Category: Flowers

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 […]

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/23/18 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: 5/23/18 Observation Time: 8:10 a.m. Observation Location: Moose Hill Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary Common Name: Rattlesnake Root Scientific Name: Prenanthes sp. Comments: Roots look like the rattle of a rattlesnake. More Information: Youtube

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/22/18 Observation Time: 9:35 a.m. Observation Location: Town conservation land near Beaver Brook Common Name: Starflower Scientific Name: Trientalis borealis Comments: This member of the primrose family likes moist woods. It blooms in May. Please do not dig up native wildflowers. They typically do not survive transplantation. More Information: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/22/18 Observation Time: 9:30 a.m. Observation Location: Moose Hill Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary 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: 5/1/18 Observation Time: 10:30 a.m. Observation Location: Moose Hill Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary Common Name: Siberian Squill Scientific Name: Scilla Siberica Comments: Siberian Squill was brought to this country as an ornamental and is still sold for that purpose, but it has also escaped into the wild and become invasive. It readily spreads itself and is difficult to get rid of, as broken […]

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/1/18 Observation Time: 10:30 a.m. Observation Location: Moose Hill Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary Common Name: Bloodroot Scientific Name: Sanguinaria canadensis Comments: Blood-root is an attractive spring ephemeral, traditionally used in cough remedies. However, it has been characterized as unsafe by the United States Food and Drug Administration because of the presence of the toxic alkaloid sanguinarine. This flower drops its petals within […]

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/5/18 Observation Time: 8:00 a.m. Observation Location: Moose Hill Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary Common Name: Common Blue Violet Scientific Name: Viola sororia Comments: For information, see: http://thebotanicalhiker.blogspot.com/2015/04/eating-wild-identifying-wild-edible.html

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/21/16 Observation Time: 3:20 p.m. Observation Location: Kendall Estate, Moose Hill Street 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: 8/23/15 Observation Time: 5:45 p.m. Observation Location: bank of Hammershop Pond at Ames and Cottage Streets. Common Name: Virginia Marsh-St. John’s wort Scientific Name: Triadenum virginicum Comments: Occurs only in wetlands. (Wetland indicator code: OBL). Please do not dig up wildflowers! More Information: Go Botany

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 7/22/15 Observation Time: 5:20 p.m. Observation Location: Gavins Pond area Common Name: Milkweed Scientific Name: Asclepias syriaca Comments: Monarch butterflies depend on milkweed as a food source for their caterpillars. The advent of genetically modified “Roundup-ready” corn and soybeans has facilitated large-scale application of herbicides, reducing the availability of milkweed to migrating monarchs. Hence, the monarch population is in steep decline. […]

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 7/22/15 Observation Time: 5:20 p.m. Observation Location: Gavins Pond area Common Name: Queen Anne’s Lace Scientific Name: Daucus carota Comments: Daucus carota, whose common names include wild carrot, bird’s nest, bishop’s lace, and Queen Anne’s lace (North America), is a white, flowering plant in the family Apiaceae, native to temperate regions of Europe and southwest Asia, and naturalized to North America and […]

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 7/22/15 Observation Time: 5:00 p.m. Observation Location: field near Gavins Pond Dam Common Name: Wild Indigo Scientific Name: Baptisia australis Comments: It is a perennial  upright bushy plant with attractive foliage and yellow blossoms. Seed heads turn a deep indigo color providing winter interest. More Information: Wikipedia

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 7/22/15 Observation Time: 4:40 p.m. Observation Location: Gavins Pond area Common Name: Spotted Knapweed Scientific Name: Centaurea maculosa Comments: Spotted knapweed is poisonous to other plants, creating barren areas where only knapweed grows. It is a threat to pastures and dry ecosystems including prairies and dunes.  Can be a skin irritant. More Information: Michigan Invasive Species

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 7/13/15 Observation Time: 4:10 p.m. Observation Location: Gavins Pond Common Name: Rough-fruited cinquefoil Scientific Name: Potentilla recta Comments: Also known as sulphur cinquefoil, this wildflower is native to Europe and Asia. Introduced and naturalized in North America. Found along roads and in disturbed sites. Thrives in full sun and tolerates dry conditions. Flowers from June to August. Blossoms have five […]