Paul Bunyan Trail in mid-August

The Paul Bunyan Trail is a paved recreational trail in northern Minnesota that runs 120 miles from Brainerd to Bemidji. It is an ideal route for biking and running in the summer and for snowmobiles in the winter. The photos below are from a recent bike ride in the middle of the trail, between Hackensack …

Native Flowering Shrubs

From late May through mid-June, we have noticed a succession of native shrubs blooming in north-central Minnesota. Each of them has similar small white flowers, and seemingly take turns blooming one after another. Serviceberry was first, in late May. It was followed by Red-osier Dogwood, then Viburnum in mid-June. Serviceberry Red-osier dogwood Viburnum Two species …

Water Lily Pollination

Many Fragrant Water Lilies (Nymphaea odorata) bloom in our lake in July and August. The flowers are showy yet I had not noticed insects attracted to them, which caused me to wonder about its strategy for pollination. Investigation revealed that these plants have a very interesting reproduction process. Each flower of the Fragrant Water Lily …

Bee Balm with Insects

During these last days of July our blooming bee balm plants (Monarda fistulosa) have been a hive of activity for insects and an occasional hummingbird. The hummingbirds were too skittish to capture in a photo, but the insects were too busy to notice my presence. Two-spotted Bumblebees When the sun is out two-spotted bumble bees …

Wildflower Roundup

White Rattlesnake-root (Prenanthes alba) White rattlesnake-root, also known as White Lettuce, is a shade-loving member of the aster family that flowers in the late summer. The plant pictured was in a wooded section of the Paul Bunyan Trail north of Hackensack Minnesota. Native Americans used Rattlesnake-root for many medicinal purposes. In particular, the Iroquois used …

A very different wildflower

Indian pipe is different from any of the plants previously shown in this blog. It also has the most interesting survival strategy. Indian Pipe (Monotropa uniflora) Unlike most plants, Indian Pipe has no chlorophyll and does not depend on the sun. This clump of it was thriving in a deeply shaded forest setting. However it …