Rough Blazing Star (Liatris aspera) There are 5 species of Blazing Star in Minnesota. The Northern Plains Blazing Star is similar to the Rough Blazing Star, but commonly has its flowers on stalks. All Blazing Star flowers are very attractive to butterflies, hummingbirds and bees; and are offered by nurseries specializing in native plants. Sky […]
Author Archives: jimr77
Conifers
Red Pine (Norway Pine) Minnesota State Tree Eastern White Pine Jack Pine Balsam Fir White Spruce Black Spruce Tamarack (Eastern or American Larch) Eastern Red Cedar (juniper) Northern White Cedar Eastern Hemlock Bold type marks the seven trees in the list that I’ve identified in our area (so far); the three pines, a spruce, the […]
Lakeshore Plants
Blue Lobela (Lobelia siphilitica) This native plant, also known as Blue Cardinal Flower, can be adapted to moist areas of gardens. Its species name, siphilitica, refers to its use by the Iroquois in treating venereal disease — a use that European studies failed to verify. Water Hemlock (Cicuta maculata) It looks innocuous, but Water Hemlock […]
Hummingbirds
In these first weeks of August we have had many hummingbirds visiting our feeders. We had seen several hummingbirds in May, but they were absent in June and July. Apparently this pattern is common, many hummingbirds hang around feeders in May, but by June the females are busy nesting and the males wander off elsewhere. […]
Small Flowers
Ontario Lobelia (Lobelia kalmii) This tiny plant is prevalent on the north shore of Lake Superior and is less common elsewhere in Minnesota. It only reaches 0.5 to 1.5 inches tall and its flowers are just 0.25 to 0.50 inches across. Ontario Lobelia prefers wetland environments, and is found in the northern states and Canada. […]
Morning on the Lake
In the three images above a beaver can be seen swimming across the lake, then raising his tail to slap the water, and finally the resulting splash as he submerges. It seemed like this beaver was intentionally showing himself to me and then swimming away — maybe to draw me away from the beaver lodge? […]
Milkweeds and Butterflies #2
Caterpillars In elementary school I remember bringing in these caterpillars with a few milkweed leaves for show-and-tell, hoping they’d turn into monarchs. Here is a similar show-and-tell. Today I’m showing the caterpillars on their Swamp Milkweeds; hoping to return later to capture the metamorphosis. Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) Described previously, but I got some better […]
Understory; Shrubbery #2, Gray Alder and Hazelnut
Gray Alder (Alnus incana) According to the Minnesota DNR, many smaller lakes and ponds in northern Minnesota are ringed by thickets of Gray Alder — commonly called Speckled Alder because of the scattered white lenticels on its stems. It prefers wet areas, which explains its prevalence on the shoreline. It has no commercial uses, but […]
Lily Pads
Watershield (Brasenia schreberi) The pads of watershield are slightly smaller than other common lily pads, and they are more elliptical. It blooms throughout the summer, but we did not notice any of the smaller pink-purple flowers. Its most interesting and noticeable feature was a thick coating of very slippery mucilage (slime!) coating the underside of […]
July Brings New Wildflowers #3 Yellow
Many different yellow wildflowers have appeared recently. So this is a longer post than usual. The first grouping includes four plants that have a “weedy” appearance. Despite this, their flowers are surprisingly attractive. Meadow Hawkweed (Hieracium caespitosum); upper left of image This is an invasive non-native species relatively new to Minnesota. Like the related Orange […]
