Welcome back!
This week we are diving into the wide world of wildflowers (and garden flowers too)! This page is going to take you through some flowers I found – well, okay – my friend found them. I have had the privilege of enjoying a very lonesome quarantine over these past couple weeks, so I sent my angel of a friend out on a mission. I – she – went to Highbanks Metropark on a sunny afternoon and took some beautiful pictures of flowers, and I’d like to share them with you!
Orange Day Lily
Hemerocallis fulva
This flower was found in a garden/planted setting.
It is on page 336 in Newcomb’s Wildflowers.
Corolla: 3 separate petals
Calyx: 3 fused sepals
Adroecium: 6 separate stamens
Gynoecium type: syncarpous, with 3 carpels. When taking a cross section of the ovary, you can see three distinct sections.
Flower type/ovary position: hypogynous ovary
Flower symmetry: actinomorphic (regular) symmetry
Wild Bergamot
Monarda fistulosa
This flower was found in a garden/planted setting.
It is on page 92 in Newcomb’s Wildflowers.
Corolla: bilabiate, meaning 2 fused lips
Calyx: 4 fused sepals
Adroecium: 2 separate stamens
Gynoecium type: syncarpous, with 2 carpels. When looking at a cross section of the ovary, you can see two distinct sections.
Flower type/ovary position: hypogynous ovary
Flower symmetry: zygomorphic (irregular) symmetry
Wild Petunia
Ruellia humilis
This flower was found in a garden/planted setting.
It is on page 256 in Newcomb’s Wildflowers.
Corolla: 5 fused petals
Calyx: 5 separate sepals
Adroecium: 5 fused stamens
Gynoecium type: syncarpous, with 2 carpels. This can be seen by looking at a cross section of the ovary.
Flower type/ovary postition: perigynous ovary
Flower symmetry: actinomorphic (regular) symmetry
Queen Anne’s Lace
Daucus carota
This flower was found alongside the parking lot near the nature center.
It is on page 220 in Newcomb’s Wildflowers.
Corolla: 5 separate petals
Calyx: 5 separate sepals
Adroecium: 5 separate stamens
Gynoecium type: syncarpous, with 2 carpels. You can see two distinct sections when taking a cross section of the ovary.
Flower type/ovary postition: epigenous ovary
Flower symmetry: actinomorphic (regular) symmetry
These next four flowers aren’t going to have all the fancy shmancy descriptions with them – just the basics! They all still look pretty cool if you ask me.
Pasture Thistle
Cirsium discolor
This guy was found on the roadside that leads out of the park in a dry field with tons of pollinators. Did you know, Native Americans used to use the roots of this flower to treat wounds. Pretty cool!
Sweet Coneflower
Rudbeckia subtomentosa
This coneflower was found in a field next to some of the gardens. Tons of bee, wasp, fly, and aphid species rely on this flower as one of their sources of nectar or pollen – which in turn is good for the flower too!
Late Goldenrod
Solidago altissima
This goldenrod was found in a dry field, actually right next to the pasture thistle I talked about a few flowers ago. It is really tolerant of human disturbance (obviously, it was found next to a road) and can sometimes contain galls caused by insects.
Threadleaf Coreopsis
Coreopsis verticillata
This flower was found in a small patch next to the gardens. Coreopsis is beneficial for butterflies, insects, and birds.
Thanks for checking out this quick(ish) post about some awesome angiosperms. I think they’re super cool and a lot more intricate than one might think! See you next time!
– Julia