A few new blooms are appearing along the Olentangy river and throughout Ohio right now. The first, I believe, with some reservation, is yellow leaf cup, so named because this plant's leaves form a little cup where they come together and join the stem. This plant's leaves are a little bit strange. They weren't dissected as much as other members of this species. This is a member of the aster family. Notice the sunflower type blooms.
Then we have the ubiquitous wingstem. This plant, which gets very tall, loves to grow in rich, wet areas pretty much anywhere in Ohio. It has a yellow stem, and tonight in Kenney Park, this small blue butterfly seemed to be using it as a nectar source.
Last, but certainly not least, we have garden phlox. Although this sounds like something that should be non-native, it is actually a native species, although it is cultivated as well. Quite a nice purple flower. And no, Dame's Rocket didn't have a resurgence!
Enjoy the weekend!
Tom
The small blue butterfly looks like a Summer Azure. Nice photos and great information. Thanks!
ReplyDelete- Mo
Mo, thanks for the Tawny Emperor ID as well!
ReplyDeleteTom
You're welcome, and thanks for sharing what you know. There's too much for any one person to know it all. Especially for those of us who only get to do this in our spare time.
ReplyDelete- Mo
Have you ruled out Cup-plant (Silphium perfoliatum) as the first flower?
ReplyDelete- Ryan
Ryan, nope, I think that is exactly what it is!
ReplyDeleteThanks,
Tom