Skullcaps (Scutellaria) are members of the mint family that generally prefer open woods. This is one of the most decorative of the genus; these plants were blooming in Bird Park in Mount Lebanon.
Occasionally some of the flowers are pale; these were blooming on a plant that also bore darker flowers on another branch.
A bumblebee comes in for a landing at a Wood Sage flower blooming in front of the abandoned St. Wenceslaus Church in Schweitzerloch.
For a description of the species, see the Teucrium canadense reference page.
Above, an unusual strong bicolor form of Bugles, where white flowers have strong deep-blue veining. Below, another bicolor, but with the blue veining dominating. These plants were growing in the Seldom Seen Greenway.
For a description of the species, see the Ajuga reptans reference page.
One of the earliest spring flowers, sometimes blooming in the middle of the winter if there’s an extended warm spell, the Purple Archangel or Purple Dead-Nettle is everywhere. It is happy in open city lawns, and just as happy along a woodland trail in Bird Park, where we photographed these plants. The most decorative aspect of the plant is the contrast between the pale flowers and the dark leaves at the top of the stem; but the colors of the leaves are variable, and many plants show no significant purplishness at the top.
For a description of the species, see the Lamium purpureum reference page.
A member of the mint family whose furry little flowers grow in the leaf axils, forming a column in the center of the plant while the leaves project perpendicularly. The flowers themselves look soft and fuzzy, but the rest of the plant is unpleasantly prickly. This dense stand was growing along Fifth Avenue in Soho.
For a description of the species, see the Leonurus cardiaca reference page.
