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Heal-all (a.k.a., self-heal) is a native species superficially similar to ground ivy (Glechoma hederacea) or early-season henbit (Lamium amplexicaule). Heal-all has the characteristics of other low-growing plants in the mint family — an upright, four-angled stem, with lines of hairs along the ridges, 1' tall or less, with a short (1-2") spike of flowers at the apex — and is thus easy to overlook. But the tiny (1/2" long), tubular, two lipped flowers are distinctive (and charming). The light purple or blue upper lip is bent at right angles to form a hood over the aperture with the four stamens and single style with a bifurcated stigma at its tip curving along inside of the hood. The lower lip is divided into three lobes, the middle one white and fringed; the two smaller lateral lobes are the same color as the hood. The hood of the upper lip also sports a "mohawk" haircut of relatively long hairs along the crest of the hood. The flower calyx is light green or reddish, hairy along the edges. After fertilization, four tiny, brown, finely-ridged nutlets develop within the persistant calyx; the seeds are reported to be dispersed by a mechanism that uses the energy in raindrops impacting the calyx to fling the seeds away from the mother plant. The leaves are opposite, up to 2" long and half as wide with a short petiole; they are egg- or lance-shaped with a central vein that is hairy on the underside. Heal-all prefers moist habitats with a history of disturbance.

Prunella

Prunella vulgaris

heal-all [Blooms: Jun-Aug]

Slender mountain-mint flowers occur in small terminal clusters at the tips of the upper stems with distinctive very long, narrow bracts with spine-like tips just beneath the clusters; the bracts are densely covered with short, curled hairs on the blade and longer, bristly hairs along the margins. Individual flowers are tubular, white with scattered purple dots, and about 1/4" long; there is a calyx that is divided several slender green lobes. The corolla is divided into two parts, an upper lip and a lower lip that is divided into three lobes. The four stamens and two styles are also white, but the anthers are purple. The styles have a bifurcated stigma. Slender mountain mint is very similar to Virginia mountain mint (Pycnanthemum virginianum), but several characters make it straightforward to distinguish them. Leaves on slender mountain mints are always less than 1/4" wide and the stems are hairless; Virginia mountain mint will have the larger leaves more than 1/4" wide and has lines of white hairs on the stems. Slender mountain blooms earlier than Virginian mountain mint, but the blooming period of the two species overlaps. All parts of slender mountain mint give off a strong mint-like odor when crushed, but please restrain yourself from excessive foliage-crushing — it's not polite.

Pycnanthemum

Pycnanthemum tenuifolium

slender mountain-mint [Blooms: Jun-Aug]

Virginia mountain-mint flower heads are 3/4-1" across with up to 50 flowers; only a few flowers open at any one time. The flowers are hairy on the outer surfaces, white to light purple in color. Individual flowers are 1/4" across, tubular, and two-lipped; the lower lip is three-lobed with purple spots; four stamens with purple anthers emerge from the lower tube. There are two styles with deeply-notched tips that extend well beyond the edges of the lips of the corolla. The calyx that cups the flower is hairy, light green and has five triangular teeth.

Pycnanthemum

Pycnanthemum virginianum

Virginia mountain-mint [Blooms: Jul-Aug]

Hairy wild petunia is, like the name says, hairy — stems, leaves, and petioles all densely covered with long (1-2 mm) white hairs on all surfaces. The plant is short, generally 8-12" tall. The leaves are opposite, twice as long as wide, oval or triangular, with smooth margins and with short (1-3 mm) hairy petioles or sessile. The flowers emerge directly from upper leaf axils; what looks like a flower stalk is actually part of the corolla tube. The flowers are pale lavender or pale purple, about 2" across, funnel shaped with five lobes tapering rapidly to a narrow throat, four white to purplish stamens, and a white to purplish style with an asymmetrically split stigma. There are purple streaks (nectar guides) on the lowermost lobe's throat region. The short, tubular calyx is green, with five long, narrow teeth that extend for half the length of the flower; the calyx, too, is hairy. The fruit is a bullet-shaped capsule, shorter than the calyx teeth (among which it nestles); the seeds are covered with fine spiraling hairs that allow the seeds to self-bury. The flowers usually last only one day. Hairy wild petunia is a distinctive plant unlikely to be confused with any other.

Ruellia

Ruellia humilis

hairy wild petunia [Blooms: Jun-Sep]

Soapwort produces clusters of 3/4-1" flowers from the tips of terminal stems and branches. Individual flowers have a 1" long, green or reddish, sometimes hairy, cylindrical calyx; a corolla with five spreading (later reflexed), pink to white, oblong petals/lobes with a notched tip; 10 white stamens with pale yellow anthers that protrude from the throat of the flower; and a similarly protruding, divided white style. The calyx persists as an inflated seed capsule filled with 15-75 tiny dark brown, kidney-shaped seeds. Soapwort might be mistaken for a phlox, but the stamens and style in phlox are always hidden in the calyx tube, never protruding as in soapwort, and soapwort has leaves with three obvious longitudinal veins. Soapwort contains saponins in both the foliage and (especially) the seeds that make a frothy soap-like lather when boiled (and were once used as a soap substitute), but caution is recommended — the saponins are toxic. Herbivores generally avoid this plant.

Saponaria

Saponaria officinalis

soapwort [Blooms: Jun-Jul]

Early figwort (aka, lanceleaf figwort) is difficult to distinguish from late- (or Maryland-) figwort (S. marilandica) except by blooming date (before July = early, after July = late, July = could be either) and details of the flowers (especially the sterile stamen). The inflorescence (a panicle) is constructed from short, spreading, sparse branches covered in glandular hairs, bearing a 3/8" long, shiny tubular flower whose outside surfaces are reddish-purple to reddish-green and inner surfaces are reddish brown (upper and lateral lobes) or greenish yellow (lower lobe). Four yellow, fertile stamens and a single blunt, slender style hug the floor of the flower, the style protruding further than the fertile stamens. A single sterile stamen (a "staminode") is located along the upper interior of the flower. The sterile stamens are yellow or green with a broad tip in early figwort (S. lanceolata); they are reddish-brown to purple and narrow in late figwort (S. marilandica). The fruit is a teardrop-shaped capsule, dark brown when mature, that splits in two longitudinally to release the numerous tiny seeds.

Scrophularia

Scrophularia lanceolata

early figwort [Blooms: May-Jul]

Late figwort's inflorescence (a panicle) gives rise to short, spreading, sparse branches covered in glandular hairs, bearing a 3/8" long, shiny tubular flower whose outside surfaces are reddish-purple to reddish-green and inner surfaces are reddish brown (upper and lateral lobes) or greenish yellow (lower lobe). Four yellow, fertile stamens and a single blunt, slender style hug the floor of the flower, the style protruding further than the fertile stamens. A single sterile stamen (a "staminode") is located along the upper interior of the flower. The sterile stamens are yellow or green with a broad tip in early figwort (S. lanceolata); they are reddish-brown to purple and narrow in late figwort (S. marilandica). The fruit is a teardrop-shaped capsule, dark brown when mature, that splits in two longitudinally to release the numerous tiny seeds.

Scrophularia

Scrophularia marilandica

late figwort [Blooms: Jul-Aug]

Mad-dog skullcap flower racemes may arise at the tips of the stems or from the axils of leaves. Each raceme is up to 6" long, containing 6-7 pairs of flowers; each flower has a short, basal leafy bract. Flowers are up to 8 mm long with a short, slender pedicel, a light green tubular calyx with two shallow lobes (the upper lobe with a dish-like projection), and a pale blue, lavender, or white, densely hairy, tubular corolla 5-8 mm long with a short, hood-like, upper lip and a slightly flared, three-lobed lower lip. Hidden inside the upper lip of the corolla are four stamens and a single bifurcated style. After fertilization, the calyx swells into a green capsule with includes the dish-like projection mentioned above, giving the capsule a unique appearance; inside is a cluster of four nutlets. The mouth of the calyx is visible as a thin slit beneath the projection.

Scutellaria

Scutellaria lateriflora

mad-dog skullcap [Blooms: Jul-Aug]

Royal catchfly's bright red flowers are restricted to the upper regions of the plant as clusters arising from the tips of stems. Individual flowers are 3/4-1" across, have an elongate (1"), narrow, cylindrical calyx with 10 longitudinal ridges, five narrow red or scarlet petals that flare from the tip of the calyx, and stamens with gray anthers that protrude well beyond the opening to the calyx. There are three corkscrew-shaped, threadlike styles that develop after the stamens have matured; like the stamens, they protrude well outside the calyx opening. The fruit is a 1/2" long capsule, open at the top, with 6-8 spreading teeth around the lip. Royal catchfly is hummingbird and butterfly pollinated.

Silene

Silene regia

royal catchfly [Blooms: Jul-Aug]

Bladdernut produces white, drooping, bell-shaped flowers in clusters of 5-12 from the axils of the leaves. Each flower is pendant on a long stalk, bell-shaped, about 8 mm long and about 6 mm wide. Flowers have five greenish-white sepals overlapping much of the petals, five bright white petals (visible through the gaps between the sepals) that flare at their tips, five stamens with white filaments and deep yellow-orange anthers, and a greenish-white style with a three-lobed stigma extending beyond the mouth of the bell. The flower stalks (pedicels) are about 1.5-2 times the length of the flower. The fruit is a greenish-white to brown, papery pod (like a "Chinese lantern") that is about 3" long and 2" across with three lobes/chambers, pointed on their distal ends; each chamber contains up to four 1/4" seeds. Both flowers and fruits are distinctive and easily recognizable.

Staphylea

Staphylea trifolia

bladdernut [Blooms: Apr-May]

The inflorescences of common comfrey are nodding cymes or racemes of flowers that arise from the tips of the stems and the lateral branches. The flowers are bell-shaped, about 1/4" across and 1/2-5/8" long. Each flower has a hairy, green calyx with five lance-like teeth that is half the length of the corolla; a purple, pink or white funnel- or bell-shaped corolla with five small, recurved lobes at its lip; five stamens that do not extend past the margin of the corolla; and a pistil with a single white style that barely protrudes past the corolla margin. The fruits are a cluster of four, 4-5 mm long, nutlets nestled in the remnants of the flower calyx; the nutlets are dark brown or black when mature, oval and slightly flattened at one end. The remnants of the style protrude from the center of the fruit. Extracts of common comfrey are sometimes sold as herbal remedies but be aware that the plant is mildly toxic; it contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids that can be absorbed through the skin or gastric system and may cause (potentially fatal) liver toxicity and may be carcinogenic. Comfrey products for internal use or for use on open wounds are banned in the U.S. by the F.D.A. Supplements containing common comfrey probably should be avoided.

Symphytum

Symphytum officinale

common comfrey [Blooms: Apr-Jul]

Japanese tree lilac (aka, Japanese lilac) is an exotic shrub or tree that is native to Asia; it gets 20-30 feet tall and 15-25 feet wide. It may have multiple trunks. The bark on the trunk is shiny and reddish-brown (rather like cherry trees) with horizontally elongated lenticels (air pores). The leaves are 2-5.5" long and 1-3" wide, opposite, dark green, oval with a sharp tip and a rounded base with a 1/2-1" petiole, pinnate venation, and smooth margins. The inflorescences are 6-12" high panicles dense with creamy-white flowers. Individual flowers have a 1-2 mm long calyx; a 3-5 mm long cream-colored corolla with five stubby lobes (petals) and a four-lobed apex; five white stamens with yellow anthers widely spreading radially; and a single long white style bearing a club-like stigma. The fruits are 3/4" long dry capsules, initially green but turning reddish-brown or yellow with maturity. The capsule splits to release the two winged seeds.

Syringa

Syringa reticulata

Japanese tree lilac [Blooms: Jun-Jul]

Purpletop vervain flowers occur in dense, flat-topped clusters 1-3" across. Individual flowers are about 1/4" (5-6 mm) long and 8-9 mm long. The flowers contain a short, tubular, hairy calyx with five teeth; a pinkish purple, tubular corolla with five spreading lobes that have notched tips; four stamens which do not extend beyond the throat of the flower; and a pistil with a single style. The fruit is four nutlets, cupped in the remnants of the calyx as they mature.

Verbena

Verbena bonariensis

purpletop vervain [Blooms: Sept]

Prostrate vervain stems produce dense spikes of flowers at their tips. Beneath each flower is a 3/4" long, narrow bract with long, whitish hairs; the bracts make up the erect or sprawling flower spike (6" long, 3/4" across), with blooming flowers at the tip and fruits maturing below. Individual flowers are about 1/8" across, with a narrow, very hairy, basal calyx extending into five sharply pointed lobes, and a narrow, tubular corolla that abruptly flares into five rounded lobes ("petals") surrounding a white or greenish-white throat; the upper two lobes are slightly smaller than the lower three. Both the calyx and corolla are the same color whether light blue, purple, or pink. Hidden in the throat of the corolla are four stamens with yellow anthers and a short style. The fruit consists of a capsule containing four nutlets that is nestled in the remains of the calyx. This plant is a pioneer in highly degraded habitats that is especially fond of cracks and crevices — despite its weedy appearance, prostrate vervain is a native species. In spite of the tiny size of its anatomical characters, this is a relatively straightforward plant to confidently identify from the hairy stems, leaves, and flower spikes and the tiny, lavender apical flowers.

Verbena

Verbena bracteata

prostrate vervain [Blooms: Jun-Aug]

Flower spikes about 5" long cover the top of the blue vervain plants; they are densely covered with floral buds and flowers that bloom from the bottom of the spikes sequentially to the top. Below the open flowers are maturing fruits. Individual flowers are tubular, 1/4" long and across, with a grayish green to dark red, hairy calyx sporting five narrow teeth; a tubular, purplish-blue corolla twice the length of the calyx that abruptly flares into five equal, ovate lobes ("petals"); four recessed stamens; and a single, short style. The throat of the flower is "bearded" (occluded by light blue filaments extending to the middle of the opening) which hides the reproductive organs. This is the only vervain with a blue (not deep violet/lavender) color; other species are pink, white, or lavender. The fruit consists of four 2 mm long nutlets held in the remnants of the calyx. Blue vervain might be confused with hoary vervain, but the latter has larger (2x), lavender (not purplish-blue) flowers (with one lobe/petal notched and two larger than the other three), and ovate to egg-shaped (not lance-shaped) leaves that are sessile (not on petioles 1/2" long or longer). Blue vervain is especially common along the margins of the lagoons of Jackson Park.

Verbena

Verbena hastata

blue vervain [Blooms: Jul-Sep]

Hoary vervain flower spikes are 1-8" long; they are crowded with buds and bluish violet to lavender flowers 1/2" across that open sequentially from the bottom of the spike to the top; below the open flowers are maturing fruits. Individual flowers are tubular, 1/2" long and across, with a grayish green to reddish-purple, hairy calyx sporting five narrow teeth. The tubular, bluish violet to lavender corolla, twice the length of the calyx, abruptly flares into five ovate lobes ("petals"); the two lateral lobes are the largest, while the lower lobe(s) has/have a notched tip. Hidden in the tubular corolla are four recessed stamens with yellow anthers and a single, short green style. The fruits consist of four nutlets held in the remnants of the calyx.

Verbena

Verbena stricta

hoary vervain [Blooms: Jun-Jul]

White vervain produces numerous 6" long, widely spaced flower spikes, each covered by tiny (1/8" wide) white flowers sparsely distributed along the length of the flower spike. Individual flowers consist of a hairy, tubular green calyx with five lance-like teeth and a curved, tubular corolla that abruptly flares into five short, rounded, brilliant-white lobes ("petals"). The throat of the flower is "bearded" (occluded by white filaments extending to the middle of the opening), hiding four stamens with greenish anthers, a green style, and a two-lobed stigma. The upper (more apical) two lobes of the corolla are slightly smaller than the other three (like prostrate vervain) and the tip of the lowermost lobe of the corolla is notched (like hoary vervain), but you're not likely to confuse white vervain with any other Verbena. The fruit is four oblong nutlets nestled in the remnants of the calyx.

Verbena

Verbena urticifolia

white vervain [Blooms: Jun-Sep]

Korean spice viburnum's inflorescences are 2.5" diameter umbels of flowers on the tips of new twigs. The flowers are aromatic; the scent is described by the Chicago Botanic Garden as "sweet, rich, and complex with a hint of cloves." The flowers are fragrant for only about two weeks. Individual flowers consist of a tiny (1 mm long), reddish green calyx with five lobes; 8-10 mm long tubular, pale pink to white corollas with five abruptly spreading lobes; five stamens with yellow anthers just inside the throat; and a short (1 mm long), stout style with a knob-like stigma. The corolla is about 1/2" across. Korean spice viburnum flowers are superficially similar to butterfly-bush (Buddleja davidii), which also occurs in Jackson Park, but the latter has a spike-like inflorescence rather than an umbel.

Viburnum

Viburnum carlesii

Korean spice viburnum [Blooms: Apr]