Download Wildflower Identification Guide

Wildflower Identification
Guide
Emma Etchason
You on the CUE Farm
You stand at the farm’s corner, just outside the wooden gate.
You are overwhelmed, your eyes are too small and the world, the natural
world, too large.
There are colors of spring green, sunshine yellow, rusty red, deep purple,
glowing orange. It’s harvesting season.
The tallest sunflower catches your eye. The slight breeze of a mid-afternoon
fall day provokes the flower to sway.
It’s waving at you, beckoning you closer.
At once you become aware of the monarch butterfly fluttering by the
flowering vine that twined itself up the fence.
You look down at your feet and it is as if you can feel the earthworms
beneath, burrowing through the soil.
The world is alive, all around you.
And now is your chance. Take it in. Absorb the bright petals of the zinnias,
stare into the centers of black-eyed susans, smell the aroma of the
snapdragons and sunflowers.
Fall in love with the world, and the beauty surrounding you.
Angiosperms
The Flowering Plants
A REVIEW
•  Angiosperm is derived from two Greek words, angeion, meaning “vessel” and
sperma, meaning “seed.” Thus an angiosperm is a plant were the seed is covered,
or carried in a vessel.
•  The vessel of the seed is called the carpel.
•  The closest living relative to the angiosperms are the gymnosperms.
Gymnosperms have naked seeds. Covered seeds in angiosperms suggests that
angiosperms evolved after gymnosperms.
•  How do you identify an angiosperm? FLOWERS of course. But, carpets, an
endosperm, and a second fertilization event are indicators as well.
•  The flowers of angiosperms have four sets of organs: sepals, petals, stamens, and
carpels.
•  The reproductive elements of angiosperms are the stigma and the style.
•  The mature ovary is the fruit of the plant.
•  It is thought that flowers evolved as a mechanism to increase fitness. Showy
petals attract pollinators, sweet fruits encourage seed dispersal by animals.
Black-eyed Susan
Rudbeckai hirta
Description:
• 
Grows1-2 feet tall
• 
Alternate leaf
arrangement
• 
Stems and leaves
covered in short hairs –
giving a rough texture
• 
Ray of yellow petals
surrounding a central
brown cone
Pollinators:
• 
Pollinated by bees,
wasps, and flies
• 
Preferred by Andrena
rudbeckiae and
Heterosarus rudbeckiae
(see the similarities in
scientific names!)
Fun Flower Facts:
• 
Used as a restoration/
pioneer plant
• 
Official state flower of
Maryland
• 
Has herbal medicine uses
• 
Member of the Sunflower
family
• 
Flowers from June through
October
• 
Found in fields and prairies
Red Clover
Trifolium pratense
Description:
• 
Member of the pea family
•  Height of 6-24 inches fall
• 
Flowers from May through
September
• 
Found in lawns and roadside
•  Dense mass of peashaped flowers,
extensively branched,
spanning one inch wide.
•  Erect, hairy, hallow
stem.
•  Short-lived perennial
plant
Pollinators:
Flower Fun Facts:
•  Primarily used for
ground cover and
soil improvement.
•  Bumble bees are the
primary pollinators of
red clover
•  Often used in herbal
tea
•  Prefered over honey bees
as they are better as
foraging deep into the
floret.
•  Used as traditional
Indian medicine to
treat the common
cold
Description:
•  Herbaceous
perennial plant
•  Comes in a
variety of colors
including white,
yellow, orange,
purple, and pink
•  Creates “closed
lips” with pedals,
making a
dragon’s mouth.
Pollinators
•  Pollinated most
commonly by
bumble bees
•  Penetrate the
flower tube from
the side to avoid
having to open
the petals.
Snapdragons
Antirrhinum majus
•  Member of the Plantaginaceae
family
•  Flowers from April to
November
•  Found throughout the United
States and China
Flower Fun Facts:
•  There are over
40 species of
snapdragons
•  The flower’s
scientific name,
Antirrhinum,
mean like a
snout.
Ten-pedal Sunflower
Helianthus decapetalus
Description:
•  Lower/middle leaves
have opposite leaf
arrangement
•  Upper leaves have
alternate
arrangement
•  Member of the
Sunflower Family
•  Flowers from June to
September
•  Found in open
woodlands, meadows,
and along rivers
•  Each flower consists
of 8-12 yellow florets
around the center.
Pollinators:
Flower Fun Facts
•  Other common names include
the thinleaf sunflower and the
forest sunflower
•  Mainly bees, but butterflies,
wasps and flies visit the
flower
Description:
•  Rough, erect stem with
terminal flower heads
•  Member of the Sunflower
family
•  Overlapping ray florets,
with flowers ranging
from 3-6 inches wide
•  Flowers from July through
November
•  Alternate leaf
arrangement
•  Found in prairies and rich
sooils
Flower Fun Facts
Pollinators
Common Sunflower
Helianthus annus
•  Both honey and
bumble bees
pollinate the flower.
•  Native American’s used
the plant’s ground seeds
for bread flour and oil for
cooking and beauty
products.
•  Effectiveness at
pollinating of each
bee depends of
flower size
•  Oil is still extracted from
the common sunflower to
make soap.
Smooth Aster
Aster laevis
•  Member of the Sunflower
Family
•  Flowers from August through
October
•  Found in fields and open woods
Description:
Pollinators:
•  Most commonly
pollinated by bees
and butterflies
•  Its nectar serves as
an important late
season food source
for its pollinators
•  Ray of lavender petals around a
yellow center, each flower about
an inch wide
•  Branches up to three feet tall
•  Smooth leaves at the stem,
hence the common name
•  Common garden perennial
Flower Fun Facts:
•  The Greek word aster
translates to star,
describing the flower
shape
•  This plant was smoked
by pipe in the past as
it was thought to ward
off evil spirits
Panicled Aster
Aster simplex
Flower Fun Facts:
•  Spreads by underground
rootstocks to form colonies
•  Associated with lasting love,
patience and good luck
•  Are often times mistaken for
the daisy
•  Member of the Sunflower
Family
•  Flowers from August to
October
•  Found in meadows
Description:
Pollinators:
•  Pollinated by bees
and butterflies
•  Grown in areas to
promote habitat
protection of
pollinators
•  Tall stem with a loose
arrangement of white flower
heads
•  Flower heads are about one
inch wide
•  Leaves larger near the ground,
smaller near the flower
Description:
•  Blue flower heads
with squared ends,
about an inch and a
half wide
•  Member of the Sunflower
Family
•  Petals have a a fringe
appearance
•  Flowers from June
through October
•  Tough, grooved stem
•  Found in fields and along
the roadside
•  Basal leaves are three
to six inches wide
•  Stem leaves are
smaller and oblong
Flower Fun Facts:
Pollinators:
•  Came from the Old World
•  Common pollinators
include bees, flies and
beetles
•  Roots can be roasted and
ground as a coffee substitute
•  Each flower bloom lasts only
a day
Chicory
Cichorium intybus
•  In winter, American
Goldfinches feed on
the chicory seeds
Purple Coneflower
Echinacea purpurea
•  Member of the Sunflower
Family
•  Flowers from June to
August
•  Found in prairies, fields,
and open woods
Pollinators:
Flower Fun Facts:
•  Most commonly
pollinated by native
butterflies.
•  The only native prairie
plant used for medicinal
purposes by medical
professionals
•  Finches commonly
eat the seeds.
Description:
•  Grows to a height of
2-4 feet
•  Flower heads like sun
flowers, with disks as
large as 3.5 cm in
diameter
•  Drooping ray of
florets colored purple
and lavender
•  Yellow/orange pollen
grains
•  Also, extensively used as a
fold remedy
Description:
•  Grows to 1-2 feet tall
•  Light green stem with
alternate leaf
arrangement
•  Dense, cylindrical
spike of clustered pink/
purple flowers
•  No petals, but 4-6
sepals
Flower Fun Facts
•  Lady’s thumb often
forms colonies
•  Dark green splotches
on leaves resemble a
lady’s thumbprint
Pollinators
•  One of the most
abundant weeds in
the United States
and Europe
•  Most common pollinators
include Halictid bees,
wasps, and Syrphid flies
Lady’s Thumb
Polygonum persicaria
•  Member of the Buckwheat
Family
•  Flowers from June to October
•  Found on roadsides,
cultivated ground, and moist
clearings
Yarrow
Achillea millefolium
Description:
•  Herbaceous perennial
•  Flat-topped cluster of
white flowers
•  Leafy, hairy stem
•  Flowers are ¼ inch wide,
4-6 ray florets
•  Member of
the
Sunflower
Family
•  Flowers
from June
through
September
•  Found in
old fields
and along
roadsides
Pollinators:
•  Leaves are about six inches
•  Pollinated
long, finely dissected,
by a wide
fernlike
range of
Flower Fun Facts:
bees,
butterflies,
•  Used for medicinal
and insects
purposes, break a fever by
as it is
increasing perspiration,
easily
treat hemorrhaging and
accessible
rashes
•  Member of the
Sunflower Family
Common Ragweed
Ambrosia artemisiifolia
•  Flowers from July
through October
Description:
•  Course, hairy stem
•  Found in cultivated
fields, old fields, along
roadsides
•  Annual flowers in elongated
clusters spanning several
inches near the top of the
plant
•  Male reproductive organs,
yellow stamens, are organized
on the 15-20 florets clustered
at the top of the plant
•  Female flowers are small,
green, stalkless, and are
located at leaf axils in clusters
Pollinators
•  Ragweed depends on wind
dispersal and thus attracts
few pollinators.
Fun Flower Facts:
•  Causes hay fever
•  Perennial plants are
often used to control
ragweed plantings,
a crowding out.
•  Seeds persist into
winter, thus serving
as an important
food source for birds
Description:
•  The common yellow
violet is an
herbaceous
perennial
•  Small rosette of
basal leaves
Flower Fun
Facts:
•  The common
yellow violet
is safe to eat
•  Hairless stem
•  It’s stems and
petals have
high amounts
of vitamin C
•  Each flowers is ¾ of
an inch wide
Pollinators:
•  Each flower
consists of 5
rounded petals and
5 green sepals
•  Root system
consists of rhizomes
•  Common
pollinators
are carpenter
bees, mason
bees, cuckoo
bees, and
long-horned
bees.
Common Yellow Violet
Viola pubescens
•  Member of the Violet Family
•  Flowers April through July
•  Found in deciduous woodlands,
woodland borders, and thickets
Zinnia
Zinnia elegans
•  Member of the Sunflower Family
•  Flowers from June through October
•  Found in gardens and open fields
Description:
•  Annuals
•  Grow 1-3 feet tall
•  Upright, hairy, branching
stems
•  Come in many different
colors including red,
orange, yellow, lavender,
green, and white
•  Opposite leaf arrangement
along the stem
Flower Fun Facts:
•  Native to Mexico
• 
Zinnia represents
friendship
•  Know as the “poorhouse”
flower as zinnias are
abundant and easy to grow
Pollinators:
•  Most
commonly
pollinated
by
butterflies,
bees, and
moths
•  Hummingb
irds are
also
attracted to
the bright
colors of
the zinnias
References and Resources
Books:
Yaksievych, K. (2000). Field Guide to Indiana Wildflowers. Indiana
University Press.
Niering, W.A. (1998). National Audubon Society: Field Guide to Wildflowers
Eastern Region, North America. Alfred A. Knopf Inc.
Online Resources:
Missouri Botanical Garden website (www.missouribotanicalgarden.org)
Indiana Wildlife Federation website (
www.indianawildlife.org/wildlife/native-plants/