Flora Pittsburghensis

Author: Father Pitt

  • Purple Archangel (Lamium purpureum)

    These delightful little flowers give us two or more months of solid bloom from late winter through mid-spring, and in addition to the flowers they have very decorative bronze-purple upper leaves. The only thing that keeps us from noticing them is that they are everywhere. If they were rarer, they would be loved; since they are in every lawn and sidewalk crack, they are ignored.

    This plant was blooming in Beechview, where it was photographed on May 5.

    For a full description, see the Lamium purpureum reference page.

  • Wild Geranium (Geranium maculatum)

    Geranium maculatum

    Blooming in the Kane Woods Nature Area in Scott Township, where they were photographed on May 5.

    For a full description, see the Geranium maculatum reference page.

    Wild Geranium
    Geranium maculatum

  • Common Blue Violet (Viola sororia)

    Viola sororia close up

    Common blue violets are everywhere, even in well-kept lawns, but each one still seems like a treasure. These were growing in the Kane Woods Nature Area in Scott Township, where they were photographed on May 5.

    For a full description, see the Viola sororia reference page.

    Patch of violets
    Side view of a violet flower
    The whole plant
    Common Blue Violet

  • Bugles (Ajuga reptans)

    Ajuga reptans

    A popular ground cover often found wild in the woods or even in city lawns. The cultivated varieties often have purple or variegated leaves; the wild ones have attractive dark-green leaves. These were blooming in the Kane Woods Nature Area, Scott Township, where they had their pictures taken on May 5.

    For a fuller description, see the Ajuga reptans reference page.

    Bugles
    Ajuga reptans

  • Blue Phlox (Phlox divaricata)

    Blue Phlox

    Blue or Woodland Phlox blooming along the Trillium Trail, Fox Chapel, April 22. For a full description, see the Phlox divaricata reference page.

    Phlox divaricata