This report is written by Lorraine Anderson (lorraine@bwca.cc). She is part of a group of three seniors that have been looking at wildflowers in Cook County, Minnesota. They have gone out almost every Wednesday for over 20 years and love it, even in the winter. But of course there aren't any flowers in the winter!!

Wednesday Wildflower Report: August 6, 2003

It was good having all three of us able to go out together again. We went out #7 up #48, then 4.5 miles on the Bally Creek Road and we saw MANY Pipsissewa. right by the road. Probably more than we have seen before. As we were looking at the Pipsissewa and Pyrola we saw that another car had stopped and looked like he was looking at flowers. We backed up to speak to him and low & behold he had been following L's Wildflower site for years from the mountains of Georgia. He was trying to find some of the things mentioned. He stayed with us a while and told us of a Purple Fringed-orchid blooming at Cascade Park. He also said that the Brook Lobelia was blooming on the shore. We later went to Cascade and enjoyed seeing the Orchid and took pictures of it.
While we were on Bally Creek Road. we saw a whole field of Flat-topped White Asters and also a whole swamp full of Water Parsnip.
Many of the flowers are so large now. It presents a challenge to get several on an 8 1/2 X 11 sheet of paper.
We saw lots of Pearly Everlasting, Joe Pye, Purple & White Asters, Sweet Clover, both kinds of Daisies, Goldenrod & Bird's-foot Trefoil. We had a discussion as to whether we have always identified Yellow Hawkweed incorrectly but after that we couldn't find a good specimen.
It was a wonderful day even though it was hot and a bit buggy. Lunch on B's porch.

Flowers we found Blooming:
Agrimony, Common - Agrimonia gryposepala
Aster, Purple Aster ssp. there are so many we don't try to differentiate
Aster, Flat-topped White - Aster umbellatus *
Avens, Yellow - Geum aleppicum
Bedstraw, Rough - Galium asprellum
Bellflower, Creeping - Campanula uliginosa
Black-eyed Susan - Rudbeckia serotina
Blue-eyed Grass - Sisyrinchium
Buckwheat, Climbing False - Polygonum scanclens
Butter and Eggs - Linaria vulgaris *
Buttercup, Tall or Common - Ranunculus acris
Chamomile, Scentless - Matricaria maritima
Chickweed, Common - Stellaria media
Cinquefoil, Rough - Potentilla norvegica
Clover, Hop - Trifolium agrarium
Clover, Purple, Pink - Trifolium ssp.
Clover, Rabbit's-foot - Trifolium arvense
Clover, Sweet, White - Melilotus alba
Clover, Sweet, Yellow - Melilotus officinalis
Daisy, Ox-eye - Chrysanthemum leucanthemum
Dock, Curled - Rumex crispus
Dogbane, Spreading - Apocynum androsaemifolium
Everlasting, Pearly - Anaphalis margaritacea
Fireweed - Epilobium angustifolium
Fleabane, Daisy - Erigeron strigosus
Goldenrod - Solidago ssp.
Harebell - Campanula rotundifolia
Hawkweed, Canada - Hieracium canadense *
Hawkweed, Yellow - Hieracium scabrum ??
Heal-all - Prunella vulgaris
Jewelweed, Spotted - Impatiens capensis
Joe Pye Weed - Eupatorium maculatum *
Lychnis, Evening - Luchnis alba
Meadowsweet - Spiraea latifolia *
Monkey-flower - Mimulus ringens *
Mullein, Common - Verbascum thapsus *
Nettle, White Dead - Lamium album
Orchid, Purple-fringed - Habenaria psycodes *
Parsnip, Cow - Heracleum maximum
Parsnip, Water - Sium suave *
Pineapple Weed - Matricaria matricarioides
Pink, Deptford - Dianthus deltoides
Pipsissewa - Chimaphils umbellata
Primrose, Evening - Oenothera biennis
Shinleaf (Pyrola) - Pyrola elliptica
Spearwort, Creeping - Ranunculus reptans *
Thistle, Bull - Cirsium vulgare
Thistle, Canada - Cirsium arvense
Thistle, Field Sow - Sonchus arvensis
Trefoil, Bird's-foot - Lotus corniculatus
Turtlehead, White - Chelone glabra *
Valerian, Garden/Heliotrope - Valeriana officinalis *
Willow-herb, Narrow-leaved - Epilobium leptophyllum
Yarrow - Achillea millefolium

Shrubs we found with berries Edible and Non:
Baneberry, Red - Actaea rubra
Bearberry - Arctostaphylos uva-ursi *
Blueberry, Dwarf Sweet - Vaccinium angustifolium - didn't see any, but I'm sure they are there
Bunchberries - Cornus canadensis
Currant - Ribes
Elder, Red-berried - Sambucus pubens
Gooseberry - Ribes *
Lily, Blue-bead - Clintonia borealis
Raspberry - Rubus idaeus
Twisted-stalk, Rose - Streptopus roseus

* - new this week