Every time he sees these odd flower heads, Father Pitt thinks they look like something invented by a set designer for an alien planet in a 1960s science-fiction movie. This plant was blooming by a parking lot in Banksville.
For a description of the species, see the Plantago lanceolata reference page.
The shocking magenta color made this plant a cottage-garden favorite, in spite of its tiny flowers. Having come over to our country because settlers wanted to brighten up the place, it has made itself at home, often in otherwise unpromising environments—such as here, at the edge of a parking lot in Banksville.
For a description of the species, see the Dianthus armeria reference page.
The close-up picture above is enough to explain the common name “Beardtongue.” These beautiful native flowers are often grown in gardens, but they are also common delights in the wild in our area. These plants were blooming in Bird Park, Mount Lebanon.
For a description of the species, see the Penstemon digitalis reference page.
Also called oyster-flower or goat’s-beard. There are three similar species, all naturalized from Europe; this one can be distinguished by the “peduncle upwardly enlarged below the head,” as Fernald’s revision of Gray explains. We can see what that means in the picture below: note how the flower stem—the “peduncle”—thickens as it goes up toward the base of the flower head.
These plants were growing in a gravely patch of ground beside Banksville Road in Banksville.
The common name “Cleavers” refers to the way these plants stick to clothing or animal hair. The stems are covered with downward-facing prickles that serve two purposes. First, they discourage hungry little critters from crawling upwards. Second, they stick to passing animals and people, so that, when the plant has gone to seed, it will break off, and the seeds will be distributed somewhere else after the broken stem has hitched a ride. These plants were blooming in Bird Park in Mount Lebanon.
For a description of the species, see the Galium aparine reference page.
