Category: Plants – Wildflowers

Coneflowers are one of the summer’s many showy spectacles in the garden.  There are nine species native to the central and eastern United States, four of which can be found growing in the wild in our area.  Additional hybrids, available for sale in local garden centers, have been developed for their appearance and variety of colors.

Coneflowers are perennials, growing from two to four feet in height.  Blooming from midsummer to the first frost, they like full sun and well-drained soils.  They are drought tolerant and do particularly well in poor soil conditions provided they get a small amount of water every few days.

Purple coneflower, Echinacea purpurea, is rare in naturally occurring habitat in northeastern Illinois: yet  it is one of the most popular species in backyard gardens.  Pale purple coneflower, Echinacea pallida, is another favorite in backyard gardens and is commonly used in local prairie restorations. 

Yellow coneflower, Ratibida pinnata, also called gray-headed coneflower, has flowers on slim, tall spikes that can be seen waving in any slight breeze.  It is heavily used in prairie restorations due to its tendency to germinate the first year after seeds are planted.  Rough coneflower, Rudbeckia grandiflora, is very rare and found only in a few patches in northeastern Illinois, all in DuPage County.

Coneflowers have a composite flowerhead with 200-300 rose-colored florets surrounded by eight to twenty-one ray florets in colors ranging from dark purple to pale pink to yellow or white.  Leaves are hairy with a rough texture.  Coneflowers spread by self-seeding, dropping seeds within a few feet of each plant as they bend and sway in the wind.  The mother plant is a perennial and will continue to return each year.

Several dozen species of butterflies, bees, wasps, beetles, and flies feed off the nectar.  Soldier beetles appear late in the season, feeding on insect eggs and larvae deposited on the plants by other insects.  Seeds are also a favorite food item for goldfinch, cardinal, and blue jay.  Seed heads left through the winter will continue to feed the area birds until spring.

Consider adding some coneflowers to your backyard gardens and watch for the butterflies and birds that will soon visit.

In these first weeks of spring, there are flowers that bloom only at this time of year.  Most of these are out now, or will be out shortly, and they do not last very long.  Some are native wildflowers found in woodland walks, and others are cultivated in gardens.  But, all of these species bloom with warming temperatures and the rains of spring.

Doubke green spots on the inner petals are visible at the base and tip of each petal

Green-throated snow drops, Galanthus elwesii, by beautifulcataya, Mar 2010

Green-throated snow drops, also known as giant snow drops, Galanthus elwesii, is one of the earliest flowers, often blooming while there is still snow on the ground.  It has a small flower with petals that are white on the outside and have double green spots on the inside.  They begin blooming as early as mid-February. 

Green extends the length of the inner petal.

White-throated snow drops, Galanthus nivalis, by Tico, Feb 2008

White-throated snow drops, or common snow drops, Galanthus nivalis, another springtime ephemeral, bloom about a month later.  Flowers are similar with green extending the full length of the inner petal.  When spring is warm and sunny, they are here for two to three weeks, but may last longer in cooler, rainy weather.  Snow drops provide an important source of nectar and pollen for several bee species active early in the year.

Daffodils are all in the genus Narcissus.  There are thousands of varieties all having dark green leaves with a single stem supporting a lone flower, or an umbel of up to 20 blossoms.  Flowers are generally white or yellow, although orange and pink varieties have been cultivated.  Plants are rich in several alkaloid compounds used in the production of galantamine, a drug for the treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease.

A favorite flower early in the year is the spring crocus, Crocus vernus.  This cultivated species blooms for a few short weeks in early spring.  Flowers only open when they are brightly lit, and remain closed at night and on rainy and overcast days.  There are numerous varieties including purple, white, yellow, red, and orange, and combinations of these colors. 

Skunk cabbage, Symplocarpus foetidus, is the earliest blooming native wildflower in northern Illinois and is found in wetlands including swamps, seeps, fens, and bogs.  The dark green leaves are often stained black from Septoria spiculosa, a leaf spot fungus.  The flower, a purplish-green spadix, grows from the ground to 6″ tall.  Flowers and bruised foliage both emit an odor of decay, attracting flies to pollinate the plant.  A compound fruit develops, with several sections, each containing a single seed.  Fruits mature by late summer and are eaten, carried off, or fall to the ground, where they will rot to expose the seed.

Another of our woodland natives, blue Cohosh, Caulophyllum thalictroides, is found in mesic woodlands.    A perennial, the plant grows from one to three feet tall.  After pollination, a blue, fleshy fruit develops.  The fruit is toxic to humans, but favored by mice and woodland birds, who are the primary disseminators by eating and spreading the seed throughout the forest.

Squirrel corn, Dicentra canadensis, is another ephemeral of mesic woodlands.  Often mistaken for Dutchman’s breeches, the flowers are yellow and oblong rather than white and round.  Leaves are dark green, small, and grow close to the ground, while an 8″-12″ tall stem grows up from the center ending in 3-10 hanging flowers.  Each flower develops several seeds, and each seed has its own elaiosome, a sweet food treat.  Ants will take the seeds back to their nests, eat the elaiosome and discard the seed.  Plants go dormant after the forest canopy fills in.

As you are out walking in woodlands or your neighborhood, be sure not to miss these early and brilliant colors of spring.

Asters, a Greek word for star, bloom between early August and the first frost.  The late blooming period is thought to be an adaptation to attract pollinators without competing against the majority of flower species in our area that bloom in spring and summer.  In return, asters provide an important source of nectar and pollen during the latter part of the year. 

Asters are classified by flower arrangement and leaf shape.  They are all members of the composite family Asteraceae, but many of the species that live in our area have been reclassified into a new genus Symphyotrichum, due to DNA differences with those species found in the old world.  Native species have both ray and disc flowers.  The tightly packed disc flowers make up the center of what is viewed as the whole flower or in florescense, and the petals coming out from the center are the fertile ray florets.  Seeds are wind-born and have pappus, a piece of fluff, attached to them, allowing the wind to efficiently move them over long distances.

The calorie-rich nectar is eaten by insects bulking up for hibernation including queen bumblebees, hoverflies, and several ant species.  Migrating butterflies, including monarchs, depend on the nectar for quick energy for their long travels.  Pearl crescent and painted lady caterpillars feed almost exclusively on aster leaves to fatten up before pupating.  Many backyard bird species over-wintering in this area eat the seeds including American goldfinch, tree sparrow, black-capped chickadee, pine siskin, and song sparrow.

Pictured with this article are many of the large variety of asters in bloom around the area.  Consider taking a walk in area woodlands to see Drummond’s aster, calico aster, heart-leaved aster, and Short’s aster.  A walk across the prairie may yield sights of rush aster, bushy aster, blue aster, heath aster, New England aster, and hairy aster.  You can also observe in fens and marshes panicled aster, shining aster, and bristly aster.  And even as you are driving home, be watchful for the expressway aster, which can easily tolerate the salt spray along the embankments of many byways.

In the late summer, there are lots of bright colored flowers to see, and among the showiest of these are the four silphium species.  Including compass plant, Silphium laciniatum, prairie dock, Silphium terebinthinaceum, cup plant, Silphium perfoliatum, and rosinweed, Silphium integrifolium, they stand tall with bright yellow daisy-like flowers that wave in the breeze.  The name silphium comes from Greek meaning a resinous plant.  The four plants we will look at today are found in a variety of habitats, and are all easily grown in our gardens.

The cup plant likes sun and moist soil and can be found along stream and river edges, as well as in open woodlands and savannas.  It is 4′-10′ tall, with a single, four-sided stem that only branches for the multiple flowers it supports.  Leaves are opposite, about 4″x 8″ and join together on one side around the stem, forming a cup-like structure capable of holding water.  Cup plants grow in large colonies providing an area for birds to rest out of the hot sun while searching for insects among the foliage and having drinking water readily available in the cups.

Prairie dock is found in wet or dry savannas.  It has a vase-like cluster of leaves at the base of the plant with flowers on naked stalks from 3′-10′ high.  A stout taproot extending nearly 12′ deep supports the plant.  They prefer full sun and moist soil, but can tolerate drought well.  Prairie dock often displays large, glossy black blotches on its foliage.  These are formed by leaf beetles that lay their eggs on the leaf and cover them with a sticky substance that dries to a hard shell for protection.  After the eggs hatch, the larvae will eat the leaf underneath while protected from above.

The compass plant, another species with a long taproot, grows 6′-12′ tall with leaves along the whole stem that gradually get smaller towards the top.  A mature plant can live over 100 years, exhibiting up to 30 flowers in late summer for about six weeks.  Young compass plants will align their leaves from north to south so they receive the cooler morning and evening sunlight.  As early settlers crossed the prairie, they tended to use the alignment of the leaves for finding their way.  However, older plants do not turn their leaves as readily, much to the woe of many wayfarers.

Rosinweed has the shortest stature, standing 3′-5′ tall with a stout, central stem that branches at the base of the flowers.  This is the only one of the four with a fragrant scent from the flower.  Although it grows in sizable clumps, it is not an aggressive spreader from underground roots.  Most clumps are composed of individual plants.  The seeds are a favorite of goldfinch.

All of the silphiums are similar in appearance, with yellow flowers growing on tall stalks.  They bloom in mid to late summer for four to six weeks.  They are easy to maintain and resistant to drought, but may have a tendency to topple over when planted on slopes exposed to heavy wind.  All are native to Illinois.  Their foliage is rarely consumed by small mammals due to its coarse texture, but may be eaten by larger herbivores, including cattle.  The disk florets, inner part of the flower, are sterile, while the ray florets,  outer parts, are fertile.  This is the exact opposite characteristic of that found in sunflowers. 

Silphiums are a favorite of pollinator species including honeybees, bumblebees, miner bees, and ruby-throated hummingbirds.  The flat, dark brown seeds are especially favored by goldfinch.  Consider adding one or two of these plants to your garden for a bright background display.

Take a walk in any woodland at this time of year and there is a multitude of wildflowers growing on the forest floor.  The genus trillium, in the lily family, includes forty-three species worldwide and thirty-eight that can be found in North America, most east of the Mississippi River.

Trillium flowers come in a variety of colors including white, yellow, pink, red, purple, and striped.  When mature, all parts of the plant are in multiples of three including bracts, sepals, petals, anthers and ovules.  All species are herbs that grow from seed or by sending out roots to start new plants.  In biological terms, there are no true leaves nor stalks.  Only the flower and bracts, usually identified as leaves, are visible aboveground, existing as extensions of the root.  The bracts do function like leaves including photosynthesizing food for the plant.

Prairie trillium, Trillium recurvatum, likes wet or dry woodlands and savannas.   Flowers are at the ends of 6″-15″ tall stems surrounded by three green bracts.  The flower has three triangular, dark maroon sepals containing six stamens with black anthers.  A single fruit develops with several small, dark brown seeds.  Variations of this plant have been found with yellow petals and purple anthers.

Toad trillium, Trillium sessile, is found in the southern portion of DuPage County and further south in Illinois.  Growing on bluffs and banks of streams and rivers, it is uncommon in dry woodlands.  Sessile flowers, a term referring to a flower developing directly on top of the bracts, are dark maroon containing six maroon and yellow-striped anthers.  Ovules develop into a three-celled white to purplish-green fruit with several seeds in each cell.

Large-flowered trillium, Trillium grandiflorum, has become less common over the last few decades.  It is found in wet or dry woodlands and savannas.  8″-18″ tall, it produces a single flower 2″-4″ across composed of three white petals set against three green sepals.  The flowers slowly turn pink as they age.  Possibly due to the more showy appearance, this plant is readily browsed by deer.  When found in colonies, the large leaves can form shelter for small mammals such as field mice and shrews.

Declined Trillium, Trillium flexipes, is found in wet or dry woodlands, particularly in oak dominated areas.  Growing up to 2′ tall, a single white flower is produced on a nodding peduncle of a mature plant.  About 2″ across, the flower is three white petals and three green sepals surrounding six light yellow anthers.  The flower hangs downward a little above or below the bracts.  A six-angled seed capsule replaces the flower in late summer.

Trilliums develop very slowly, often taking several years to develop into a mature plant able to produce flowers and seeds.  During summer heat and drought, plants may go dormant, retreating back into the thick root.  Because of this slow growth rate, trilliums are not often found in nursery sales.  Each year as a new shoot is sent up from the root, a ridge forms where the new bud grows.  Counting the ridges on a root can give a good indication of the age of the plant.  Many plants have been found that are several decades old.

Trilliums spread by seeds that contain an elaiosome, a white, fleshy container of nutrients attached to each seed.  Favored by ants and wasps, this nutritional package is taken to feed their young while the seed is ignored.  Ants nesting in soil mounds or decomposing wood and yellow-jacket wasps nesting underground all help to move seeds around.

Spring is lasting a little longer this year with the cooler temperatures we have been experiencing.  I hope you get out for a woodland walk to see the many wildflowers in bloom.

I am observing many more wildflowers in the woods this year, with lots of sunlight, cool to warm temperatures, and just enough rainfall for a long spring growing season.  Here are a few more species that are blooming now or have foliage up and buds formed and will be open within the next week.  

Celandine poppy, Stylophorum diphyllum, is native to southern Illinois woodlands and is considered uncommon in the northern areas of the state. There are historical accounts of this plant being found in the mid-1800s growing along Salt Creek in Bemis Woods.  These flowers may be found in backyard gardens.  They bloom in late spring for two to three weeks; and this year the weather is extending the bloom period.  After blooming, a seed capsule grows, densely covered with soft hairs.  The capsule splits open into four segments each containing several seeds. 

Celandine poppy foliage is toxic and not eaten by animals, although seeds provide food for woodland mice.  Seeds pods contain an oily treat for ants, which distribute the seeds by taking the seed and treat back to their nest.  Stems contain a yellowish sap, once used as dye by native Americans.  The flower is insect pollinated, although little is known about the insect species that visit.  In the absence of insects, flowers are able to self-pollinate. 

Jack-in-the-pulpit, Arisaema triphyllum, is a perennial with one or two trifoliate (three-part) leaves.  A single whitish-green or reddish-green flower sits on top of a long central stem.  The flower consists of a spadix, a fleshly, clublike spike cuddled in a spathe, a leaflike bract the curls around the back and over the top of the spadix.  After pollination by gnats or thrips, the spadix develops into a large bunch of fleshy red fruits, each containing one or more seeds.  Fruits are eaten by wild turkey and other woodland birds, but the seeds pass through their digestive tracts unharmed and are spread in the woods.  All plants are initially male.  As they grow, female flowers develop below the male flowers on the spadix.  Male flowers die before female flowers mature, preventing self-pollination.

The green dragon, Arisaema dracontium, is a less commonly found close relative of jack-in-the-pulpit.  This perennial is one to three feet tall with a single, green leaf up to two feet across and divided into five to thirteen leaflets hanging parallel to the ground.  An erect, leafless flower stalk about one foot tall ends in a single flower.  Like jack-in-the-pulpit, the green dragon flower contains a spadix wrapped by a spathe.  The green dragon spathe continues upward to a partially open, pointed top.  The spadix has both male and female flowers.  After pollination, a large bunch of orange-red berries develops near summer’s end.  Green dragon is not as common as jack-in-the-pulpit.  Both are found in deciduous woodlands in light shade under trees or along stream banks.  Foliage of both plants is mildly toxic and avoided by woodland mammals.  The toxicity is from calcium oxylate, a chemical that causes a sensation of being stuck in the mouth and tongue by many small needles.

We usually think of barberry as being an undesirable plant, but one species of this family is Podophyllum peltatum, the mayapple.  A perennial with light green to reddish stalks; it may be fertile or infertile.  Two petioles, leaf stalks, are found on infertile plants, whereas fertile plants have only one petiole.  Flowers on fertile plants are located where the two petioles branch apart.  Flowers have six to nine white petals and are light green to pale yellow inside, with yellow anthers.  Flower develop into pale yellow, fleshy berries each containing several seeds. 

Mayapple is native to Illinois, occurring mainly in dry, open woodlands.  Pollination is by bumblebees and other long-tongued bee species.  Foliage is toxic, but berries are edible when ripe and eaten by a variety of woodland amphibians and mammals.  Seeds are not digestible and are spread in feces.  Plants also spread from rhizotomous roots that can form large, dense colonies.  All plant parts contain podophyllotoxin, an ingredient used in many prescription drugs.  Historically used by Native Americans for several medicinal purposes including jaundice, constipation , and as a worm expellant, the plant can be toxic to humans if consumed in large quantities.

Some of these woodland wildflowers cover large areas and are easily observed.  Get out for a walk in the woods near you to see many of these species blooming throughout the next few weeks.  Trees are beginning to leaf out and once the sunlight is blocked off by the canopy, some green foliage will still cover the forest floor, but these wonderful blooms will be gone until next year.

At this time of year, wildflowers, known as spring ephemerals, take advantage of woodlands where trees have not yet leafed out, and sunlight is able to reach the forest floor.  Here are some you may find as you wander the forests of northern Illinois.

Two species of hepatica, both members of the buttercup family, Ranunculaceae.  They have simple flowers having an indefinite number of petals, sepals, pistils, and stamens.  Each floral part is separate and independently attached to the plant.  There is very little consistency in this family, but there is one characteristic that stands out: all species contain an acrid oil that makes each one toxic to some degree.  They prefer dappled sunlight in spring and shade in summer and are native to North American woods.

Both sharp-lobed hepatica, Hepatica acutiloba, and round-lobed hepatica, Hepatica americana, have leaves containing three deep lobes and pale blue, pale pink, or white flowers.  Plants hybridize easily and are found in early spring.  They tend to grow in colonies where groups of flowers persist for two to three weeks, although each individual flower only lasts a few days.  No nectar is produced, but pollen is taken by a variety of bees and flies.  Chipmunks find the fruit to be one of their favorite foods.  Hepatica, meaning ‘of the liver’ in Latin, gets its name from the similarity of the three lobes on each leaf to the shape of a liver.

Spring beauty, Claytonia virginica, has light green foliage surrounding stems terminating in an array of white flowers with varying shades of pink stripes.  Flowers bloom in mid to late spring over a 6-8 week period.  They open during warm, sunny days but remain closed at night or during cool, overcast periods.  Flowers are visited by bees, flies, and butterflies for both pollen and nectar.  The corms are often eaten by white-footed mice and Eastern chipmunks.  Seed pods nod almost to the ground and contain a small elaiosome, a fleshy structure rich in lipids and proteins attractive to the ant species that are the main dispersers of its seeds. 

Spring beauty is commonly found throughout Illinois in open woodlands.  Plants can survive stressful conditions and severely degraded areas.

Cutleaf toothwort, Dentaria laciniata, has two different types of leaves and a flower stalk ending in a group of small white flowers.  Flowers open on warm, sunny days, but remain closed in cooler, overcast conditions.  One set of leaves provides food for this year’s flowers and seeds, while a second set of basal leaves stores energy for next year’s shoots.  Seed pods develop after the flowers, and will forcefully pop open when touched, shooting seeds in every direction. 

A wide variety of bees and early spring butterflies have been observed on the flowers.  Forty-eight known species of bees in the Chicago area enjoy its nectar, and two species of leaf beetle use the plant for breeding.  There are several species of toothwort in the family, but this is the only one native to Illinois.  All are closely related to mustard, broccoli, and cabbage.

White trout lily, Erythronium albidum, has green leaves mottled with brown and nodding flowers with six white sepals curved upwards and six yellow stamens hanging downwards.  They bloom for about two weeks in mid-spring.  After blooming, a three-chambered seed pod grows.  Trout lily can reproduce from seeds or from stolons, aboveground shoots that root wherever they touch soil.  They can be found everywhere in Illinois except in the farthest northwest corner of the state, near Galena.

There are three native trout lily in Illinois and white trout lily is the most common, but you may also find yellow trout lily, Erythonium americanum, and prairie trout lily, Erythronium mesochoreum.  Several bee species are attracted to the pollen and nectar of all three species.  Seed pods contain two rows of seed and an attached elaiosome as a treat for the ants who aid in the seed dispersal.

All of these plants can be found in spring in open woodland areas in northern Illinois.  Finding large clumps of any of the species is a clear indication of higher quality woodlands that have seen little disturbance over a long period of time.  Many wildflower species are being threatened by invasive plants introduced into our woods, and these are all particularly affected by garlic mustard, Alliaria petiolata.  In addition, many woodland invasive species leaf out quite early and severely affect the amount of sunlight available for native species growing on forest floors.  Come take a walk in one of the many forest preserves and enjoy these flowers among the many that are blooming this spring.

We may not be able to tell exactly when winter ends and spring begins, but the plant community all around us has determined that the change has already happened for this year.  With the longer days and warming weather comes myriad changes in the plant community.  This is the chance for us to observe many species that come and go very quickly at this time of year.  These are the wildflowers of spring, and a few early ones to look for on your walks are listed below.

One of the more showy flowers is Shooting Star, Dodecatheon meadia.  A delicate pink, lilac or white bloom droops from a single tall stalk in the middle of a grouping of lance-shaped leaves.  The plant may stand from 6″ to 20″ high.  The flowers form a cone surrounding the stalk with lobes bent backwards.  This plant is pollinated by female bumble bees that collect the yellow powder-like pollen by vibrating the anthers with two or three short sonic bursts called buzz-pollination.  The place to observe all this activity includes brightly lit open woods and meadows.

Virginia Bluebells, Mertensia virginica, may not be in full bloom, yet, but will soon be spectacular in their showiness.  They are found in rich, damp woodlands, many times along streams and rivers.  In many areas, they can be found growing in great swaths covering large areas of the forest floor in open woodlands.  Trumpet shaped flowers nodding from a long stalk are about an inch long, pink when young but turning to a beautiful, rich hue of blue. 

Dutchman’s Breeches, Dicentra cucullaria, is a common species found in open, dry woodlands.  The flower, in white or pink, appears as if someone is hanging out their trousers to dry. The green base of the plant is located far below the naked flower stalk and is composed of several fern like leaves.  This flower is mainly pollinated by bumblebees, who have a longer proboscis than honey bees, allowing them to tap the flower for its nectar.

Another showy but short-lived bloom in the woods at this time is Bloodroot, Sanguinaria canadensis, found in dry woodland areas.  Sanguine, an adjective for the color of blood, appropriately describes the juice derived from the plant.  A single leaf divided into five to nine deep round lobes clasps the flower stalk, wrapping around the base.  A single white flower rises 3″-6″ above the leaf.  The flowers contain no nectar, but attract a variety of female bees as well as the false blister beetle to collect pollen.