Maple-leaf Viburnum (Viburnum acerifolium) is blooming right now in my yard, and along trails up here in the mountains. It’s a shrub that reaches a height of 3′ to 6′ and a width of 3′ to 4′.
The fuzzy textured leaves grow opposite each other, and are 2″ to 4″ long and wide, with 3 to five lobes. Those lobes have a serrated edge.
The flowers are arranged in flat-topped clusters, or cymes, which provide nectar and pollen to bees, flies, beetles, wasps, butterflies and skippers.
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A member of the Mint family (Lamiaceae), Nettleleaf Sage (Salvia urticifolia) is an herbaceous perennial that is native to the southeastern United States, with some found in Pennsylvania which is the northernmost part of its range.
It grows to 1 ½-2 feet tall, with square stems of green, that are pubescent. Leaves are opposite on short petioles.
Nettleleaf Sage grows in open woods and forest edges. Those forest edges are where I find it with its blue and white, purple and white or all white blooms.
Wild Basil (Clinopodium vulgare), is an herbaceous perennial, and member of the Lamiaceae (mint) family. True Basil is also part of the Lamiaceae family. Being in that family, it has a square stem like so many mint plants that I have growing in my gardens.
Flowers, 1/2 inch long are formed together in fuzzy clumps. Fuzzy because of woolly bracts that surround each of the flowers. Each clump, which generally has about 30 flowers, only has a few flowers blooming at a time.
Milder than its relative, true Basil, Wild Basil has a lovely, though faint fragrance and can be eaten in moderation. The leaves are opposite, covered in fine hairs and have short petioles. The plant’s stems are also covered in fine hairs.
Here, a fuzzy seedhead.
Wild Basil is native to northeastern United States. Bloom time is July and August. Right now!
Woodland Sunflower (Helianthus divaricatus). An herbaceous perennial that often grows to 5 – 7 feet tall. It’s native to eastern and central North America and can be found along rocky trails and dry open sites.
As this example, as it dances in the dappled sunlight shows, the leaves are opposite with a smooth to slightly toothed margin and hairy underside.
Butterflies, Silvery Checkerspot (pictured above), Gorgon Checkerspot, and Painted Lady use the Woodland Sunflower as their larval host plant.
An abundance of other insects are attracted to Woodland Sunflowers. Some even to the point of exclusivity. There are certain bees which visit Woodland Sunflowers that will go to only this species of flower, or flowers of the Helianthus, or Sunflower genus. They are said to be oligolectic. Their larvae must be fed the pollen or nectar of those particular flowers in order to develop properly.
Woodland Sunflowers spread by rhizomes forming colonies. In the autumn as the flowers fade those colonies become prime territory for game birds, song birds, and small mammals gathering to enjoy the seeds.
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All along the roadsides. Rich warm yellow greets the cars and trucks that pass. Long-bracted Tickseed Sunflower (Biden polylepis). It’s native to eastern and central United States and south-central Canada.
The leaves of Long-Bracted Tickseed Sunflower are quite distinctive, with sharply toothed margin, opposite and pinnately compound.
These flowers bloom from late summer to early fall. Attracting all sorts of insects — bees, wasps, flies, butterflies, skippers, beetles and more. Along with these Tickseed Sunflowers on the roadsides there are other shining yellow blooms. Other species that I’ll write about one day soon.
Autumn is approaching. The leaves of some Flowering Dogwoods are getting richer, more and more red. Their crimson berries, or drupes, are in abundance. This is the species of Dogwood that most people think of when “Dogwood” is mentioned.
Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida)and Gray Dogwood (Cornus racemosa). Two different Dogwood species. One of seventeen species native to North America. Like most Dogwood species, these two have opposite leaves as well as leaves with visible veins that curve parallel to the smooth edges.
Gray Dogwood’s creamy white berries are plentiful now too, much to the pleasure of Cardinals, Flickers, Downy Woodpeckers, Bluebirds and many other songbirds.
Flowering Dogwoods grow as single trees. Gray Dogwoods form colonies, by growing suckers and spreading. These dense colonies create a perfect space for nesting songbirds. Glad to see these berries. Autumnis approaching!
Native to all 48 of our contiguous states and a good bit of Canada too. An herbaceous perennial in the mint family American Germander (Teucrium canadense).
Opposite leaves, squarish stem. Typical of the mint family.
You’ll find Bees of the long-tongued sort, Hummingbird Moths, and Hummingbirds them selves, as pollinators. And if you’re looking for a word to impress someone, the flowers are said to be zygomorphic. Meaning there’s only one line along which the flower can be divided into equal halves – creating a mirror image.
American Germander being in the mint family, I would think that the plant’s leaves are edible. But first off, the leaves are bitter. That certainly helps if you have problems with critters browsing in your gardens. And as is so often the case with plants that surround us, it presents a danger. American Germander has high levels of neoclerodane diterpenoid, which causes liver damage. Look but don’t eat!
