Native Plant of the Week: Sneezeweed ~ Helenium autumnale

Sneezeweed ~ Helenium autumnale


Sneezeweed is in full bloom right now in my landscape. Its bright yellow petals are unique with their 3 soft lobes at the tips. The petals and large rounded center, gives the whole flower an interesting look.

Sneezeweed is a native perennial of sunny, moist locations. Often growing just upland from rivers or creeks as well as wetlands. It is very adaptable in the managed landscape, performing well in medium soils too.

Another distinguishing feature is the flower stem, which is flared as though the leaf is continuing down from where it attaches. A similar feature of Wingstem.

Sneezeweed is a tall native, this year it's almost 5 feet tall in my yard. It tends to range in height between 2 and 5 feet, depending on rainfall and soil moisture. It stays upright and is narrow through the lower parts of the stem, then branches at the top forming the flower heads.

Sneezeweed flowers are an important source of late season pollen and nectar for bumble bees. Syrphid flies also like to nectar on Sneezeweed.

Sneezeweed is native to most of North America. See map below.

Kartesz, J.T., The Biota of North America Program (BONAP).
2011. North American Plant Atlas. Chapel Hill, N.C.

Native Plants That Develop Burs

I have been spending a lot of extra time lately pulling burs from my dog's coat during and after our walks. There are many native perennials that have maturing seeds right now, several of which have some sort of hooked hairs or prickles that are ideal for attaching to animals as they pass by. Animal dispersed seed is an ingenious way to distribute seed a good distance away from the parent plant.

White Avens ~ Geum canadense


White Avens is a native perennial of dry, upland sites in woodlands. The white five parted flower opens in mid June on a flower stalk that is 12-18" in height.

The round cluster of seeds that develop have hooked ends and fine hairs that catch on animals passing by.

Downy Agrimony ~ Agrimonia pubescens


This is also a native perennial of dry sites in partial shade. The five parted yellow flowers open from the bottom upwards on the flower stalk, starting in mid July.

The cluster of seeds is enclosed in a bell shaped capsule with hooked hairs protruding from the top.

Pointed Leaved Tick Trefoil ~ Desmodium glutinosum


I featured this native earlier this year as the Plant of the Week.

Found in dry to medium woodlands, its flowers open in late June. Tolerant of quite a bit of shade, it is often found growing right up to the trunks of large trees.

The light pink (pea-like) five parted flowers are very attractive, set high on the flower stalk above the low foliage.

The flat pods are covered with tiny hooked hairs. As they mature to a medium to dark brown color they will readily stick to all types of clothing and animals.

American Lopseed ~ Phryma leptostachya


American Lopseed is also a woodland perennial with opposite arranged leaves. The light pink to white 4 parted flowers open in early July. It prefers medium to moist lower lying locations.

In the fall, the foliage turns golden yellow. The seeds hang downwards along the flower stalk and have hooked tips.

This photo is of some immature seeds (not yet brown) showing the hooked tips.

Enchanter's Nightshade ~ Circaea lutetiana


Another woodland perennial with opposite arranged leaves. Tiny, white, 2 parted flowers emerge in mid June. This is a common plant of disturbed woodlands, spreading by shallow fleshy rhizomes.

The round 2 capsuled seed is covered with small hooked hairs.

Sweet Cicely ~ Osmorhiza claytonii, Osmorhiza longistylis


Sweet Cicely is an early flowering perennial, starting around the beginning of May. It is a tall plant, reaching heights of up to 3 feet in good soils. It prefers medium to moist locations but can also be found in drier upland woodland sites.

The 5 parted white flowers are arranged in an umbel.

Seeds form in pairs and split apart into two seeds. The long black seeds are covered with tiny white hairs. These seeds are very good at embedding themselves into the undercoat of my dog, often sight unseen until I run my hand over his coat.


These are just a few of the many native perennials that produce burs or seeds with hooked hairs.

A Beautiful Woodland Aster

Heart Leaved Aster ~ Symphyothrichum cordifolium (Aster cordifolius)


Heart Leaved Aster is a native, shade tolerant perennial. Its flower color ranges from light blue to purple and is a favorite nectar source for syrphid flies and bees.

Heart Leaved Aster does well in dry upland sites. It does spread by seed very easily, especially if you plant it in moist rich soils.

This photo is of a local park being restored, the buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica) has been removed and the Heart Leaved Aster is doing a wonderful job of seeding into the understory.

Some would consider this an aggressive plant, as it looks like it is currently dominating the understory. It is however filling voids that would either be used by non-native naturalized or invasive species. There are plenty of earlier flowering natives that have faded into the background too.

As the restoration and succession of this woodland progresses, more species will return via the seed bank or through reintroduction by the city.

So if you have a dry shaded site where you want more color this time of year, try planting some Heart Leaved Aster, the pollinators will thank you.

Native Plant of the Week: Zigzag Goldenrod ~ Solidago flexicaulis

Zigzag Goldenrod ~ Solidago flexicaulis


Zigzag Goldenrod is in full bloom right now. A common Goldenrod of woodlands and openings, it is one of the most shade tolerant species of Goldenrod.

I especially like it for its shade tolerance and ability to thrive in dry sandy soils. It brightens any corner of a woodland in the fall.

The common name Zigzag is for its crooked flowers stems which alternate back and forth in a zig-zag pattern. From these leaf axils, a cluster of bright yellow flower heads emerge.

Another great feature of this native perennial is that it spreads by rhizomes, forming a nice cluster or colony. 

Zigzag Goldenrod reaches heights of 2-3 feet. It is on the tall side this year in our area due to the significant amount of rainfall earlier in the season. Its form is very upright and linear, so it contrasts well with softer textured woodland plants.

Flowering starts in late August or early September continuing on into early October. The resulting seeds have tufts of hair which allows for good wind dispersal.

Zigzag Goldenrod is a larval host plant for the Brown Hooded Owlet Moth caterpillar (Cucullia convexipenis) which feeds on the plant in early to mid August.

Zigzag Goldenrod is native to eastern North America, see map below for range.

Kartesz, J.T., The Biota of North America Program (BONAP).
2011. North American Plant Atlas. Chapel Hill, N.C.

A Native European Buckthorn Look-Alike

Black Chokeberry ~ Aronia melanocarpa


This time of year when the blue-black fruit on the Black Chokeberry ripen, and when it most resembles the invasive European Buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica).

We have several Black Chokeberry shrubs in our yard, a native shrub of sandy soils along wetland margins. Its glossy green leaves are similar in shape and appearance to European Buckthorn.

European Buckthorn Leaf

Both have serrated edges, and parallel veins that run from the mid-rib curving towards the leaf edge.

Black Chokeberry Leaf

One distinquishing difference is that Black Chokeberry has black hair-like glands on the middle vein.

European Buckthorn fruit are similar in appearance to Black Chokeberry fruit. European Buckthorn fruit are clusters of drupes with short stems.

Black Chokeberry fruit are a pome, hanging downwards from 1-2" stems.

The two things that are quite different between these shrubs are the buds and flowers.

Black Chokeberry buds are reddish in color, smooth and pointed. The leaves are arranged alternately on the stem.

European Buckthorn buds are dark brown with scales. Leaf arrangement varies from alternate, to sub-opposite, to opposite. A "thorn" like stem often protrudes from the branchlets.

With an opposite occuring arrangement, look for a double bud, or often called hoof arrangement on European Buckthorn.

The flowers are very different between the two shrubs. European Buckthorn has yellow-light green, 4 parted unisexual flowers. European Buckthorn begins to flower around the middle of May.

Black Chokeberry has beautiful, showy 5 parted flowers. It begins to flower around the same time, mid May.

Read an earlier post about other native European Buckthorn look-alikes.

The Importance of Leaves in the Landscape

Learn about organisms that utilize leaves as habitat and how important it is to leave some in your landscape.

My post today at Native Plants Wildlife Gardens titled Step Away From That Leaf Blower!

Native Plant of the Week: Indian Grass ~ Sorghastrum nutans

Indian Grass ~ Sorghastrum nutans


The golden inflorescence of Indian Grass is beautiful this time of year as the sun highlights the florets.

A tall, native perennial grass of prairies throughout much of North America, it reaches heights of 6 feet or more.

An extremely attractive grass when flowering and setting seed into the late fall, the florets fade to a chocolate brown color. Utilized in prairie restorations, this grass is adaptable to both moist and dry locations in part to full sun.

The grass blades are concentrated on the lower part of the clump, giving the flower stalks an open, airy appearance. This grass holds its form nicely, staying quite upright even through the winter months providing good interest.

According to the Illinois Wildflowers website, many species of grasshoppers feed upon the grass blades. The grasshoppers are sought out by insectivorous songbirds and upland game birds.

Indian Grass is native to the central and eastern North America. See map below for range.

Kartesz, J.T., The Biota of North America Program (BONAP).
2011. North American Plant Atlas. Chapel Hill, N.C.

Day Flying Moth Wasp Mimics

I spotted a new day flying moth in the yard yesterday, a Yellow Collared Scape Moth ~ Cisseps fulvicollis nectaring on Heart Leaved Aster.

This wasp mimic, is common in late summer and likes to nectar on fall flowering plants such as Asters and Goldenrods.

Larvae of this moth feed on grasses, lichens and spike-rushes. Adults fly from May to October. (BugGuide.net)

This moth is very similar in appearance to the Virginia Ctenucha Moth ~ Ctenucha virginica, the Virginia Ctenucha Moth is slightly larger and has blue coloration on its thorax. These moths are active as adults earlier in the year, from May to July, nectaring on flowers during the day.

The larvae of this moth overwinter under leaf litter, adults emerge in May with two generations in one year. (BugGuide.net) One more reason to leave plenty of leaf litter in your landscape.

According to Moths & Caterpillars of the North Woods, adults gather pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PA) from various plants which is toxic to most predators. One plant in particular that is high in PA is Eupatorium.

Have you seen either of these moths in your landscape?

Hermit Flower Beetle ~ Osmoderma eremicola

Hermit Flower Beetle ~ Osmoderma eremicola


We found this large scarab beetle in our back yard near the end of August. The shiny black, 1 inch long beetle was in our dry woodland near the ground.

Also called the "Odor of Leather" beetle for its so called scent that smells like leather. (BugGuide.net)

Their habitat is in woodlands where adult beetles lay their eggs in rotting wood. The developing larvae feed on the decomposing wood.

We found this beetle in the very area in our yard where we have brought in and partially buried old logs on the ground to mimic a natural woodland.

Rotting logs provide nutrients to the soil as they decompose, keep the soil moist, and prevent erosion on slopes. They also provide very important habitat for many insects, both as a food source and for overwintering. We have planted native woodland shrubs and perennials around the logs and they do grow much faster than the same species that aren't planted near the rotting logs.

After about three years of laying our first log in our backyard, the native shrubs grew around them providing cover for woodpeckers. Downy, Hairy and Pileated Woodpeckers come and peck away at the logs seeking out insect larvae (and possibly the huge protein-rich larvae of the Hermit Flower Beetle).

If you have a place in your landscape to put one or more logs on the ground, you will be providing valuable habitat to insects and food for birds.