I noticed this flowering creeping perennial at the wildflower garden at the Museum of Natural History. I thought “how lovely” because I had no clue what it was, initially. Moneywort, as this turned out to be, is native to Europe, and was introduced in North America as a horticultural plant. It first got here in […]
Archive for the ‘Plant bio’ Category
From the non-native dossier: Lysimachia nummularia (moneywort)
Posted in Flora, Interesting, Invasive, Plant bio on July 13, 2011 | 1 Comment »
From the non-native dossier: Lotus corniculatus (bird’s foot trefoil)
Posted in Flora, Interesting, Invasive, Plant bio on July 13, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
This yellow-flowering perennial is native to Europe, Asia and North Africa, but can now be found worldwide. The name comes from the leaves that seem to be arranged in threes, resembling a flat-footed bird’s foot. In actuality those are just the most visible leaves out of a quintet. The plant will flower until September and […]
Asclepias incarnata (swamp milkweed)
Posted in Flora, Plant bio on July 12, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
This milkweed is a tall native plant which is usually found in swamps, near rivers, and wet meadows throughout most of the United States (It is not native to the western states). It reaches 3 to 5 feet and is now producing clusters of small, pinkish flowers. These flowers are an important food source for […]
Asclepias syriaca (common milkweed)
Posted in Edible, Flora, Interesting, Plant bio on July 12, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
It’s nice to see these milkweeds popping up everywhere, alongside roads and in meadows. The plants don’t require much tending – they prefer dry well-drained soils and full sun, and will do fine in poor soils as well. Common milkweed is quite drought tolerant. The plant can be grown from seed, and will readily self-seed. […]
Do you know who I am? Some kinda wintergreen, perhaps?
Posted in Flora, Interesting, Plant bio on July 11, 2011 | 1 Comment »
Myco-heterotrophy, the relationship described in an earlier post about the indian pipe plant, is not so uncommon, and can be found in several different groups of plants. The monotropes, the liverwort Cryptothallus, and non-photosynthetic orchids are full-time myco-heterotrophs. Some plants are partial myco-heterotrophic, and others can switch back and forth, or are myco-heterotrophic at one […]
Rudbeckia hirta (blackeyed susan)
Posted in Flora, Interesting, Plant bio on July 11, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
This plant is spectacular when it is doing well. I’ve had mixed results. None of the plants survived from last summer. True – they can be annual or biennal plants, but in some cases or situations they are perennial. I think the drought did them in last year. This year, I had some good strong […]
Monotropa uniflora (indian pipe)
Posted in Flora, Interesting, Plant bio on July 10, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
This is one of the more interesting plants on Cape Cod – it has no chlorophyll, and therefore no green leaves, so it cannot obtain energy from sunlight. Instead, it gets nutrients as follows: In the leaves of a nearby tree, or photosynthesizing plant, carbon dioxide is turned into sucrose, which is transported to the […]
Are you a member yet? Join the club mosses
Posted in Flora, Interesting, Plant bio on July 10, 2011 | 3 Comments »
So what are club mosses anyway? They are flowerless and seedless plants in the family Lycopodiaceae, that belong to a very ancient group of plants. they were the dominant plants during the Coal age (360-286 million years ago) and many were shrubs or large trees. We are very likely consuming these plants in the form […]
from the invasives dossier: Verbascum thapsus (common mullein)
Posted in Flora, Interesting, Invasive, Plant bio on July 7, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
The leaves of this European plant are a grayish-green color with soft, velvety hairs. Common mullein is a biennial. In its first year, it grows leaves in a basal rosette It sends up a flower stalk and produces seeds in the second year. Most of the flowering mullein plants I’ve seen have been a respectable 3 to […]
From the non-native dossier: Achillea millefolium (yarrow)
Posted in Edible, Flora, Interesting, Invasive, Plant bio on July 7, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
There is some disagreement on whether this plant is native or not. Achillea millefolium is a plant omnipresent in Europe and Asia, and most think that it was introduced in North America in early colonial times. Others seem to think that there is a native species, although it is indistinguishable from the Eurasian plant. I’ll consider […]