Starflower is a small ground covering herb across the forests of eastern North America. It is from the primrose family, the name of the genus Trientalis, meaning one-third of a foot in Latin, refers to the average height of the plant.
The plant grows as a creeping rhizome and blooms early in the summer. The leaves grow out of a single stalk in a whorled fashion, with a flower spike emerging from the center. To the right, a colony of starflower is seen growing alongside a blooming Canadian mayflower.
The star shaped flowers that give the species its common name.
A few weeks ago I payed the great swamps another visit. I was lucky enough to spot a few beetles hanging out on rose. Previous post on swamp rose is here. Watching bumblebees bumble around flowers is one of the best things to observe during spring. They are a crucial part of the American ecosystem. […]
If there is one thing you can be sure of, as you learn more about plants and how to identify them, the clearer the destruction of native wildlands gets. Soon the beautiful flowers you see in a wild reserve turn up to be aggressive invasive species brought to the continent by people wanting a more European garden.
Today I want to show two species of Irises that can be found in New Jersey, North-Eastern America, Iris pseudacorus (Yellow-Flag Iris), and Iris versicolor (blue flag Iris).
Both species look similar, but, in my personal opinion, the native Iris looks far better than its European cousin. But, as the yellow-flag were quite popular in Europe they were imported for their ornamental value.
Both species like wet conditions to grow in and are found growing near ponds or swamps. Yellow Flag Iris takes over aquatic habitat and out-competes native plants by forming thick clumps that are hard to remove.
Adding native plants to your garden has a lot of advantages. Besides making your yard look beautiful, they attract and provide shelter to native insects and help restore the land to its original splendor! You can find links to native gardening websites here.
Go ahead, slide between the two flowers, and tell me which one is prettier!
Rosa palustris, or the Swamp Rose is a native rose species found in most of eastern North America. It grows along streams and swamps in lightly acidic wet to moist soil.
As you can see, the flower looks similar to our garden rose, but is certainly not showy. The number of petals are limited (5) and arranged blandly. It takes lots of selective breeding to go from a wild rose to our splendid garden roses.
What's growing in the Garden State 