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The flowers of devil's beggars-tick consist only of disc florets. The base of the flowerhead is surrounded by 6-10 (usually eight) long phyllaries that extend beyond the flower's edge.

Bidens

Bidens frondosa

devil's beggar-tick [Blooms: Aug-Oct]

Top — Crowned beggar-tick's (Bidens trichosperma) flowers in frontal view. Bottom — about twelve narrow, twisted phyllaries lie below the yellow flower sepals at the top of the stem.

Bidens

Bidens trichosperma

crowned beggar-tick [Blooms: Sep-Oct]

Cutleaf toothwort's flowers are ~1/2" across when fully open; the flowers arise from a slender pedicel as long as the flower, 4 green or purple bluntly-pointed sepals <1/3 the length of the petals, four lavender-white petals, six stamens with yellow anthers, and a single pistil with a flat, discoid stigma.

Cardamine

Cardamine concatenata

cutleaf toothwort [Blooms: Apr-May]

Buttonbush is a shrub with golfball-sized white inflorescences studded with long, protruding styles — distinctive and unmistakable. Flowering stalks produce 1-3 spherical flowerheads 3/4-1.5" across completely covered with 100-200 small white flowers. Individual flowers are small (1/3" long), white, with four (sometimes five) lobes at the apex; stamens are short while the styles are very long (~3/8"), yellow-tipped, and projecting well beyond the corolla. Maturing seedheads are bright red, but turn brown when fully ripe.

Cephalanthus

Cephalanthus occidentalis

buttonbush [Blooms: Jun-Jul]

Mouse-ear chickweed has stems up to 1.5' long with long, spreading hairs; the flower stalks and sepals are also covered with fine hairs. The flowers are tiny (<1/4") with five white petals that have deeply notched tips, five sepals as long as the petals, five styles emerging from a green central ovary and ten stamens with yellow anthers. (Other chickweeds have three styles.)

Cerastium

Cerastium fontanum

mouse-ear chickweed [Blooms: Apr-May]

The flowers of both Claytonia caroliniana and Claytonia virginica occur in clusters (racemes) of 2-10 at the tip of the stem and are small (1/3-1/2") with long flower stalks. The flowers of both species contain (only) two green sepals; five petals with pinkish-purple stripes on a white background; five stamens with deeply purplish-pink anthers; and a single style that splits into three above its midpoint. The flowers of both species close at night or on cloudy days and nod down; they perk up and reopen when the light increases. The fruit of both species is a three-part, egg-shaped capsule nestled between the two sepals. Each capsule contains 1-6 shiny, black seeds 2-4 mm long which have a coating that attracts ants; the ants carry the seed off to their nests, thus dispersing them.

Claytonia

Claytonia caroliniana

Carolina spring beauty [Blooms: Apr]

Spring beauty flowers occur in a cluster of 2-10 at the tip of the stem. The flowers are small (1/3-1/2") with long flower stalks; they contain (only) two green sepals, five petals with pinkish-purple stripes on a white background, five stamens with deeply purplish-pink anthers, and a single style that splits into three above its midpoint. The flowers close at night and on cloudy days and nod down; they perk up on reopening. The fruit is an three-part, egg-shaped capsule nestled between the two sepals.

Claytonia

Claytonia virginica

spring beauty [Blooms: Apr-May]

Lance-leafed coreopsis flowerheads are 2-3" across; they have about eight broad, yellow ray florets with 3-5 (usually four) bold, sawtooth lobes at their tips (that may also be subdivided); the numerous disk florets are also yellow, tubular, about 1/4" long with 4-5 tiny lobes. The seeds are black, egg-shaped, and 2.5-5 mm long with thin papery wings along the edges.

Coreopsis

Coreopsis lanceolata

lance-leafed coreopsis [Blooms: May-Jun]

Prairie coreopsis flowerheads occur alone or in pairs on 1/2-2" long peduncles attached to the ends of stems. Each flowerhead is about 2" across with 8-12 ray florets; two prominent longitudinal veins divide each ray floret petal into thirds. The disc florets are tubular with 4-5 lobes; they are initially yellow, but turn brownish with age.

Coreopsis

Coreopsis palmata

prairie coreopsis [Blooms: Jun-Jul]

Plains coreopsis flowers are 1-2" across, with 6-12 (usually 8) ray florets, each with three lobes at their tips (center largest). The ray florets are sterile, typically yellow at their tips, transitioning abruptly to a maroon color more basally. The disk florets are perfect (have both anthers and pistils), reddish-brown to maroon with the florets at the edge of the disc with bright yellow highlights (either the anthers on the fused stamens or the split stigma of the pistils); individual florets have four teeth/lobes. The involucre of the flowerhead is often reddish-tinged, particularly obvious when cupping the developing seedhead.

Coreopsis

Coreopsis tinctoria

plains coreopsis [Blooms: Jun-Oct]

Tall coreopsis flowerheads arise from peduncles up to 10" long; the flowerheads are 1.5-2" across with eight sterile, yellow ray florets (each with two deep folds that divide the ray florets longitudinally into thirds) and numerous reddish-purple, fertile disk florets. The corollas of the disc florets are tubular, with 4-5 triangular lobes at their tips, and about 5 mm (~1/4") long; each has five stamens (fused together at their tips) with yellow anthers, and a single bifurcated style with pointed tips.

Coreopsis

Coreopsis tripteris

tall coreopsis [Blooms: Aug-Sep]

Whorled coreopsis' flowerheads are a bright golden yellow, 1-2" across, with eight yellow, elongate egg-shaped ray flowers and numerous (30-40) yellow disk flowers.

Coreopsis

Coreopsis verticillata

whorled coreopsis [Blooms: Jun-Sep]

Silky dogwood flowers occur in flat to convex clusters (cymes) 1-2.5" across. Individual flowers are about 3/8" across with four sharp sepals, four creamy-white, lance-like petals, four stamens about as long as the petals, and a single, stout, green-tipped style arising from an amber ovary. The flower stalks are silky-hairy.

Cornus

Cornus amomum

silky dogwood [Blooms: May-Jun]

Rough-leaved dogwood is a shrub/tree that can be as much as 20' tall. Cymes of white flowers 2-4" across arise from the leaf axils; the upper bounding surface of the cyme is flat or gently rounded. The fruit (a drupe) is white, about 1/4" across, and spherical; as it ripens, the branches of the cyme turn deep red. The fruit is very attractive to wildlife.

Cornus

Cornus drummondii

rough-leaved dogwood [Blooms: ?]

Cornelian cherry dogwood is a European exotic that has been planted in Jackson Park. Flowers appear in umbels before the leaves emerge. The flowers are small (1/8"), with four bright yellow, lance-shaped petals, four stamens, and a cone-shaped, hairy receptacle; the single pistil emerges from the center of the ovaries. The fruit is an oblong, dark red drupe about an inch long.

Cornus

Cornus mas

Cornelian cherry dogwood [Blooms: Apr-?]

Swamp dogwood's flat-topped panicles of flowers are 2-3.5" across. Single flowers are about 1/4" across with a light green, tubular calyx, four lance-shaped white petals, four stamens, and a single style.

Cornus

Cornus obliqua

swamp dogwood [Blooms: Apr-Jun]

Gray dogwood flowers occur in dome-shaped panicles with creamy-white branches 1.5-2.5" across and tall. Individual flowers are 1/4" across with a short calyx bearing four short teeth, four lance-shaped, creamy-white petals, four stamenns with pale yellow anthers, and a central, green-tipped style. The fruit is a small (1/4"), ball-shaped drupe, white when mature; when the fruit is mature, the branches of the panicle turn from white to bright red. Rough-leaved dogwood and red-osier dogwood also produce white fruit, but their panicles are flat-topped, not domed; the panicle branches are also not red in red-osier dogwood, but they are in rough-leaved dogwood so carefully inspect the stems (hairy) to see if the specimen in hand might be the latter.

Cornus

Cornus racemosa

gray dogwood [Blooms: May-Jun]

Red-osier dogwood flowers occur in flat-topped or slightly concave panicles 2-3" across; each flower is about 1/4" across with a small green calyx with four teeth; four white, lance-shaped petals; four stamens longer than the petals; and a single style rising from a reddish ovary. The fruit is a drupe about 1/4" across, white at maturity; the panicle branches remain green (unlike gray dogwood where the panicle branches turn red).

Cornus

Cornus sericea

red-osier dogwood [Blooms: Apr-Sep]