April 14, 2026
Rue Anenome (Thalictrum thalictroides), native to eastern North America, blooming right now in the woods up here. An herbaceous perennial that grows to 4 to 8 inches in height. It’s petals are not true petals but are white to pale pink sepals which encircle a bundle of yellow-green stamens.
These flowers produce no nectar. Their pollen attracts mostly small bees and flies.
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May 22, 2025
A unique flower. Indian Pink (Spigelia marilandica), native to inland areas of the Southeastern and Midwestern US. An herbaceous perennial that grows to a height of 1.5 to 2 feet, with a width of about 1.5 feet.
In bloom right now in my garden.
A row of flowers emerges at the top of every stem, 2 inches tall, tubular, and a brilliant shade of scarlet. Each having a lovely yellow star shape on top.
A flower that seems to have been created for Hummingbirds.
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Heartleaf Aster (Symphyotrichum cordifolium), is easy to identify because of its heart shaped leaves. A herbaceous perennial native to central and eastern North America. There are about 150 species of Aster native to North America.
The flowers of Heartleaf Aster are composed of petal-like ray flowers which are often blue-violet to lavender, or in this case snow white. At the center, tube-like disk flowers start out yellow and gradually develop a purple-red color.
I have a patch of these flowers, volunteers that I really enjoy. Other plants try to invade its space but I fight them off.
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I was thinking that it was about bloom time for the Aromatic Aster (Symphyotrichum oblongifolium) and sure enough this afternoon I came upon a few flowers. Just the beginning.
It’s an herbaceous perennial, native to parts of the eastern and central United States, grows 2 to 4 feet tall. It’s the host plant for the Silvery Checkerspot (Chlosyne nycteis). Many pollinators seek out the nectar, bees, butterflies and skippers.
Actually the flowers don’t have a scent but rubbing the leaves will give the aroma of balsam.
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Whorled Rosinweed (Silphium asteriscus var. trifoliatum). A bright lemon yellow flower that is a herbaceous perennial. It grows to be four to six feet tall.
Native to the eastern United States. Found growing along trails up here.
This plant is a variety of Silphium asteriscus which has whorls of leaves of three or four along the tall stems.
The name Rosinweed comes about because of the substance that seeps from damaged stems. This gummy substance was used by Native Americans as a chewing gum.
The nectar and pollen attract bees, and butterflies, and songbirds enjoy the seeds.
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Black Cohosh (Actaea racemosa) is in bloom along the trails up here right now. They have always made me think of ghosts of the people who lived here for thousands of years before now. Reminders of the past.
Black Cohosh is a herbaceous perennial that grows quite tall, between three and seven feet tall, one of the largest woodland wildflowers.
Tall stems are covered with many flowers. Each of those flowers is 2/3 inch across and snow white, with 24 stamens and a one pistil.
Each little flower is replaced by a fruit, called a follicle, which is about 1/3 inch long. As the follicle dries it splits open releasing several seeds.
Black Cohosh is the only known host plant for Appalachian Azure butterflies. The butterflies lay their eggs on the flower buds and once hatched the larvae eat the flowers.
Black Cohosh, right up there along with many favorites here on my mountain.
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Roam the trails up here in the mountains and you might find some Smooth Solomon’s Seal (Polygonatum biflorum).
Herbaceous perennials, native to eastern and central North America. Growing two feet tall and on occasion will grow to three feet tall.
Bees harvest nectar and pollen from the flowers that grow in pairs along the arched stalks.
Quarter inch green berries become bluish-black in late summer, which will be eaten by birds.
Look as you hike. There’s so much out there to see.
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Hiking along the trails up here in the mountains during May you might find this splendid herbaceous perennial. With rich yellow blooms, this is Golden Alexanders (Zizia aurea).
The native range of Golden Alexanders is the eastern and central US where it can grow to 2.5 feet tall.
The host plant of the Black Swallowtail butterfly.
Finding these plants in bloom while out roaming is pure delight.
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Starry Campion (Silene stellata), at the top of my normal hike, when I’m out wandering. My hikes are the same all the time. I’ve gotten to know my mountains well. What plants are where, whether it is a “bush” of American Chestnut, or a little puff of Pincushion Moss, I know where they are. This plant is one of my “sign posts” to turn around. This and Maidenhair Fern (Adiantum). Turn around and head back down to the cabin.
Starry Campion, native to the central and eastern United States, a herbaceous perennial which is 1 to 2 feet tall, most often unbranched or with few branches.
The flowers occur individually or in very small groups at the tips of long side branches. The flowers are a bit less than an inch across, made up of 5 snowy white fringed petals.
Flowers bloom from the middle, to late summer, for almost a month.
The lower and upper leaves are opposite and the middle leaves are in whorls of 4. The leaves measure about 4 inches long and a bit more than 1 inch across.
So many discoveries out there, just waiting to happen, even when I think I know my mountains.
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Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica), herbaceous perennials, native to eastern North America. Painting its landscape with rich yummy purple, fading to pink and eventually turning to a lovely soft blue as its flowers mature.
A beautiful palette for spring, April and May.
By midsummer the blooms are gone, the plants disappear into the leaf litter of the woods. Gone until early next spring when the purples, pinks and blues emerge to paint the landscape all over again.
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