American Germander, Cup Plant, Loon and chick

American Germander, AKA Wood Sage, favors shores and moist thickets.

Thickets and stream banks host Cup Plant which is native to North America but introduced in New England.

Shortly after this picture was taken the loon passed the fish to its chick. John

Hairy Spurge, Golden Hedge Hyssop, Buttonbush

Hairy Spurge favors fields, roadsides and waste places.

Golden Hedge Hyssop, AKA Pert, is a plant of low sandy shores.

Wet places are home to Buttonbush. John

Teasel, Partridge Pea

Fields and roadsides are home to Teasel, an introduced species.

Partridge Pea favors sandy soil often along roadsides. John

Small Water Plantain, Culver's Root, Oleander Aphids

Small Water Plantain is found along muddy shores.

Woods and meadows are habitat for Culver's Root.

Milkweed hosts brightly colored Oleander Aphids. John

Steeplebush, Purple Milkwort, Large Coralroot

Low grounds, fields and pastures are home to Steeplebush.

Purple Milkwort grows in moist meadows and similar locations.

Large Coralroot is a woodland species. John

Ditch Stonecrop, Hairy Willow Herb, Monarch Caterpillar and Egg, Pearly Wood Nymph

Wet ditches and swamps are habitat for Ditch Stonecrop.

Damp thickets and waste places are home to Hairy Willow Herb.

A few Monarch caterpillars can be seen on milkweed along with Monarch's eggs.

A moth called the Pearly Wood Numph posed nicely while I took several pictures. This moth's resemblence to bird droppings is thought to protect it from predation. John

Wild Sensitive Plant, Burdock

Sandy soil, often along roadsides, is home to Wild Sensitive Plant.

Burdock is a common weed of waste places. John

Checkered Rattlesnake Plantain, False Pimpernel, Tansy

Checkered Rattlesnake Plantain is a diminutive woodland species.

Wet places are home to False pimpernel.

Tansy, a garden introduction, is now a common roadside and vacant lot inhabitant. John

Common Sow Thistle, Orange Grass, American Lotus, Red Milkweed Bug

Common Sow Thistle thrives in fields and waste places.

Barren grounds are home to Orange Grass, AKA Pine Weed.

Ponds and slow streams host American Lotus.

Red Milkweed Bugs add their bit of color to the world. John

Tiger Lily, Tall Blue Lettuce, Jimson Weed

Tiger Lilies persist around old home sites and have escaped from gardens to roadsides.

Moist thickets and clearings are home to Tall Blue Lettuce.

Jimson Weed, AKA Thorn Apple, is an ill smelling poisonous alien that crops up in waste places. John

Marsh Bellflower, Spotted Joe Pye Weed, Mad-dog Skullcap, Great Golden Digger Wasp and prey

Wet meadows and shores are home to Marsh Bellflower.

Spotted Joe Pye Weed rises over damp meadows and thickets.

Moist woods, thickets and shores are home to Mad-dog Skullcap.

A Great Golden Digger Wasp was dragging a paralyzed Katydid to her burrow where it will be food for her larvae. John

American Brooklime, Purple-stemmed Asters, Helleborine, Common Arrowhead

American Brooklime is a plant of wet places often growing in shallow slow moving water.

Swamps and low thickets host Purple-stemmed Asters.

Helleborine, our only introduced orchid, is flowering in woods and thickets.

Common Arrowhead favors shallow water and marshes. John

Moth Mullein, Wild Basil, Wild Mint

Fields and roadsides are home to Moth Mullein, an introduced species.

Wild Basil is common in woods and in edge habitats.

Wild Mint favors moist or wet open places but is occasionally found in dry soil. John

Striped Wintergreen

Striped, AKA Spotted, Wintergreen is an inhabitant of dry woods. We are near the northern limit for this species. John

Northern Bugleweed, Short-toothed Mountain Mint, Fasciated Daisy

Moist or wet places are home to Northern Bugleweed.

Either dry or moist soils can support Short-toothed Mountain Mint.

Plants such as this Daisy that show genetic errors are referred to as being fasciated. John

Indian Pipe, Staghorn Sumac

Indian Pipe, AKA Ghost Plant or Corpse Plant, is a chlorophyl-less woodland inhabitant.

Old pastures and open areas are colonized by Staghorn Sumac. John

Marsh Skullcap, Canadian Burnet

Swamps and shores are home to Marsh Skullcap.

Canadian Burnet grows in low meadows, bogs and along riverbanks. John