Our wildflowers – 19

DEFINITION OF TERMS:

  • KEYSTONE means they are listed by National Wildlife Federation as core plants for a wildlife garden in my ecoregion (Ecoregion 8).
  • NOT QUITE NATIVE means they are slightly out of range but adjacent to NYS as determined by GoBotany and NY Flora Atlas.
  • Otherwise the plant is a NY-native or native to the area noted.

SOUTHEAST NATIVE: Indian pink (Spigelia marilandica)

Spigelia

A spectacular flower.

This has done well, though it hasn’t spread or created any seedlings.

it’s native to the Southeast — ironically, not even to Maryland. I think I must have bought it at the Millersville Native Plant conference.

Wildlife: Hummingbirds

Woodland poppy (Stylophorum diphyllum) (NOT QUITE NATIVE)

Woodland poppy

This is a pretty plant with bright yellow flowers. Its only fault is that it spreads quite a bit, evidently by ants. Cullina recommends removing the seed pods before they’re dispersed. This is a task that would be well worth the effort, but I haven’t managed to do it yet.

CAUTION: There is also an invasive non-native look-alike: greater celandine (Chelidonium majus). The leaves are similar, but the flowers are somewhat less so, though still yellow. The non-native plant have four petals, too, but they’re narrower and not as attractive.

Wildlife: Seeds for chipmunks

  • Learn more:
    • Wildflower Center: Woodland poppy
    • Wild Ones – River City Grand Rapids chapter Tale of two poppies – How to distinguish between the native and non-native woodland poppies:

Early meadow rue (Thalictrum dioicum)

Early meadow rue

I love the foliage, but we really got it for the little flowers that hang down.

We always called this the Earring Plant when we were hiking in national parks.

Tall meadow rue aka King of the meadow (Thalictrum pubescens)

Tall meadow rue

This is the rue we have in the front yard under the Kentucky coffee tree. It has a nice foamy appearance and is easy to grow.

Tall meadow rue flowers

Here’s a closeup of the flowers.

Wildlife: Butterflies, bees

Rue anemone (Thalictrum thalictroides)

I’m not sure which of my Thalictrum this one is. I’ll have to check these more carefully this year (2022).

Running foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia)

The difference between running foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia) and clumping foamflower (T. wherryi) is that running foamflower has um … runners!

To really appreciate this plant, it’s nice to see it in a larger grouping, and starting with one plant, it finally has created a nice patch. After the flowers die, the foliage is still very attractive.

Running foamflower

Clumping foamflower (Tiarella wherryi)
Syn: Tiarella cordifolia var. collina

Clumping foamflower

Clumping foamflower (Tiarella wherryi) doesn’t spread by runners. I love the foamy-looking flowers in the spring. The leaves are a bit different from the running foamflower.

Foamflower foliage

Foamflower foliage is a wonderful ground cover, too!

Note: I’m not sure which of the two kinds of foamflower this is.

Spiderwort (Tradescantia virginiana OR T. ohiensis??)

Spiderwort flowers

NOTE: Trying to figure out which. T. virginiana is “Not quite native” and T. ohiensis is native.

When I first planted this many years ago, it became one of my favorite plants. I bought several cultivars with different colored flowers. I’m hoping I have some of the plain species, but at this point I have no way of telling.

Then I noticed it spreading everywhere, so I’m trying to keep it under control by pulling up a lot of the extra plants I see.

One of my favorite morning experiences is visiting the patches of spiderwort to hear all the pleasant buzzing of all the bees enjoying its nectar.

Wildlife: Bees
** SPECIAL VALUE TO NATIVE BEES **
** SPECIAL VALUE TO BUMBLE BEES **