Ball of Tiny Flowers---Buttonbush

A ball of tiny flowers make up this favorite of mine, the Buttonbush. This native shrub loves wetlands and feeds everything from deer to tiny hummingbirds and ducks.

And I'm not the only one who apparently loves this plant, long ago a specimen was carried from its native area in the eastern U.S. to the San Joaquin Valley in California. There its existence created a meeting place for Native Americans---around a ball of tiny flowers.

A Jewel of a Weed

Jewelweed growing in the shade, delicate flowers hanging from delicate stems. This plant is said to be good as a salve for poison ivy and dermatitis.

Nature provides the cure right next to the plant that causes the ailment.

White Baneberry

Brilliantly white with those distinctive red stems, White Baneberry's berries glow in the shade of the trees that still have their leaves.

Birds love to eat the berries. But beware---the plant is a heart stopping bane to human consumption.  

Cardinal Flower

Cardinal Flower is blooming now along Indiana stream banks. This wildflower is a native flower that was introduced to Europe long ago.

It is a favorite of hummingbirds.

Down of the Thistle

The down of the thistle is quite thick this year. Do you think it makes a prediction of the winter to come?

Whenever I see thistle going to seed I think of the poem The Night Before Christmas. And in this very hot July, the thought of a few frigged nights is quite cooling. 

Obedient Plant

Obedient Plant is blooming in fields and sunny areas of Coffee Creek Park.

There are hybrids of this plant that are grown in gardens but it is a native wildflower.

When the flowers are bent they obediently remain in the same position, making them the perfect place for insects to take refuge in, closing the petals behind them like a door.  

Wild Bergamot

Like a firecracker exploding out of a tiny box, Wild Bergamot explodes out of its little green box this time of year.

This native wildflower is a member of the mint family and a tea made of the plant will help you nurse a cold or other respiratory ailment.

This flower belongs in every garden, whether natural or cultivated and has been a favorite of poets.

Joe-Pye Weed

I love Joe-Pye Weed. It attracts birds, butterflies, bees and other insects. It is currently blooming along the fringes of bogs, marshes, and other wetland areas.

And with a heavenly fragrance I couldn't imagine how it came to be called Joe-Pye Weed. According to Wikipedia the name comes from a Native American by the name of Joe Pye who used the plant to heal people.

Joe-Pye Weed is a native wildflower.  

Butterfly Weed

A member of the milkweeds, Butterfly Weed attracts many insects, butterflies and even some hummingbirds included.

One of its many common names is Butterfly Love.    

Pickerelweed

Summer Pickerelweed is just beginning to bloom. This native water plant blooms in bogs, wetlands, and lowlands.

Pretty as it is, it is also edible. It produces seeds that, I am told, are quite tasty and the leaves are edible as greens. I often catch deer nibbling the plants in the marsh.  

The plant is named for pickerel, the fish that is sometimes swimming among the roots.  

Wild Indigo

There are few things more beautiful than a June field full of White Indigo growing several feet tall. This indigenous wild flower belongs with the pea family and blooms with your garden peas.

The plants stems are a blueish color that darkens with the coming autumn. A blue dye can be made out of the plant.

Spiderwort

Nothing quite says summer than a field colored purplish-blue by an array of spiderwort.

Native to the Americas, these wildflowers are one of the few that were brought back to be cultatived in Europe.    

Daisies--Oxeye vs Fleabane

Most lovers of Daisies go for the big Daisy Oxeye variety and rip the tiny Daisy Fleabanes, shown here, out of gardens like a nasty weed.

But the Daisy Fleabane is the natural wildflower to prairies; Oxeyes are the import. Because the Fleabane is native, it is beneficial to more of the native species of insects, including butterflies. It also blooms longer into the season than your typical Oxeye

A Daisy, just as sweet and blooming now in a field near you.   

Shooting Star

Even though this wildflower is listed in the "white flower section of my Audubon field guide, it comes in many colors; rose, lilac, in addition to white.

It's such a beautiful plant, you can imagine why it was cultivated by early settlers.   

Buttonbush

If you see this plant near a house you are about to buy, don't buy the house unless you like to live in a swamp.

Buttonbush likes low swampy areas. It is a native wetland plant that provides food and cover for a variety of butterflies and birds.

Usually the little "button balls" are white. This fall I've been seeing a lot of them turning a magnificent red color.

Sneezeweed -- God Bless you!

Doesn't it feel good to sneeze?

This beauty gets its name from its previous use as snuff.

A person who felt the need to clean out the sinuses would take a snort of the dried leaves of this plant and would sneeze.  

This is a member of the aster family. This specimen was found in a swampy area at Coffee Creek and is currently in bloom.   

Groundnut

I have never seen this plant outside of the Indiana Dunes, although it does grow elsewhere and it is said to be invasive. 

The groundnut is a very beautiful and distinctive member of the pea family. It grows tubers that are good to eat and somewhat like peanuts. 

It has been blooming at the Dunes since early August.

White Snake Root--It could kill a cow!

Hard to believe but the White Snake Root plant could kill a cow that munches on it. And before the cow even appears ill a human or animal who drinks the milk from that cow would become ill.

This beautiful 3-4 foot tall plant has been blooming since July at Coffee Creek. Usually it is covered with butterflies and bees.

A lot of butterflies use the plant as a larva host, so it's nice to have around inspite of being poisonous.

The name comes from early settlers and Native Americans using the root as a snake bite remedy. This is not recommended today due to the poisonous nature of the plant. 

Great Lobelia

Beautiful, purplish blue Great Lobelia has been blooming since late July and is still going strong. It grows in partial shade at Coffee Creek, Indiana Dunes, and other places in Northwest Indiana.  

Great Lobelia is said to be the blue version of Cardinal flower. Wouldn't a garden full of the blue and the red together be beautiful?

Obedient Plant -- A Motel for Bugs

The Obedient plant is a stunning native wildflower that is currently blooming in Indiana. Its tall spikes of flowers look somewhat like snapdragons, as a result it also goes by the name of False Snapdragon.

The Obedient Plant's square stem places it in the mint family.

The other morning while at Coffee Creek marveling at these plants, I also discovered that the Obedient Plant also makes a good hotel for bugs.