Jul 30 2016
Common Dodder or Love Vine [Cuscuta gronovii] found near the Blue Ridge Parkway, milepost 437, Glassy Mine Overlook, along the roadsideon 30 July 2016. It’s a member of the Dodder (Cuscutaceae) family. Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide, pages 322-323, says it’s a parasitic plant, that “tightly twines around the stems of other plants and absorbs their sap …
Jul 17 2016
Great Golden Digger Wasp [Sphex ichneumoneus] on Common Milkweed [Asclepias syriaca] atFletcher Park on 17 July 2016. The plant is a member of the Milkweed (Asclepiadaceae) family. Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide, pages 264-265, states it’s a “coarse plant of fields of fields and roadsides.” The NWF Field Guide to Insects and Spiders of North America, page …
Jul 16 2016
Fuller’s Teasel or Common Teasel [Dipsacus fullonum] photos were taken at Fletcher Park on 11 July 2013 and on 16 July 2016. It’s the member of the Teasel (Dipsacaceae) family. Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide, pages 160-161, states it blooms in summer and fall and can be found in fields and on roadsides. The guide also lists …
Jul 10 2016
Great Laurel or Rosebay [Rhododendron maximum] on the Mountains-to-Sea Trail in South Asheville, North Carolina on 10 July 2016. It’s a member of the Heath (Ericaceae) family. Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide, pages 292-293, says it blooms in early summer in damp woods and swamps. USDA Plants Listing: Rhododendron maximum
Jul 02 2016
Tall Blazing Star or Rough Blazing Star [Liatris aspera] found off Brevard Road, Asheville, North Carolina on 2 July 2016. It’s a member of the Aster/Composite (Asteraceae) family. Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide, pages 412-413, states it blooms in summer and fall in dry open places. USDA Plants Listing: Liatris aspera
Jun 18 2016
Milkweed Borer [Tetraopes femoratus] found near Fletcher Park, off Mills Gap on 18 June 2016. It’s a Longhorn Beetle, in the family Cerambycidae. There was a milkweed plant nearby, but the plant it’s on is unidentified, as the leaves are not the right shape to be milkweed. The NWF Field Guide to Insects and Spiders of …
Jun 18 2016
Butterfly Milkweed or Butterfly Weed [Asclepias tuberosa] found near Fletcher Park on 28 August 2013 and 18 June 2016. It’s a member of the Milkweed (Asclepiadaceae) family. Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide, pages 188-189, states it blooms in summer in dry fields and on banks, and it also lists another common name as Pleurisy Root. USDA Plants …
Jun 18 2016
Chicory [Cichorium intybus] found near the Silver Leaf Diner, off US Route 11 in DeKalb Junction, New York on 21 June 2013 and near Fletcher Park on 18 June 2016. It’s a member of the Aster (Asteraceae) family. Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide, pages 382-383, says that it blooms in summer and fall, and found on roadsides, …
May 28 2016
Shameplant [Mimosa pudica] seen on the Swamp Rabbit Trail in Travelers Rest, South Carolina on 28 May 2016. It’s a member of the Pea family (Fabaceae ⁄ Leguminosae) and is not native. The website plants.usda.gov shows it as being introduced in the states of Virginia & Florida. The leaves are sensitive to touch and will fold …
May 28 2016
Striped Prince’s Pine or Spotted Wintergreen [Chimaphila maculata] found near mile marker 437 on the Blue Ridge Parkway on 25 July 2013 and in Travelers Rest, SC on 28 May 2016. It’s a member of the Shinleaf (Pyrolaceae) family. Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide, pages 284-285, says it blooms in summer in dry woods. Timothy P. Spira’s …
