Forked bluecurls (Trichostema dichotomum) flowers open early in the day. That's when the beautiful blue flowers are erect with long curled Its stamens (male parts) and styles (female parts). Its lower petals are distinctively spotted to "direct" bees where to…
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Weeds of Wednesday: Paintedleaf
Paintedleaf, fire-on-the-mountain, painted spurge, and wild poinsettia are among the common named given to the native, but weedy, spurge now ascribed the botanical name Euphorbia cyanthophora. Spurges belong to the family Euphorbiaceae, a very large and diverse plant family with…
Diversity Matters
Diversity matters - at least to monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus). Milkweeds (Asclepias spp.) are the larval host plants for monarch butterfly. Pictured above along Oslo Road is a monarch butterfly nectaring on scarlet milkweed (Asclepias curassavica), a non-native, commercially available…
Beautiful Butterfly Pea
Spurred butterfly pea (Centrosema virginianum) is a perennial herbaceous vine that is occasionally found growing at Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area (ORCA) and is pictured above engulfing bushy bluestem (Andropogon glomeratus) at Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge (PINWR). Sometimes you will…
