A fine mound of Butterfly Weed growing along the Montour Trail in Moon Township.
For a description of the species, see the Asclepias tuberosa reference page.
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Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa)
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Vigin’s Bower (Clematis virginiana)
Our native autumn Clematis, very similar at first glance to the Asiatic Autumn Clematis (Clematis terniflora) that has made itself at home in our city lots. The leaves, however, are quite different: they are three-parted, with a tendency to be toothed, especially toward the ends of the leaflets. These vines were running rampant through the other flora and up and down a telephone pole along the Montour Trail in Moon Township.
Other common names include Traveler’s Joy and Love Vine.
For a description of the species, see the Clematis virginiana reference page.
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Biennial Gaura (Oenothera gaura)
Photographed August 20 with a Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z6. Formerly in its own genus as Gaura biennis. This is an unusual flower here, but locally abundant, as it was here along the Montour Trail in Moon Township, where it grew in several large stands on the bank of a ditch along the trail. Botanical references often tell us it prefers dry soil, but the two stands Father Pitt has photographed were both in decidedly damp places. The curious flowers make as much of a show with their stamens as with their four petals.
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Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa)
Photographed July 16 with a Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z6. Although June is the height of Butterfly-Weed season, many plants bloom into July and August. This one was growing at Robin Hill Park in Moon Township.
For a description of the species, see the Asclepias tuberosa reference page.
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Hollow Joe-Pye-Weed (Eutrochium fistulosum)
Photographed August 1 with a Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z6. Formerly Eupatorium fistulosum, but the genus Eupatorium has been split into several genera. This beautiful and elegantly constructed plant, also known as Trumpetweed, bears domes of dusty mauve flower heads on towers of whorled leaves, usually five to seven in a whorl. The plants can easily grow to seven feet or more. They prefer a damp environment, and are often seen in the soggier parts of roadsides and fields.
These plants were growing in the native-plant field in Robin Hill Park, Moon Township.
For a description of the species, see the Eutrochium fistulosum reference page.
