![]() The plant is also palatable to livestock, so it is vulnerable to grazing as well.Ĭommonly seen in moist woods and woodland meadows, wild geranium’s lavender clusters of flowers are easily distinguished in the setting. It attracts many pollinators, including birds that heavily feed on and may damage the seed head. It is also adaptable and will grow in both moist and dry soils. The prairie coneflower likes full sun but will tolerate some shade. The flower blooms from May to September, depending on location. It can be found in prairies, hence the name, as well as thickets and woodland edges. It has a slender, hairy main stem that grows three to five feet in height. It is also known as the gray-headed coneflower because of the coloring on the disc. Prairie coneflower resembles many others in its family, complete with drooping, yellow rays that surround a pronounced, grayish central disc. Hummingbirds, large carpenter bees and some species of moths and butterflies seek out the sap-free blue flowers looking for nectar. One species of butterfly larvae, the coral hairstreak butterfly caterpillar, has actually developed a taste for the sap. This perennial native can be found across Tennessee and was selected by the American Horticultural Society as one of the “75 Great Plants for American Gardens.”Ī member of the dogbane family, eastern bluestar contains a latex sap that makes it unpalatable to herbivores like deer or rabbits, but other animals don’t mind. If blue doesn’t suit your fancy, the plant has a red counterpart as well-the cardinal flower, Lobelia cardinalis.Įastern Bluestar, Amsonia tabernaemontanaĮastern bluestar, also known as willow amsonia, woodland bluestar and blue dogbane, is named for the delicate star-shaped flowers that grow in loose clusters atop its 1-foot to 3-foot stems. siphilitica is known for attracting many bees, birds and hummingbirds. Symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, exhaustion, weakness, convulsions and even a coma. But be sure to keep your little ones or pets from eating this pretty plant, as it’s poisonous if eaten in large quantities. It grows best in moist to wet soil and has very little drought resistance. You’ll find this 2 to 3-foot-tall plant naturally in open, wet woods. The flowers are small and crowded together on the upper portion of the stem, which can be branched or unbranched. ![]() It is a popular target for aphids, so having ladybugs on-site will help, though it can withstand being forcefully sprayed down with water to remove pests once it is established and hardy enough.Ī showy perennial, great blue lobelia draws onlookers with its bright blue flowers that bloom in summer. ![]() It is a great addition to dry gardens with good drainage. The roots of this plant were also traditionally harvested and eaten by Native Americans as a cure for pleurisy and other pulmonary ailments, giving light to one of its other common names, pleurisy root. Additionally, many other pollinators, such as bees, are attracted to the nectar and pollen this flower provides. Monarch caterpillars are picky eaters and will only eat the leaves of milkweed plants. It attracts a multitude of different butterflies and moths, such as the coral hairstreak, the corn earworm moth and even the monarch butterfly, which not only visits to eat the nutritious nectar, but also to lay its eggs. It is one of thirteen milkweed species native to Tennessee. HerbaceousĪcross the Oak Ridge Reservation during the summer, you’ll find a Tennessee-orange flower between two and three feet tall called the butterfly weed. Spring is here and we will be adding photos of plants as they begin to bloom on the ORNL campus! In the meantime, enjoy reading about your favorite plants found growing around campus. ![]()
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