Got Nature? Blog

It is natural to think of spring as the season of flowers in our woodlands, but summer can also provide some outstanding displays of native bloom. In addition, these flowers are often attracting some of our largest and showiest butterflies and bumblebees. Here are a few of the late summer flowers you may encounter in local woodlands. (Click on photos to enlarge.)

Wood Nettle is a look-but-don’t-touch type of plant. While I find the foamy white flowers attractive, the stinging hairs along the stems and under the leaves feel like instant poison ivy. This is one of the reasons Foresters don’t wear short pants in the woods! It is a good indicator of moist and fertile soils.

Wingstem is a large plant with thin ridges along the stems providing the name. These head-high and taller plants of edges, thin woodlands and fertile soils put on a great display. It seems to be a common plant in black walnut plantations as both the good soils and light shade favor its growth.

Tall Bellflower catches the eye as blues seem to stick out in the green and yellow dominated foliage. I see this attractive star-shaped flower on tall stalks at the edge of woodlands and in areas where more sunlight enters the forest understory.

Pale or Yellow Jewelweed is in the same genus as the impatiens found in the garden stores. The tube flowers turn into spring-loaded seed pods that pop with the least amount of pressure applied by a finger and thumb. It is hard not to be startled even if you have experienced this mini-explosion before. Spotted Jewelweed is very similar, but has orange flowers with dark dots.

White Snakeroot can be quite common in forest understories. The white flowers may be the dominant bloom in some woodlands, partly because of the toxic nature of the plant. It is toxic to both livestock and humans and is the source of the milk sickness that killed Abraham Lincolns mother. Cows grazing in woodlands would eat the white snakeroot, which tainted the milk consumed by the pioneer families.

Jack-in-the-Pulpit flowers in the spring, but the cluster of red berries which ripen in the late summer and fall are large and bright, so they draw attention. While toxic to humans some birds and other wildlife will consume the seeds. The less common, but related Green Dragon plant has similar berry clusters.

Great Blue Lobelia has a name that matches its visual impact. The tall spikes of brilliant blue flowers are excellent for pollinators and put on a great show. This is a plant of woodland edges and moist soils, but can get to be 4 feet tall, with large numbers of flowers, so it is hard to miss when present.

Resources:
Celebrate Pollinator Week with Flowers of June Tour, Got Nature? Blog, Purdue Extension – FNR
Pollinator Conservation Education, Purdue Extension – Entomology
What’s buzzing in your backyard? Learn about protecting pollinators, beekeeping with Purdue Extension, Purdue Extension News
Indiana Monarch and Pollinator Conservation website
Protecting Pollinators: Protecting Pollinators in Home Lawns and Landscapes, publication, The Education Store, Purdue Extension’s resource center
Consider Pollinators When Planning Your Garden, Got Nature? Blog, Purdue Extension – FNR
Attract Hummingbirds to Your Yard video, Purdue Extension – FNR YouTube Channel
Tracking the Bloom, Got Nature? Blog, Purdue Extension – FNR
Indiana’s Native Orchids, Indiana Forestry & Woodlands Association (IFWOA) Webinar
Landscape Uses of Native Plants, Indiana Native Plant Society
Find an Arborist video, Trees are Good-International Society of Arboriculture (ISA)
Tree Installation: Process and Practices, The Education Store, Purdue Extension resource center
Tree Planting Part 1: Choosing a Tree video, Purdue Extension
Wildflowers and Ferns of Indiana Forests: A Field Guide, Google Books
Intro to Trees of Indiana: Flowering Dogwood, Got Nature? Blog, Purdue Extension – FNR
ID That Tree Spring Bloom Edition: Bladdernut, Got Nature? Blog, Purdue Extension – FNR
ID That Tree, Purdue Extension-FNR YouTube playlist

Lenny Farlee, Extension Forester
Hardwood Tree Improvement and Regeneration Center
Purdue Department of Forestry & Natural Resources