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…
Tag: Murphy’s Farm
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…
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…
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…
Black-eyed Susans
Rudbeckia hirta I think we all remember these pretty wildflowers from our childhood. They are so common, yet… So darn confusing! There are more than 20 species in the genus Rudbeckia, plus many cultivars and varieties. More than one species shares the common name “black-eyed susan”. Rudbeckia hirta is both a native wildflower and a frequently planted…
Maximilian’s Sunflower
Helianthus maximiliani Here’s a tall and cheerful late-summer perennial that’s not only beautiful, but also a great source of food for wildlife. We generally expect sunflowers to be tall, and this one is no exception. It can grow 3 to 10 feet in height (making it particularly hard to photograph!) The leaves and stem of Max’s Sunflower are distinctive. The…
Nodding Ladies’ Tresses
Spiranthes cernua Twist and shout! Luckily the bright white of these tiny orchids help them to stand out in the grass and weeds, otherwise they would be easy to miss in September meadows. They stand only 4 to 12 inches in height. Nodding Ladies’ Tresses orchids bear their tiny flowers in a “double, intertwined” spiraling fashion…
Sneezeweed
Helenium autumnale I really like this species epithet: autumnale! It reminds me of what is happening right now, ever so subtly, in the great outdoors: There are little signs of autumn coming–the black gums dropping bright red leaves on the forest floor… the preying mantis growing large and more conspicuous on the prowl… the late…
Ornate-stalked Bolete
Boletus ornatipes or Retiboletus ornatipes I love the color of this mushroom! It is mustard yellow! And note the ornate, netted pattern on the stipe (a reticulate stem)! The ornate-stalked bolete is mycorrhizal on hardwoods, and in fact we found all of these mushrooms in a mixed-oak forest at Pandapas Pond, in Montgomery County, VA…
False Sunflower
Heliopsis helianthoides Right now, in August, bold yellow flowers are lighting up our summer fields, roadsides and streambanks. Among them, Green-headed coneflower, wingstem, yellow crownbeard, and black-eyed susans, are competing for late-summer sun. A variety of sunflowers are also part of the show. July and August is the peak of their flowering period. Sunflowers are composites with yellow ray flowers and…
Great Blue Lobelia
Lobelia siphilitica It is a late summer treat to see great blue lobelia in full bloom, often alongside the fabulously red cardinal flower. Sometimes called “blue cardinal flower”, great blue lobelia resembles red cardinal flower, (Lobelia cardinalis), in stature, habitat, and structure. Both of these plants are tall wetland species with colorful flowers borne on terminal racemes. Their…
Thistle
Circium sp. Thistle. Is it a beautiful purple wildflower that generously produces nectar for butterflies and seeds for small birds like the American Goldfinch? Or, is it a treacherous weed of fields and pastures that is a scourge for farmers everywhere? Can I paint a fair portrait? It is both. This prickly plant bears plump flower heads on tall stems, in…
Tansy
Tanacetum vulgare Imagine a daisy without the white petals, such that only the yellow center of disk flowers remains. Rayless composites aren’t all that common, but there are a few, and common tansy is one rayless composite that grows in our part of southwest Virginia. Common tansy grows to about 3 feet in height and…
Yellow Crownbeard
Verbesina occidentalis This native perennial of moist and sunny places begins blooming in late summer and has a confusing look-alike called wingstem, Verbesina alternifolia, which blooms at about the same time. They often occur together in the same area.. So let’s compare them: Crownbeard and Wingstem are relatively tall plants with winged stems. Each is…
Boneset
Eupatorium perfoliatum Common boneset is a perennial native that can be found growing locally in wet or damp areas. There are about 20 other white wildflowers that resemble boneset, but this plant is relatively easy to tell apart from the other look-alikes. Notice how the base of the leaves appear to wrap around the stem. It…
Partridge Pea
Chamaechrista fasciulata This late summer flower reminds me of the mimosa leaves that intrigued me as a child. It has pinnately compound leaves that are composed of 8 to 15 tiny, barbed leaflets that fold inward when you brush them with your finger. For further mystery, they close completely at night because they are sensitive…
Wingstem
Verbesina alternifolia The common name of this plant, of course, comes from the distinctive stem, which has vertical ridges that are sometimes described as “wings”. (See the photos below.) The stem is usually unbranched, and the fast-growing plant can eventually reach great heights– up to 8 or 10 feet. Wingstem is sometimes called yellow ironweed…
Gray-Headed Coneflower
Ratibida pinnata Here’s another native coneflower with a thimble-shaped head and drooping petals, but this time the head is gray to brown in color and the pale yellow, drooping “petals” (or ray flowers) number only 5 to 10. This is Gray-Headed Coneflower, and like the Green-Headed Coneflower, the leaves of this plant are alternate. The gray-headed…
Ironweed
Veronia This very tall, late-summer flower is ubiquitous in our part of VIrginia. The small, deep purple flowers begin to bloom in fields and along roadsides in August. The spectacular show of color continues through fall. Ironweed is a perennial wildflower, and a member of the Aster family. The leaves of the plant are elliptic to…
Jimsonweed
Datura stamonium Jimsonweed is also called purple thorn apple. One look at the purple stems and prickly fruit of this plant will tell you why. You’ll find it flowering in August and September, but your timing will have to be right. Generally, Jimsonweed flowers open at night and last only one day. Sometimes you can catch…
Wild Basil
Clinopodium vulgare or Satureja vulgaris Wild basil is a hairy mint with pointed oval leaves and clusters of pink to purple flowers. The clusters are stacked on an erect, 4-sided stem that is distinctly wooly. Morning dew will delight your eye as it glistens on the dried clusters long after the flowers fade. See the gallery…
Joe Pye Weed
Eupatorium or Eutrochium Here’s a tall native wildflower that has large, serrated, whorled leaves and masses of rose pink blooms in late summer. Joe Pye weed grows 4 to 7 feet in height and enjoys life in all sorts of damp places in southwest Virginia. Believe it or not, Joe Pye weed is a composite…
Sundrops and Evening Primrose
Oenothera fruticosa They call me Mellow Yellow… Evening Primroses and Sundrops are very similar in appearance. They both have lance-shaped leaves and an upright growth habit. They both bear large (~2-inch) yellow flowers, each with four petals and a large x-shaped stigma at the center. The flowers of Evening Primrose are mostly closed during the…
Downy Rattlesnake Plantain
Goodyear pubescens I love the leaves of this little native orchid. Look at that symphony of color and design! The silver markings on the dark blue-green leaves, along with the bold stripe in the center of the leaf make it easy to identify as rattlesnake plantain. The “plantain” part of this plant’s name comes…
American Wintergreen or Eastern Teaberry
Gaultheria procumbens Pictured here is a little wildflower that has been sitting out in the cold all winter, holding fast to its tiny red berries. As the plant’s common name implies, the round to elliptical, shiny leaves of American winterberry stay green all winter. The cherry-red fruit persists as well. Wintergreen is technically a low-growing shrub,…
Jack O’Lantern Mushroom
Omphalotus illudens No, it is not time for Halloween, but it IS time for bright orange mushrooms to start popping out of the ground to do a little pre-holiday scaring. The Jack O’Lantern Mushroom is pretty distinctive, so you should have little trouble identifying this one. If a big patch of orange catches your eye…
Knapweed
Centaurea Imagine a genus with 500+ species in it… Then imagine how intimidating it is to name a flower in this group to species! So in the interest of avoiding an error, I’ll stop at the genus level on this one. The folks at Wikipedia report that all the members of the genus Centaurea share…
Purple Coneflower
Echinacea purpurea When you see the word Echinacea, you probably think “cold remedy”. Of all the native plants that have made their way from the field to the medicine cabinet, this one is probably one of the most famous. The roots and leaves of Purple Coneflower, whose genus name is Echinacea, have long been used to treat…
American Poke
Phytolacca americana Also known as Virginia poke, American nightshade, pokeweed, and pokeberry, among other names, this native perennial is a towering beauty in fallow fields. American poke grows very tall (6-12 ft!) and typically inhabits waste areas and edge habitat. The leaves of American poke are simple, alternate, lanceolate, entire, and very large (up to…
Black Trumpets
Craterellus cornucopioides Although I’ve heard of edible black trumpet mushrooms before, I was not expecting to find them today. I practically fell over them on my way to pick up a few chanterelles! Once I got a good look at them, I started to find them at just about every spot where I also found…
Blue Mist Flower or Wild Ageratum
Conoclinium coelestinum Until today, I always thought of ageratum as a low-growing garden annual that you could buy readily in any garden center– but I never knew it was also a native wildflower! I recently found a colony of these plants growing along the side of a shallow pond in Blacksburg, VA. The plants were…
Swamp Milkweed or Silkplant
Asclepias incarnata Pretty enough for any garden, the deep pink blossoms of this summer milkweed beg you to stop and smell the flowers! Dozens of individual blooms are borne on stout umbels at the top of a 2-5 ft. tall plant. Look closely to see the five, up-turned petals on each flower. Sweet! The leaves (see photo below) are opposite,…
Chicory
Cichorium intybus Chicory, blue sailors, wild succory, coffeeweed, or cornflower…whatever you want to call it–how can you not LOVE the bright blue flowers of this tough little wildflower? In a summer field, chicory stands out because of its tall, rigid stems that almost appear woody. Here and there along the stem appear aster-like flowers in…
Heal-All or Self-Heal
Prunella vulgaris As the name would suggest, heal-all has been used to treat all kinds of maladies in the past. Traditionally, the shape of a plant was often used to discern its medicinal uses, and so the shape of this flower, with its open mouth exposing the throat, led to it being used as a…
Bee Balm and Wild Bergamot
Monarda There are many species of Monarda, but all have the following things in common: the plants have square stems; the leaves are simple, serrated, opposite, and have petioles; there is a distinct smell of mint when the leaves are crushed; the large flowers arise from a whorl, and sometimes the whorls are stacked up…
Queen Anne’s Lace
Daucus carota Here she is in all her loveliness– Queen Anne’s Lace, named after Queen Anne of England, who was an expert lacemaker! This umbrella-shaped flower is made up of many tiny white flowers; together they form the “lacy” pattern characteristic of the wildflower’s inflorescence. Below the umbel of flowers is a spray of finely…
Common Milkweed
Asclepias syriaca Milkweed is an interesting plant on a variety of levels. Most of us already know that monarch butterfly larvae feed exclusively on milkweed leaves, which renders the caterpillars and butterflies toxic to predators. And most of us know that the plant’s name is derived from the fact that it produces a milky-white, sticky…
Yarrow
Considering how long I’ve been at this flower blog, it is a wonder that I haven’t posted a portrait of yarrow yet! It is so ubiquitous that it practically goes unnoticed in summer fields and roadsides. And yet, there is something very special about this simple white flower. Achillea millefolium Of course you know by now…
Butterfly Weed
Asclepias tuberosa Butterfly weed is a kind of milkweed. The brightly colored, orange flowers are similar in shape to those of common milkweed. It is a native perennial that gets its name from the fact that the flowers are so attractive to butterflies. Insects and hummingbirds are attracted to both the color and the large…
VIRGINIA WILDFLOWERS 