Category: Flowers

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/27/20 Observation Time: 5:10 p.m. Observation Location: in the woods near the footbridge over Beaver Brook Common Name: Pink Lady’s Slipper orchid Scientific Name: Cypripedium acaule Comments: Pink lady’s slippers probably won’t survive if you try to transplant them, so please don’t dig them up. More Information: Wikipedia

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/27/20 Observation Time: 5:10 p.m. Observation Location: near footbridge over Beaver Brook Common Name: Starflower Scientific Name: Lysimachia borealis Comments: Formerly known as Trientalis borealis, it has been shuffled around to new species name Lysimachia borealis (same genus as the yellow Loosestrifes) and moved to the Myrsinaceae (Myrsine) family. This member of the primrose family likes moist woods. It blooms in […]

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/19/20 Observation Time: 9:20 a.m. Observation Location: near Gavins Pond Common Name: Bird’s Foot Violet Scientific Name: Viola pedata Comments: Bird-foot violets are perennials with five-petaled flowers that bloom from March to June. The flowers are typically blue, but can range from white to purple. They spread by sending out rhizomes. The fan-shaped leaves have three lobes which are said to resemble a […]

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/18/20 Observation Time: 10:50 a.m. Observation Location: under high tension lines across the street from the Gavins Pond soccer fields Common Name: Lance-leaved Violet Scientific Name: Viola lanceolata Comments: One of only a few white-flowered stemless violets, lance-leaved violet inhabits sandy or peaty shorelines and marshes as well as more disturbed sites. The narrow lance-shaped leaves are distinctive. More Information: Go […]

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/15/20 Observation Time: 9:40 a.m. Observation Location: near Pond Street rotary by Lake Massapoag Common Name: Ground Ivy (a.k.a. “Gill-over-the-ground”) Scientific Name: Glechoma hederacea Comments: Commonly known as ground-ivy, gill-over-the-ground, creeping charlie, alehoof, tunhoof, catsfoot, field balm, and run-away-robin, it has numerous medicinal uses, and is used as a salad green in many countries. European settlers carried it around the world, and it has […]

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/6/20 Observation Time: 9:40 a.m. Observation Location: Moose Hill Farm (TTOR) Common Name: Wood Anemone Scientific Name: Anemone quinquefolia Comments: Also called wood windflower, wood anemone is one of the earliest blooming flowers in the rich, moist forests of New England. Look for showy white flowers poking above the dissected leaves, only 3 inches (7 cm) tall. These offer food to pollinators […]

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 10/6/19 Observation Time: 2:00 p.m. Observation Location: Near Beaver Brook Common Name: White Wood Aster Scientific Name: Eurybia divaricata Comments: Eurybia divaricata is native to Eastern U.S. and typically grows in the wild in dry open woods. It grows in loose clumps with dark, sprawling, sometimes zigzag stems up to 2.5′ tall. Distinctive leaves are heart-shaped, stalked and coarsely toothed. Small […]

Observer: Rita Corey Observation Date: 6/23/19 Observation Time: 3:45 p.m. Observation Location: 282 Mountain Street Common Name: Mock Orange Scientific Name: Philadelphus coronarius Comments: Mock orange shrubs have flowers that are rich with nectar and attract butterflies. They are native to Southeast Europe and Italy. More Information: the spruce

Observer: Rita Corey Observation Date: 6/23/19 Observation Time: 2:15 p.m. Observation Location: Rattlesnake Hill Common Name: Downy Rattlesnake Plantain Orchid Scientific Name: Goodyera pubescens Comments: Please don’t dig up wildflowers. More Information: USDA Plant Fact Sheet

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 6/23/19 Observation Time: noon Observation Location: Billings Loop Botanical Trail Common Name: Enchanter’s Nightshade Scientific Name: Circaea quadrisulcata Comments: Enchanter’s nightshade is a member of the primrose family. More Information: UMass Amherst Weed Herbarium

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 6/9/19 Observation time: 4:15 p.m. Observation Location: beginning of the trail at the end of Brook Road Common Name: Money Flower (a.k.a. Honesty) Scientific Name: Lunaria annua Comments: The seed pods of the money flower are shaped like coins. This flower originated from the Balkans and southwest Asia. Its popularity as a garden flower means that colonies are most often seen near to towns and […]

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/27/19 Observation Time: 4:40 p.m. Observation Location: Power lines near Walpole St. Common Name: Bird’s Foot Violet Scientific Name: Viola pedata Comments: Bird-foot violets are perennials with five-petaled flowers that bloom from March to June. The flowers are typically blue, but can range from white to purple. They spread by sending out rhizomes. The fan-shaped leaves have three lobes which are said to […]

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/27/19 Observation Time: 4:20 p.m. Observation Location: Beneath high tension wires near So. Walpole St. Common Name: Black Huckleberry Scientific Name: Gaylussacia baccata Comments: These are the distinctive bright red unopened flower buds of black huckleberry, Gaylussacia baccata. They are typically no more than waist-high. They often form a near-continuous shrub layer in dryish oak woods. In moister soils they tend to […]

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/26/19 Observation Time: 2:45 p.m. Observation Location: Moose Hill Farm (formerly the Kendall Estate) Common Name: Wild geranium Scientific Name: Geranium maculatum Comments: Geranium maculatum, the wild geranium, spotted geranium, or wood geranium, is a perennial plant native to woodlands of eastern North America. More Information: USDA Forest Service

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/26/19 Observation Time: 8:40 a.m. Observation Location: Moose Hill Farm (TTOR) Common Name: Ground Ivy (a.k.a. “Gill-over-the-ground”) Scientific Name: Glechoma hederacea Comments: Commonly known as ground-ivy, gill-over-the-ground, creeping charlie, alehoof, tunhoof, catsfoot, field balm, and run-away-robin, it has numerous medicinal uses, and is used as a salad green in many countries. European settlers carried it around the world, and it has become a well-established […]

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/21/19 Observation Time: 7:00 a.m. Observation Location: Moose Hill Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary Common Name: Creeping Myrtle Scientific Name: Vinca minor Comments: Also known as dwarf periwinkle, this non-native plant comes from Europe. It makes a good groundcover, and it produces lovely purple blossoms in spring and into summer, but once established it spreads and is hard to eradicate. More Information: Wikipedia

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/19/19 Observation Time: 2:35 p.m. Observation Location: Billings Loop Botanical Trail Common Name: Starflower Scientific Name: Lysimachia borealis Comments: Formerly known as Trientalis borealis, it has been shuffled around to new species name Lysimachia borealis (same genus as the yellow Loosestrifes) and moved to the Myrsinaceae (Myrsine) family. This member of the primrose family likes moist woods. It blooms in May. […]

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 4/16/19 Observation Time: 2:00 p.m. Observation Location: Moose Hill Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary Common Name: Common Mullein Scientific Name: Verbascum thapsus Comments: Verbascum thapsus has a wide native range including Europe, northern Africa and Asia, from the Azores and Canary Islands east to western China, north to the British Isles, Scandinavia and Siberia, and south to the Himalayas. In the United States […]

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 8/15/18 Observation Time: 1:10 p.m. Observation Location: Moose Hill Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary Common Name: Joe Pye Weed Scientific Name: Eupatorium purpureum Comments: Joe Pye weed is an herbaceous, late-blooming perennial native to much of the U.S. It is a wildflower and an herb that was used as an herbal remedy to lower fevers and other maladies. The plant goes by the […]

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 7/7/18 Observation Time: 3:10 p.m. Observation Location: Moose Hill Farm (TTOR) Common Name: Tall Meadow Rue Scientific Name:Thalictrum pubescens Comments: Meadow rue flowers have no petals; the conspicuous part of the flower is the white filaments of the stamens. More Information: Connecticut Botanical Society

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/23/18 Observation Time: 9:30 a.m. Observation Location: Moose Hill Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary Common Name: Wild geranium Scientific Name: Geranium maculatum Comments: Geranium maculatum, the wild geranium, spotted geranium, or wood geranium, is a perennial plant native to woodlands of eastern North America, from southern Manitoba and southwestern Quebec south to Alabama and Georgia and west to Oklahoma and South Dakota. More […]

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/23/18 Observation Time: 9:30 a.m. Observation Location: Moose Hill Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary Common Name: Dandelion Scientific Name: Taraxacum officinale Comments:  Native to Europe, it has spread nearly worldwide. The young leaves can be eaten raw or cooked. The taproot can be boiled and eaten or dried and ground as a base for a hot drink. More Information: Go Botany

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/23/18 Observation Time: 8:55 a.m. Observation Location: Moose Hill Farm (TTOR) Common Name: Common Buttercup Scientific Name: Ranunculus acris Comments: The Common Buttercup (Ranunculus acris); also called Tall Buttercup, Meadow Buttercup and Blister Plant; is a perennial forb/herb in the Ranunculaceae family. The family and genus names come from the Latin for “little frog” because this family prefers wet areas. It’s […]