Hoary Puccoon

The inner beauty of Hoary Puccoon, one of our native wildflowers.

Wildflowers for May

No picture does justice to the abundant wildflowers blooming in the woods of Indiana this year. A May Day hike through the Indiana Dunes revealed Dune after Dune topped with Lupine and Hoary Puccoon.

The Hoary Puccoon's yellow accentuates the wonderful purple of those Lupines that are so important to our endangered butterfly.

Hoary Puccoon's name means hairy (hoary) and flower that is good for dyes(puccoon). What a name for such a beauty!

Hoary Puccoon

Such a horrible sounding name for such a beautiful sunny wildflower. The Hoary Puccoon blooms at the Indiana Dunes with the Lupines. In fact it is covering areas of the dunes in a mass of yellow.

The Hoary in the plant's name means hairy; it has hairy leaves. The Puccoon is an Indian word that means dye and its roots can be pulverized to make a red dye.

Butterflies and bees love the flowers. I watched many a Red Admiral flutter around the sunny blooms. 

Sources: "The Natural Heritage of Indiana," Wikipedia