Echinacea

Here's a purple cone flower on its way out.  

This flower was used for many medicinal purposed by native people here in North America, and is used today as well.  Many people know it by the name "echinacea".  

This name apparently comes from the Greek word, "echino" which means "sea urchin".  You can see the spines on the head of the flower.

I love it's healthy, healing properties, but I also love how beautiful it is!

Great Blue Lobelia

I photographed a new flower near a wetland last week - Lobelia.

Great Blue Lobelia

Lobelia was used by many native peoples, in internal preparations and in poultices.  They also smoked portions of it.

This herb was so valuable that it is said it was sometimes a trade item among the tribes here in North America.  Today lobelia is still highly valued by modern consumers of herbal remedies.

Some of its many names show how it was used, its affect and its physical shape.  Here are three:   Indian tobacco, puke weed, and bladder-pod.

Crowns of Purple

I loved these beautiful blue vervains at the edge of a swampy lake, with their crowns of purple.

Downy Gentians

Look at these beauties!

I found these lovely flowers while walking out at Scott County Park last Saturday, on the Glynn's Creek Trail.    The trail is mostly through woods, but one glorious stretch takes you past a tall grass prairie, and there they were.

Their lovely purple blossoms caught my eye immediately.  They were tucked away everywhere in the tall grasses, and I went from blossom to blossom like a kid in a candy store, delighting over each one.  They were so pretty!

I particularly loved over the whorled, two-tone petals on the not-yet-fully-opened blossoms.

These downy gentians (so-called due to the tiny hairs on their stems) are sometimes called prairie gentians.  They are among the last flowers to bloom in the late summer, but as I think anyone would agree, they are well worth the wait!

The white and green stripes inside the blossoms helped me identify them. although it was hard to get a look inside as the bees were very busy collecting their pollen!

The name "gentian" comes the name of the ancient Ilyrian king, Gentius, who ruled beginning in 181 BC.  He was said to have used this plant to treat a sickness among his people.

Asiatic Dayflower

I was walking along a new trail in an urban park.  The cobweb factor was probably 7 out of 10.  The weeds on both sides were up past my elbows.   Then a splash of blue caught my eye.  Turning to look, I saw what I at first thought was a violet.

Hunkering down to get a closer look, I realized this was not just a common violet.  It was something special, and the only one of its kind as far as I could see.  It had two large blue petals, and what appeared to be tiny yellow flowers coming out of the center.  "That's different," I thought, and snapped away.  I felt like a real botanist at that moment!

Note the third flower petal, which is white, and is located behind the stamens in this photo.

When I came home, it was easy to google this unique flower and find out what it was.  It's an Asiatic dayflower.  These flowers last for only one day.  They bloom in the morning and do their best to attract pollinators with their showy yellow stamens, which I had at first taken for tiny flowers.

The Asiatic dayflower is an invasive species, but you can see why it was brought here.  It is very delicate and beautiful, and I felt like I had found a rare jewel.

Ironweed

Ironweed is a plant I had never seen or heard of before, until I ran into it on the banks of the Mississippi River.  I was drawn to its deep purple blossoms.

This is prairie ironweed, as opposed to the similar tall ironweed.

Ironweed apparently takes its common name from its strong stem, and perhaps also from the rusty color of its faded blooms.

Its scientific name is Veronia fasciculata.  Veronia comes from the name of noted botanist William Vernon.  Fasciculata refers to the way the flowers are clumped closely together.  In tall ironweed the blooms spread out more widely.

This is a native plant, and is sometimes used in domestic flowerbeds.

The Buzz on Bergamot

Today's post is about bergamot - a lovely, lavender wildflower - also known as bee balm.  It grows along wood lines and in abandoned meadows in large groupings, growing to 4 1/2 feet or taller.  It has many medicinal uses.

The name "bergamot" is an unusual name, and led me on a merry chase back as far as 550 B.C. to ferret out its etymology.

This native wildflower is a member of the mint family, and has a lovely and unique fragrance.  The fragrance reminded its namers of the similar smell of a completely unrelated plant - the bergamot orange.  And so our story begins.

The bergamot orange grows chiefly in southern Italy.  The fruit is the size of an orange, but it is greenish-yellow in color.  It has a bitter taste, so people don't generally eat it outright or juice it.  However, it is grown for its essential oils.  The unique aroma is, according to Wikipedia, evident in Earl Grey tea - much-loved by the famed Captain Jean-Luc Picard, of the starship Enterprise.

Back to my main theme.  The bergamot orange takes its name from the town of Bergamo, Italy, where - presumably - many of these oranges grow.

So how did the town of Bergamo get its name?  Let me tell you.  Bergamo comes from the Roman name of Bergomum.  And before it was latinized as Bergomum, it was called Berghem by the ancient celts who settled there.

And Berghem?  Berghem comes from the Old English (and prior to that the Proto-Germanic) "berg", meaning "mountain", and "hem" meaning "dwelling place".  Thus we have the origin for the name of this wildflower that grows innocuously on the Illinois savannas.  Who knew that such a little flower could have such a loaded name?

American Bellflower

This pretty flower is the American bellflower - also known as the tall bellflower.  I've passed these native wildflowers many a time on the trail at camp while walking from Eco-Con to the council ring, not knowing what they was but always admiring their color.  Today, I finally looked them up!

As you can see, they have five petals, all coming together in a white, inner ring.  The blossoms grow on long stalks, and range in color from light blue to purple.  That's one reason I like these beautiful bolts so much - those are some of my favorite colors!

It is unique in that it is not as bell-shaped as most other flowers in its group.  It's scientific name, Campulastrum americana, is taken from the Latin "campana", which means "bell".

American Hogpeanut

This is just the plant you wanted to learn about today.  You will soon be seeing it again, growing all over the forest floor and twining itself around anything that can give it support.

Up until now, I have been mistaking this plant for a common violet!  It is actually an amazing entity.  It produces two different flowers, and two different seeds.

If you take a moment to look at the leaflets in this photo, you will probably be able to identify this plant when you see it again in the wild.

Each compound leaf has three leaflets with sharp tips and asymmetrical bases.  You can see a kind of bulge on the base of the leaflets in the photo above.  And the middle leaflet of the three is larger, with a longer stem.

This plant's name is a perfect example of how so much scientific information can be packed into a couple of words.  Quoting from gobotany.newenglandwild.org we learn the following:

"The genus name is from the Greek amphi (of both kinds) and carpos (fruit) and refers to the two kinds of fruit.  The seeds of the upper fruit are inedible, but those from the underground fruit are edible when boiled.  Birds feed on the seeds of both kinds of fruit.  Hogs eat the seeds of the fruit below ground, hence the plants (sic) common name."

Many thanks to my friend Bryan R. (from Wood Badge), who helped me successfully identify this plant when it was driving me crazy by being so familiar and yet so anonymous!

Crow Creek Park Showcase

Photos from Crow Creek Park.  Great walking trails and lots to see!