Clusters of white flowers are blooming in fields and open forests in western Pennsylvania.

Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) is a perennial in the Aster family, native to the northern hemisphere.  The genus name, Achillea, refers to the Greek hero who reportedly used yarrow to treat his soldiers’ wounds.  The species name, millefolium, means “a thousand leaves.” Look closely at the tiny feather-like leaves and you’ll see they’re arranged in a spiral on the stem.

Yarrow’s flowers deserve a closer look, too.  The central disk is a cluster of tiny flowers and the petals (rays) are individual flowers with nectar openings where the ray connects to the flower head.

In North America we have both native and introduced species and they hybridize so it’s hard to tell who’s who.

Watch for yarrow blooming this month and into June.

(photo by Kate St. John)

North America’s wild geranium (Geranium maculatum) is also called cranesbill but you have to examine a seed pod to find out how it got the name.

Shown above is a wild geranium flower with some aging seed pods in the background.  Here’s a closeup.

Notice that the seed pods look like a crane’s bill. (Click here to see a crane with its bill up like this.)

Ta da!

(photos by Kate St. John)

This is a stellar year for Valeriana pauciflora at Raccoon Creek Wildflower Reserve in Beaver County, PA.  Its common name is “Large-flowered Valerian” but its scientific name means “Few-flowered.”  Confusing!

To find this 1.5-3-foot tall wildflower, walk the Jennings Trail between the two Beaver Trail intersections (along the cliff) or visit the spot where Jennings meets Meadow Trail and the creek.   Click here for a map.

Read more about its confusing name in this Throw Back Thursday article: What-Flowered Valerian?

Visit the Wildflower Reserve soon to see it.

(photo by Dianne Machesney)

10 May 2016

The smell of this plant reminds me of warblers.

Cypress spurge (Euphorbia cyparissias) is a 4″-31″ tall perennial with narrow leaves and green-yellow flowers that bloom from March to September.  It was introduced to the U.S. as an ornamental in the 1860s and often planted in cemeteries where it earned the nickname “graveyard weed.”  Its introduction was a terrible idea for a number of reasons:

• The entire plant contains a toxic latex that irritates skin and eyes and is poisonous to many animals.  It can be fatal to cattle, though sheep can eat it.
• It spreads via roots and explosive seed pods. If a farmer plows a field containing a bit of cypress spurge, his equipment will carry cut rootlets to other fields where it will take hold.
• The plant is very invasive, forming almost pure stands.  It has no enemies in the Western Hemisphere so scientists had to import a few insects that eat it.

Cypress spurge thrives in sandy soil so it’s no surprise that it grows at Presque Isle State Park, crowding out native lupine and puccoon.  During warbler migration its scent is on the wind.  I don’t like the smell but I’ve had so many great birding experiences at Presque Isle in May that my brain automatically thinks of warblers when I smell it.

Fortunately the sick-sweet scent brings back happy memories for me.  For those who mourn a loved one in the presence of “graveyard weed” the smell probably makes them sad.

Is there a smell that reminds you of birding?

(photo from Wikimedia Commons. Click on the image to see the original)

This weekend is a good time to take a wildflower walk in western Pennsylvania.  When you do, you’ll find dwarf larkspur blooming.

I just learned on The Allegheny Front that its scientific name, Delphinium tricorne, comes from the word “dolphin.”

Click here to learn how it got this name and other cool facts on an audio wildflower walk on The Allegheny Front.

(photo by Kate St. John)