6-17
White Avens is a plant of thickets and open woods.
Large Cranberry is said to be a plant found in bogs. Locally I find it on river cobbles!
And the invasive Purple Loosestrife which forms colonies to the exclusion of native species is starting to flower. Look for it carpeting swamps and wet meadows.
John
6-16
Pokeweed favors moist soils and shows up on roadsides and in thickets.
And Venus's Looking-glass, which is rare in Vermont, will grow in very dry locations. I find it on rip-rap and along edges of agricultural fields. The common name "Looking-glass" refers to the shape of this plant's seeds.
John
6-15
Hedge Bindweed drapes over other plants in moist thickets.
Meadowsweet favors moist, often rocky, habitats.
And the paired white or pink flowers and evergreen leaves of Partridgeberry are usually seen in mossy woodlands.
John
6-14
Rabbit-foot Clover, Yellow Sweet Clover and White Sweet Clover are all found in dry fields and along roadsides.
John
6-13
Black-eyed Susans are very common in open sunny areas.
Moneywort is a low creeping plant of damp areas.
And a fawn happily tasted a little of everything in a roadside thicket. Its mother will find it a few times a day and allow it to nurse.
John
6-12
White Beardtongue is a flower of fields and the border of woods.
And Tall Meadow Rue is common in sunny swamps and low meadows.
John
6-11
Common St. Johnswort - one of the 12 St. Johnsworts listed in my field guide - is flowering in old fields and along ditches.
Common Milkweed is starting to open a few flowers.
And Clammy Ground Cherry can be seen in fields and open woods.
John
6-10
Rough-fruited Cinquefoil, AKA Sulphur Cinquefoil, is flowering in dry fields.
Selfheal, AKA Heal-all, is. a common plant of lawns, fields and roadsides.
The sense bristly flower clusters of Wild Basil color woodlands and edge habitats.
And the lilac or pale-purple flowers of Motherwort cluster in the upper leaf axils. Motherwort is often found at old house sites and has spread to waste places.
John
6-9
Much feared Poison Ivy has put out clusters of tiny greenish flowers. The white berries that will follow are an important food for birds.
Watercress is a floating plant. Its leaves are often used as salads.
Alfalfa is a fodder crop that sometimes escapes to roadsides and similar places.
And Crown Vetch, AKA Axseed, is often planted as a ground cover after construction.
John
6-8
Thimbleweed, AKA Tall Anemone, favors rocky woods and banks.
Gray Dogwood's domed flower umbrels cover roadsides and riverbank thickets.
And the pink veined white flowers of Common Wood Sorrel can be seen in cool woods.
John
6-7
Cowwheat is parasitic and can be found in a wide variety of habitats.
Sheep Laurel, AKA Lambkill, grows in pastures, open woods and swamps. Its foliage is poisonous to livestock.
And Whorled Loosestrife - one of several yellow loosestrifes in our area - is opening flowers.
John
6-6
Roadside Sand Spurry, Thyme-leaved Sandwort and Japanese Pearlwort are all tiny plants with tiny flowers. The flowers of Sand Spurry are the largest at 1/6 inch! All three species grow along dry sandy road edges.
John
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| Roadside Sand Spurry |
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| Thyme-leaved Sandwort |
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| Japanese Pearlwort |
6-5
This young of the year Turkey Vulture has not yet developed the red featherless head it will have as an adult.
And the yellowish upright flower clusters of Mountain Maple - ad understory species - stand upright above the leaves.
John
6-4
Purple-flowered Raspberry, a member of the rose family, is flowering in thickets and other edge habitat.
Daisy Fleabane, AKA Sweet Scabious is dotting fields and waste places.
And the aptly named Butter and Eggs grows in waste places including railroad ballast.
John
6-3
Orange Hawkweed is joining its yellow kin on lawns, in fields and in waste places.
Spreading Dogbane, an old-field specialist, is opening the first of its tiny bell flowers.
Tumble Mustard dominates areas of disturbed soil.
And a colorful beetle, probably an Elderberry Borer, posed nicely on a leaf while I snapped a picture.
John
6-2
The spiderlike flowers of Indian Cucumber Root can be seen in rich moist woods.
Black Chokeberries like acid soils, frequently in damp locations.
And the showy flowers of Northern Blue Iris are open in marshes and in wet meadows.
John
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| Indian Cucumber Root |
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| Black Chokeberry |
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| Northern Blue Iris |
6-1
The paired - or occasionally tripled - yellow flowers of Northern Bush Honeysuckle are opening.
Carrion Flower announces itself more by smell than sight.
And a family of Foxes enjoyed today's sun.
John
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| Northern Bush Honeysuckle |
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| Carrion Flower |
