The only flat-topped goldenrod in the Pittsburgh area, so it is easy to identify. This plant was making bees happy next to a bridge over Montour Run in Moon Township.
For a thorough description, see the Euthamia graminifolia reference page.
-
Lance-Leaved Goldenrod (Euthamia graminifolia)
Photographed September 19 with a Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z6. -
Japanese Honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica)
Photographed September 24 with a Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z6. Japanese Honeysuckle often puts on a second burst of bloom in early fall. These vines were blooming along the Montour Trail in Moon Township.
For more pictures and a description, see the Lonicera japonica reference page.
-
Hops (Humulus lupulus)
These are the hops used to flavor and preserve beer. The plant is one of the relatively few native to both Eurasia and North America, so it is impossible to say with certainty whether these particular vines descended from North American stock or from European hops brought over by brewers. They were growing along the Montour Trail in Moon Township.
The flowers are dioecious, meaning that the plant grows separate male and female flowers. These characteristic cones are the result of the female flowers.
Photographed September 20 with three different cameras, because that is how thorough Father Pitt is in service to his readers. For a thorough description of the species, see the Humulus lupulus reference page.
-
Morning Glory (Ipomoea purpurea)
All pictures but one photographed September 2 with a Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z6. Weedy but splendid, Morning Glories come in a range of colors, three of which were growing in this one patch in Beechview. Shades of violet and pink are the most common, but here we also have a pale blue.
This picture alone photographed September 1 with a Samsung Galaxy A15 5G. 
For a description of the species, see the Ipomoea purpurea reference page.
-
Wild Basil (Clinopodium vulgare)
A mint that grows fuzzy heads of pinkish flowers. In many references this is Satureja vulgaris, and it has gone by many other names as botanists have tried to sort out this branch of the mint family. It is either native or introduced or both: the USDA PLANTS database has it as native throughout its range in North America; the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center says that it “is native in the northern part of its range but was probably introduced from Europe, where it is widespread, in the southern part”; other sources list it as entirely introduced.
These plants were growing along the Montour Trail in Moon Township.
Photographed August 30 with a Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z6.
