet
Viola rostrata In general, I think violets are hard to identify with real certainty, but thankfully this one has a few distinctive characteristics, starting with an extremely long “spur” on the back of the flower. There are also “toothed stipules”, or very small serrated leaflets in the space where the leaf meets the stem (see photo at right)….
Morels
Morels Obviously, this is not a wildflower… but morels need to be included among my springtime posts because they are such a favorite. At our house, we wait for morel season with great anticipation! Our most consistent observation has been that we find morels under dead or dying elm trees, and under tulip poplars, ash…
White Trillium
Trillium grandiflorum White Trillium White trillium, or wakerobin, is a showy perennial wildflower that occurs in forested parts of Virginia (and most of the eastern states). The single, three-petaled, white flower is born on a delicate pedicle that arises from a whorl of three broad leaves (technically bracts). Other distinguishing features include three visible sepals…
Virginia Bluebells
Mertensia virginica Virginia bluebells are also called Virginia cowslip, or Roanoke bells. I first spotted them here in Blacksburg in a friend’s yard, but soon learned that this native wildflower grows extensively along the banks of streams and rivers in this part of Virginia, making it a riparian species. Last year I saw them growing…
Star Chickweed
Stellaria pubera It seems like so many of our spring wildflowers are WHITE! Some, like star chickweed, can easily go unnoticed because they are so small. But look closely and you’ll see something here worth admiring: the five tiny white petals of this flower are deeply lobed, such that it looks like there are 10…
Walking Fern
Asplenium rhizophyllum I know this is a wildflower blog, but occasionally a non-flowering plant makes its way into my heart too. Here’s one that I’ve photographed now and then through the years. It is called Walking Fern. I feel like a little kid when I come across Walking Fern on my hikes. I felt this…
Cutleaf Toothwort
Dentaria laciniata or Cardamine concatenata The leaves of this early spring wildflower occur in distinctive whorls of three. Each leaflet is deeply cut, sometimes so much so that it looks like there are five leaflets. Clusters of white to pinkish flowers are born at the top of the plant; each flower has four petals and…
Wood Poppy
Celandine Poppy Stylophorum diphyllum Among the earliest wildflowers to come up in my yard in April, wood poppies are tough and cold resistant. These native Virginia wildflowers grow quickly into tall plants that reach about 2 feet in height; they produce a profusion of bright yellow flowers from early spring through the summer. The large flowers will eventually give way to fuzzy, elongated seed…
Twin Leaf
Jeffersonia diphylla Twin leaf emerges in mid-March or early April, and blooms soon after the first leaves appear. It is found in damp, loamy soils in open woods in the eastern U.S., primarily in regions north of Virginia. The genus was named in honor of Thomas Jefferson, who apparently grew it in his home garden at…
Coltsfoot
Tussilago farfara Coltsfoot. This introduced species is a very early spring wildflower. The flowers appear before the leaves are formed, usually in March and April. Someone informed me that an old-time common name for this plant was “Son Before Father”, because the flower comes up before the leaves fully develop. Gotta love those common names–this one…
Rue Anemone
Anemonella thalictroides Tiny and delicate, the white to pinkish flowers of rue anemone explode in early spring like bright lights on the dark forest floor. The small, three-lobed leaves resemble meadow rue in appearance. The plant is so dainty that it moves almost constantly in the slightest wind, making it a challenge to photograph! Note…
Dutchman’s Breeches
Dutchman’s Breeches(Dicentra cucullaria) I love these little Appalachian beauties! The plant gets its name from the shape of the white flower, which looks like a pair of pants, or “breeches”. The bright little pants dangle from a raceme above the plant, as if they were suspended from a clothesline! Dutchman’s Breeches have delicately cut leaves…
Hepatica
Hepatica (Hepatica nobilis) Three-lobed leaves that resemble the human liver! Hepatica! Liver leaf! On the east coast, you may find this early-blooming spring wildflower in the sharp-leaved or round-leaved form. And just to make it more complicated, they sometimes hybridize! Here is a description of hepatica from Wikipedia: “Bisexual flowers with pink, purple, blue, or…
Bloodroot
Sanguinaria canadensis Here they come… like little soldiers rising from the earth– Bloodroot flowers! Look how their arms are held tight to their sides as they pierce through the cold and damp of early March! These precious wildflowers are among the first to bloom in Southwest Virginia. At my house, the emergence of bloodroot flowers is truly the first sign…
Trout Lily
Dogtooth Violet or Trout Lily Erythronium americanum I went for years without ever seeing a trout lily. They grow low to the ground and come up in the earliest part of spring, when the weather is still cold and unpredictable. Pushing up from under last year’s leaf pack, they are difficult to spot because the…
Haymaker’s Mushroom (or Lawnmower’s Mushroom)
Panaeolus foenisecii After looking through some field guides today, I was surprised to learn that this “little brown mushroom” (or LBM for short) is very common. (“How’s that”, I thought. “I can’t remember ever noticing it before!”) But notice it I did on this cool November afternoon— when countless colonies of LBM’s were coming up…
Wood Blewit
Clitocybe nuda or Lepista nuda I’m a sucker for uniquely colored mushrooms, so finding purple mushrooms is especially fun for me. The Wood Blewit fits the bill! Young wood blewits are often blue-ish in color; field guides describe the color as purplish-blue/violet or lavender. The color may fade to mauve or tan over time. The…
Dogbane or Indian Hemp
Apocynum cannabinum If you’re trying to identify this plant for the first time, you might reasonably assume it is a kind of milkweed. You’d be right. Dogbane is a milkweed relative—they are in the same Family— but in different genera (Apocynum vs Asclepias). Young dogbane plants look very much like milkweed in terms of leaf…
Downy Yellow False Foxglove
Aureolaria virginica Downy Yellow False Foxglove is a perennial found in dry, oak forests. I spotted this plant today (July 13) on a Forest Service road near Poverty Creek/Pandapas Pond Recreation Area. As the name implies, the stems and leaves of this native are covered in downy hair. The leaves are opposite and quite varied…
Mushroom Foray August 2018
The New River Valley Mushroom Club met at Pandapas Pond in late August for a 4-hour mushroom foray. The group of 25 “hunters” scoured the forest and then met up again at the picnic tables to sort and identify their finds. Below are some photos of the bounty of mushrooms they collected. It was a…
Spring 2018
Welcome back! Here’s my advice: Run–Do Not Walk– to your favorite wildflower location in Virginia! Spring is advancing quickly now that the temperatures have warmed up, and the number of species currently in bloom is astounding. The following photos were taken today, May 1st, at Falls Ridge Nature Preserve in the Ellett Valley. Please explore…
Spring 2017 is here!
In the interest of getting things started again here at Virginia Wildflowers, I am copying some photos from last spring to re-familiarize you with the progression of spring flowers that may be blooming in your area now. I’ve been out wandering these last few weeks, keeping a close watch on the ground for the “first signs…
Spring 2016 is here
It was a deliciously early spring here in southwest Virginia. At my house, where I have a small woodland surrounding my home, I had Hepatica and Bloodroot flowers blooming on March 17th! That’s early! Trout Lilies were open in all their yellow splendor by March 20th! Not far behind were the pink flowers of Allegheny Spurge –a gorgeous…
Shining Clubmoss
Huperzia lucidula It is the first of January! Happy New Year! At our house, we welcomed the new year with a walk in the woods with our new puppy, Grace. When she grows up, she’ll be my new photography assistant, but for now, she just tags along and enjoys all the great smells in the…
Prince’s Pine
Lycopodium obscurum or Dendrolycopodium obscurum This is the last of three New Year’s posts about local varieties of clubmoss. Prince’s Pine (sometimes called Ground Pine, Princess’s Pine, or Flat-branched tree clubmoss) is an evergreen beauty. Thanks to branching, it is a tad bushier than Ground Cedar, so each individual plant ends up looking like a tiny hemlock or pine tree. The “leaves” of the plant…
Ground Cedar
Diphasiastrum digitatum or Lycopodium digitatum Clubmosses (Lycopdodiaceae) are ancient evergreen perennials that can be spotted easily in the winter woods when all the other forest floor plants are “sleeping”. They have reproductive structures that are shaped like clubs, hence the name. When I was a college student in the way-back-when, the clubmosses were all called “Lycopodiums”…
Foxtail Clubmoss
Lycopodiella alopecuroides I went to the coast for Christmas this year and was lucky to get out for a nice walk at a Nature Conservancy property while I was there. I know December is not the best time of the year for botanizing, but I took my camera anyway… I would have been happy to…
Seedbox
Ludwigia alternifolia The cute little square seed pods of Ludwigia alternifolia, or Seedbox, are drying now in winter fields along with other stars of summer, like Queen Anne’s Lace and Ironweed. When fully dry, the hard seeds inside these boxes will rattle when shaken, giving rise to another common name, Rattlebox. This dainty member of the evening primrose family…
Horse Nettle
Solanum carolinense Horse nettle is a perennial native that is a member of the potato family of plants. You may recognize the flower and leaves as bearing some similarities to common garden vegetables like potatoes, tomatoes, and eggplant. The flowers are star-shaped, white to purple in color, with 5 lobes. A prominent yellow center contains a group…
Shaggy Mane Mushrooms
Coprinus comatus Today I spotted the largest Shaggy Mane Mushroom I have ever seen–nearly a foot tall!–so of course I have to post about it! Shaggy Manes are a kind of mushroom commonly referred to as “inky caps”. That’s because they grow quickly and then “melt” into a pool of black ooze that looks like INK. I know, that’s…
Bittersweet
Bittersweet. Fall is rushing toward closure, and with it– the leaves are falling from the sky and stacking up like piles of newspaper around me. If you listen, you can hear it. The change of seasons: bittersweet. Fall is at once beautiful and melancholy… the mesmerizing glory of scarlet leaves against a clear blue sky…the ominous…
Witch Hazel
Hamamelis virginiana Witch Hazel or American Witchhazel is a native shrub or small forest understory tree that grows 10-30 feet in height. The branches have a wide-growing habit such that the trees often have a “crooked” appearance. The 2-6-inch leaves are alternate and oval with wavy margins. The remarkable thing about witch-hazel is its odd bloom time: September-October-November! The…
Pear-shaped Puffball
Lycoperdon pyriforme On a hike to the War Spur trail in late September, and then again at Pandapas Pond in late October, I found these mushrooms growing in abundance, on decaying logs. Although the common name of this fungus suggests a pear shape, these can also be round, as seen in the photo gallery below. When they are…
Lion’s Mane Mushroom
Hericium erinaceus Just in time for Halloween: Fungi with TEETH! This pure white mushroom is quite the rock star in the fungus world, being both an edible and medicinal fungus. It grows on recently downed or wounded hardwood trees, which is exactly where I found these! As a mushroom, Lion’s Mane is just a mass of white spines,…
Leucopaxillus albissimus
Here we are at the end of October… Yellow maple leaves are falling steadily around me, with a little help from light rain. The forest floor is totally covered in leaf litter by now, making it hard to find fall mushrooms, even if they are out there. But—under the protection of hemlock trees in my…
Crimson Waxy Caps
Hygrocybe punicea A late October surprise: A profusion of Crimson Waxy Caps growing along the Skullcap Trail in the Jefferson National Forest! It was wonderful to find these gorgeous red mushrooms mixed in among the falling leaves of Chestnut Oak and Sourwood trees. Whenever I find things in the woods that I’ve never seen before,…
Yellow Gymnopilus
Gymnopilus luteus It is October, and the mushrooms are popping everywhere–in the grass, on logs and mulch, and of course on the forest floor. Frankly, I find this very distracting! The robust mushrooms seen above are commonly called Yellow Gym or Yellow Gymnopilus. They grow on wood and have a medium to large, dry cap,…
Fly Agaric
Amanita muscaria var. formosa It is October, and along with yellow leaves and orange pumpkins, there are large, yellowish-orange mushrooms coming up in my yard in Blacksburg! I found four or five of these mushrooms, growing under a group of hemlock trees, and a whole bunch more on my neighbor’s property, coming up under pines. As…
Ravenel’s Stinkhorn
Phallus ravenelii I know this is kind of gross, but I believe in equal opportunity. So– I found this gray-capped stinkhorn growing in the mulch in my neighbor’s yard in early October. There were a lot of them growing in the same area, with many lying on the ground “deliquescing” while others were still emerging…
Gem-studded Puffballs
Lycoperdon perlatum This information is taken directly from Wikipedia: “This mushroom, popularly known as the common puffball, warted puffball, gem-studded puffball, or the devil’s snuff-box, is a species of puffball fungus in the family Agaricaceae. A widespread species with a cosmopolitan distribution, it is a medium-sized puffball with a round fruit body tapering to a wide stalk. It is off-white with a top covered in…
Giant Puffballs
Calvatia gigantea Well, it’s officially October! Where did the summer go? Weeks have gone by with little rain and fall mushrooms in our area of Virginia have been somewhat scarce lately. But something tells me that’s about to change! We’ve had several days of rain earlier this week and now a deluge is predicted for…
Golden Aster
Chrysopsis mariana Blooming in late summer, this showy, golden yellow aster grows in barren areas. These were photographed growing along a steep roadside embankment on Brush Mountain in Southwest Virginia. The leaves are alternate, simple, entire to ever-so-lightly toothed, hairy, with a strong mid-rib. The leaves are larger at the bottom of the plant, growing smaller…
Honey Mushrooms
Armillaria Honeys! Here’s another new mushroom for me! There are two honey mushroom species pictured in this gallery—both are parasitic on hardwood trees. Armillaria mellea has a distinct ring, or annulus on the stipe and a partial veil when new; the gills are attached; the color is typically honey yellow. Armillaria tabescens is ringless; the…
Bradleys
Lactarius volemus The genus name of this mushroom refers to the “milky” latex that quickly flows when the flesh of the mushroom is cut or broken. Locally known in Southwest Virginia as swamps or bradleys, Lactarius volemus is an edible mushroom species. The top of the cap is burnt orange and smooth when young; the rim is…
Slender Gerardia
Agalinis tenuifolia (Gerardia tenuifolia) Slender Gerardia is a native annual that grows to about 2 feet in height. Note the slender, linear leaves and overall dark color (green to purple) of the foliage. The leaves are opposite and entire. The flowers, borne on long pedicels, are light to dark pink with purple spots inside. They…
Onion-stalk Lepiota
Lepiota cepaestipes or Leucocoprinus cepaestipes Look here! A delicate white mushroom growing in my mulch pile! It just goes to show you, if you never get around to spreading your mulch, it will eventually become a garden of its own! This diminutive species is common in urban areas because it likes to grow in wood…
Purple-stemmed and New York Aster
Aster… I have a limit as to how long I’ll try to key out difficult flowers, and I’ve hit mine with the fall asters! Right now, there are autumn-blooming asters everywhere that bear alternate, lanceolate leaves that lack petioles and clasp the stem. The leaf margin is usually gently toothed. Each flower head has 30 or more ray flowers…
New England Aster
Symphyotrichum novae-angliae You’ll recognize this prolific fall bloomer: New England Aster can be found growing locally in both home gardens and open meadows. Gobs of showy, purplish flowers cover the top of this tall native plant and provide an important source of nectar for insects–especially migrating butterflies– at this time of year. Examine the photo…
Nodding Bur Marigold
Bidens cernua In late summer and early fall, you might come across this showy little sunflower growing in wet places. Reaching just 3 feet in height, Nodding Bur Marigold has much smaller flowers than your average sunflower–its flower heads are only about 1 to 2 inches across! Like most miniature things, this petite version of a sunflower is pretty darn cute. Bur Marigold is a composite with 6 to…
Autumn Coralroot
Corallorhiza odontorhiza Here is a small, leafless orchid that can be found growing in local forests in the fall. Lacking leaves, it is a non-photosynthetic plant; it gets its nutrients from mycorrhizal fungi. The entire plant consists of a stem that is purplish to green, yellow or brown. It grows 3-8 inches in height, and…
Turtlehead
Chelone Fishmouth, snakemouth, turtlehead… The common names of this flower come from the 2-lipped shape, which calls to mind an animal’s gaping mouth. The pink, red or white flowers are borne on a spike at the top of the plant. The leaves are opposite, ovate to lanceolate, and have lightly toothed margins. Turtlehead enjoys life…
Conical Waxy Cap
Hygrocybe conica Conical Waxy Cap is also called witch’s hat, and for good reason. Note the pointed tip on this colorful “waxcap” mushroom that makes it look like a little witches’ hat. The mushroom cap varies in color from yellow-orange to scarlet red. The gills also vary from white to orange to red. It has…
Coker’s Amanita
Amanita cokeri This very large, poisonous Amanita has white warts on the cap and erupts from a large basal bulb. The gallery below shows two Coker’s Amanita mushrooms before they erupted from the bulb, and then again a few days later. (The veil is evident on one of the mushrooms.) The warts on the cap will…
Sweet Everlasting
Now here’s a great name for a flower if I ever did hear one. Sweet Everlasting! What a perfect name! Pseudognaphalium obtusifolium The flowers of Sweet Everlasting are a bit odd because they are dry to the touch, even when new. That’s because the tiny flowers are wrapped in layers of dry, white bracts. Deep inside…
VIRGINIA WILDFLOWERS 