6-8 Lance-leaved Coreopsis

6-8
Lance-leaved Coreopsis, an escape from cultivation, is flowering brightly and Hoary Azalea, a fragrant Azalea with woolly leaves, is at its peak.
John

Lance-leaved Coreopsis

Hoary Azalea

6-6 Yellow Iris

6-6

Yellow Iris, an escape from cultivation, is cropping up along rivers and in wet areas.

Indian Hemp is starting to ope a few flowers and its close relative Spreading Dogbane is not far behind. Dogbane is much loved by insects.

John

Indian Hemp

Yellow Iris

Spreading Dogbane

6-7 Bittersweet Nightshade

6-7
The backward purple petals of Bittersweet Nightshade give it a look of great speed!
Sheep Laurel, AKA Lambkill, can be identified by the new foliage overtopping its flowers.
And a newly emerged dragonfly hangs beside its too small-looking nymphal husk while its wings harden.
John

Bittersweet Nightshade

Sheep Laurel

Dragonfly and Nymphal husk

6-5 Indian Cucumberroot

6-5
The strange little, normally dangling flowers of Indian Cucumberroot are open.
And Caddisflies are airborne. There are 1260 known species in North America.
John

Indian Cucumberroot

Caddisfly

6-4 Creeping Buttercup

6-4
Creeping Buttercup's dark green mottled leaves make it easy to identify.
Sweetly fragrant pink flowers mark Alsike Clover.
John

Creeping Buttercup

Alsike Clover

6-3 Mountain Laurel

6-3
Mountain Laurel is gearing up for its extravagant blanketing of Black Mountain.
Frostweed flecks the edges of the West River trail.
Cow Vetch is cropping up in fields and along roadsides.
And Spatterdock, AKA Yellow Pond Lily and Cow Lily, rises above ponds and stagnant setbacks.
John

Mountain Laurel

Frostweed

Cow Vetch

Spatterdock

6-2 Pale Corydalis

6-2
Pale Corydalis lifts its head over sun-warmed ledges.
The delicate blue flowers of Common Flax - a locally naturalized agricultural species - dance in the breezes.
Small sundrops live up to their name.
And in woodland thickets and along shaded roadsides Maple-leaved Virburnum's lacy white flower umbrels attract pollinators.
John

Pale Corydalis

Common Flax

Small Sundews

Maple-leaved Viburnum

6-1 Orange Hawkweed

6-1
Orange Hawkweed is opening a few flowers.
Common Speedwell is not far behind.
Among the many butterfly species emerging were Silver-spotted Skippers.
And Carrion Beetles (Nicrophorus orbicollis) were burying a chipmunk as food for their young by removing soil from beneath the carcass and letting it sink into the hole.
John

Orange Hawkweed

Common Speedwell

Silver-spotted Skipper

Carrion Beetles on chipmunk

5-31 Hoary Alyssum

5-31
Tiny flowers with 4 deeply cleft petals mark Hoary Alyssum.
Showy white 5 petaled flowers identify the invasive Multi-flora Rose.
And in a cornfield the broken wing decoy act of a Kildeer led me to a nest with 4 beautifully marked, and remarkably large, eggs.
John

Kildeer nest and eggs

Kildeer

Multi-flora Rose

Hoary Alyssum

5-30 Silvery Cinquefoil

5-30
Silvery Cinquefoil, Maiden Pink and Birdsfoot Trefoil were all flowering this afternoon in an old gravel parking lot. Silvery Cinquefoil can be identified by the silvery undersides of its leaves, Maiden Pink by the dark circle on its petals and Birdsfoot Trefoil by its bright yellow pea-like flowers.
John

Silvery Cinquefoil

Maiden Pink

Birdsfoot Trefoil

5-29 Ragwort

5-29
One of the Ragworts, probably Balsam Ragwort, glows golden on rocky banks and on wood edges. There are at least five Ragwort species in our area.
John

Ragwort

5-28 Common Hawkweed

5-28
Common Hawkweed is opening a few of its yellow flowers.
Yarrow is not far behind.
And in a few thickets Bristly Locust - a species introduced both as erosion control and as an ornamental - is flowering brightly. This locust spreads by root suckers and can be a bit of an invasive pest.
John

Common Hawkweed

Yarrow

Bristly Locust

5-27 Oxeye Daisy

5-27
The pea-like flowers of Black Locust are frosting the trees.
Virginia Waterleaf's long stamened white  or lavender flowers arch weakly above its mottled leaves.
And Oxeye Daisies are brightening fields and roadsides.
John

Black Locust

Virginia Waterleaf

Oxeye Daisies

5-26 One-flowered Cancerroot

5-26
The tree root parasite, One-flowered Cancerroot, is lifting its pallid head.
The delicate flowers of Stitichwort are flecking ditches.
Invasive, Wild Chervil, towers over other roadside species.
And the caterpillar of the Virgin Tiger Moth feeds on Madder, one of its favorite foods.
John

One-flowered Cancerroot

Stitchwort

Wild Chervil

Wild Chervil

caterpillar of the Virgin Tiger Moth

5-25 Starflower

5-25
Starflower is flecking woodlots.
Grove Sandwort is up along roadsides and sunny banks.
And, the white plumes of False Solomon's Seal are at their peak.
John

Starflower

Grove Sandwort

False Solomon's Seal

5-24 Pineapple Weed

5-24
Pineapple Weed. so named for its odor graces barnyards, roadsides and waste places.
Yellow Wood Sorrel colors lawns, ditches and old fields.
Mayapple's flowers dangle beneath its broad leaves.
And Yellow Goatsbeard's flowers rise above grasses but close up by midday. Later in the season their large globular dandelion-like seedheads are as remarkable as their flowers.
John

Pineapple Weed

Yellow Wood Sorrel

Mayapple

Goatsbeard