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Kentucky coffeetree produces a single 1.5-3' diameter trunk that, with its branches, can reach heights of 60-90'. The trunk bark is rough, scaly, gray or gray-brown; the bark on the branches is smoother, gray; the bark on the twigs is gray or brown with whitish lenticels. The leaves are alternate, bipinnate-compound, with 5-9 pairs of pinnate leaflets, each with 6-14 pairs of subleaflets. The entire compound leaf can be 3' long and 2' across, the largest leaf of any native tree in Illinois. Individual trees may produce only male flowers, only female flowers, or "perfect" flowers with both male and female organs flowers; the flowers develop as racemes on terminal branches fairly high in the crown shortly after the tree leafs out in the spring. Flowers are about 3/4" long and 1/2-5/8" across with a narrow, tubular calyx bearing five thick, narrow, sepals, and five narrow, greenish-white petals, slightly wider than the sepals, and a central column about as long as the petals that contains the reproductive organs. The male and perfect flowers have 10 fertile stamens (in alternating long/short pairs) in the central column; the female and perfect flowers have a fertile ovary and a single style contained in the central column. The calyx, sepals, and petals are all densely wooly with short hairs. The fruit is a stubby, reddish-brown seedpod 3-6" long and 1.5-2" across, somewhat flattened but less so than the fruits of honey or black locust. The seeds are brown, VERY hard, oval, and about a half inch long and across; they are toxic when raw but can be eaten after roasting.

Gymnocladus

Gymnocladus dioicus

Kentucky coffeetree [Blooms: May-Jun]

Heuchera richardsonii

Heuchera

Heuchera richardsonii

common alumroot [Blooms: May – ?]

Halberd-leaved rose-mallow is a striking wild hibiscus, usually found near water, whose stems can get 6' tall. Flowers arise from leaf axils, are trumpet-shaped, up to 5" across, with five rounded, partially overlapping white to pink petals; a central columnar reproductive structure covered in creamy-white stamens (with reddish-tan anthers) in whorls, and a terminal divided style with five recurved tips, each bearing a stigma shaped like the head of a pin. Behind the corolla is a green calyx with five lobes, and ~12 rod-like, curved, green bractlets below the calyx that taper to sharp points. The throat of the flower is a deep reddish-purple or rose pink. Seed pods form within the persistant sepals; the seed pod is divided into five sections filled with fuzzy brown seeds. The three-lobed (halberd-shaped) or five-lobed (maple leaf shaped) leaves distinguish this species from other rose-mallows. (Only swamp rose-mallow, Hibiscus moscheutos, also occurs in Jackson Park.)

Hibiscus

Hibiscus laevis

halberd-leaved rose-mallow [Blooms: Jul-Aug]

Swamp rose-mallow is a wild hibiscus that prefers wet habitats; the stem can get up to 7' tall. Flowers arise from leaf axils and are trumpet-shaped, 4-6" across with five pink or white petals (sometimes with a reddish-purple throat); and, in the center of the flower, a stout cream colored column that bears both whorls of white stamens with yellow anthers and a white style divided into five upcurving parts, each with a pin-head shaped stigma. Behind the corolla are five light green sepals and 12 awl-like 1" long bracts that curve forwards. This is the more variable of the two local rose mallows; it has white or pink flowers which may or may not have a reddish-purple throat (all are now considered the same species).

Hibiscus

Hibiscus moscheutos

swamp rose-mallow [Blooms: Jul-Aug]

Orange jewelweed flowers are about 1" long and 1/2-3/4" wide, conical, bright, shiny orange with reddish or brown streaks or dots and with a posterior sac and nectar spur that are actually a modified sepal; the flowers hang from drooping pedicels like floral mobiles with two more-conventional-looking sepals as attachments. The morphological center of the flower is the point where the pedicel joins the two obvious sepals at the top of the flower. A single petal forms the upper lip of the flower; two petals form the lateral sides; and two partially fused petals form the two-lobed lower lip. A cluster of stamens with white anthers hangs from the upper lip near the aperture; there is a single pistil. The shade of orange and the extent of the darker dots and streaks are highly variable (from absent to covering the flower). The fruit is a pea-like seed pod that splits lengthwise to fling the seeds away from the plant.

Impatiens

Impatiens capensis

orange jewelweed [Blooms: Jul-Nov]

Ivy-leaved morning glory is a sprawling, green to reddish vine up to 6' long covered with long, white hairs. Flowers arise from leaf axils on very short (1/4") stalks; they are funnel-shaped, ~2" across, blue-violet with a white throat, with five stamens with white anthers and a single style with a three-lobed stigma. The calyx is about 1/2" long, divided into five long, narrow teeth. Individual flowers only last a few hours. The seed capsule has three compartments and is hairy. Sepals are relatively very long and narrow, unlike common morning glory, where the sepals are short and triangular. Ivy-leaved morning glory is also native to Central America and its history of introductions is probably similar to common morning glory, Ipomoea purpurea.

Ipomoea

Ipomoea hederacea

ivy-leaved morning-glory [Blooms: Aug-Sep]

Small white morning glory is a vine 3-8' long, covered in scattered white hairs. The flowers are much smaller (1" long and 3/4" across) than most other Jackson Park morning glories, pentagonal rather than circular in outline, white, and shallowly lobed. The flowers consist of five lance-like sepals about 4 mm long, the funnel-like corolla, five stamens with a white filament and pinkish-purple anthers, and a single style with a knobby or bifurcated stigma. Fertilized flowers produce a spherical, hairy seed capsule about 1/2" in diameter nestled in the five sepals. Unlike the other two morning glories in Jackson Park, small white morning glory is native, but uncommon in northern Illinois.

Ipomoea

Ipomoea lacunosa

small white morning-glory [Blooms: Aug-Sep]

Wild sweet potato is a twining vine that can reach 20-30' long, completely covering the adjacent vegetation. The flowers are funnel-shaped with five shallow lobes, 2.5-3" across, white with a reddish-purple or rosy throat. There are five stamens of different lengths with filaments up to an inch long and whitish-pink anthers; there is a single whitish style with a two-lobed stigma. The flowers tend to bloom early in the day, later if cloudy. Individual flowers are short lived but this plant is a prodigious producer of blooms; it is the largest morning glory in Jackson Park. The "sweet potato" is a modified root up to 20" long and weighing 30 pounds; it is edible, but only barely.

Ipomoea

Ipomoea pandurata

wild sweet-potato [Blooms: Jun-Aug]

Common morning glory is a vine up to 10' long with alternate, heart-shaped (never lobed), smooth-margined, almost as wide as long. The stem is green or reddish-purple, covered with long hairs; it twines around adjacent vegetation and objects. Cymes of 1-5 flowers arise from some leaf axils; they sit at the tip of about 4" long pedicels. The flowers are 2-3.5" wide, funnel-shaped, usually deep purple or pink, less commonly blue or white, a single style with a three-lobed stigma, and five stamens. Sepals are relatively short, hairy, and triangular unlike ivy-leaved morning glory (I. hederacea), where the sepals are long and narrow. Other morning glories (Ipomoea sp.) usually have lobed leaves; the superficially-similar bindweeds usually have arrowhead-shaped leaves, not heart-shaped. Common morning glory has sepals that are short and triangular, unlike ivy-leaved morning glory where the sepals are relatively very long and narrow. Common morning glory is native to Mexico; it was introduced to England by 1621, then introduced from England to North America around 1700 as an ornamental (Fang et al., 2013), where it rapidly escaped cultivation.

Ipomoea

Ipomoea purpurea

common morning-glory [Blooms: Aug-Sep]

American water-willow produces long (up to 6") peduncles from some of the upper leaf axils that have clusters of flowers on their tips. Individual flowers are 3/4" across with a short, tubular, 1/4" long, green calyx with five teeth and a tubular corolla with four lobes — an upper lobe with a shallow V-notch, two widely spreading lateral lobes, and one lower lobe at right angles to the other three. Both the lateral and lower lobes are folded downward along their midlines, producing a U-shaped cross-section. All of the lobes are white or pale purple with a darker splotch on the end of the upper lobe and dark purple spots along the midline of the lower lobe and at the base of the lateral lobes. There are two stamens, each with a dark brown pair of anthers posed in front of the upper corolla lobe and a single, narrow, white style running along the midline off the upper lobe and protruding beyond its upper boundary.

Justicia

Justicia americana

American water-willow [Blooms: Jun-Aug]

Henbit's vertically-oriented flowers occur in clusters of 4-10 at the top of stems. They are tubular, 1/2-3/4" long, initially narrow at the short, five-lobed green calyx, but broadening into a hood-like upper lip that is densely covered with short hairs and a drooping lower lip that broadens into two lobes. The stamens are attached to the base of the lower lip but have long filaments so that the purplish anthers are positioned just under the upper lip; the style is white, about 3/4" long, with a two-lobed stigma. The outer surfaces of the flower are purplish-pink to pink; the inner surfaces are white with purplish dots. The fruit is a cluster of four nutlets, each containing a single seed.

Lamium

Lamium amplexicaule

henbit [Blooms: Apr-May]

Purple dead-nettle's whorls of flowers occur in the leaf axils and at the tip of the stem. Flowers are about 1/2" long with a short, five-lobed green calyx and a tubular, purplish pink to white corolla with an upper and lower lip; the lower lip is divided into two lobes, often white with purple spots. There are four short stamens with brown anthers positioned beneath the upper lip and a single style with a two-lobed stigma. The closely-related henbit (Lamium amplexicaule) has much longer tubular flowers and leaves that are sessile or clasp the stem rather than being borne on petioles. The "dead-nettle" name comes from a resemblance of the leaves to some nettles, but the lack of stinging hairs (thus, a dead nettle).

Lamium

Lamium purpureum

purple dead-nettle [Blooms: Apr-?]

Motherwort is a naturalized exotic from Eurasia with stems up to 5' tall (more commonly 3-4'); branches occur near apex, if they are present at all. The flowers are sessile; they occur in whorls just above a pair of opposite leaves in the upper half of the plant, almost completely covering the stem. Individual flowers are about 3/8" long, two-lipped and VERY hairy on the outer surfaces with profuse long, white hairs; the upper lip is reflected backwards and unlobed, while the lower lip is divided into three lobes. The lips are white or light pink with purple spots on the lower lip and purple mottling on the upper lip. Four stamens with purple anthers protrude about half way up the upper lip; there s a single style with a two-lobed stigma that is located between the two longest stamens. The stubby, tubular calyx has five very sharp lobes/spines lending a touch of danger to the flowers; after fertilization, the calyx holds four nutlets, each containing a single seed. Motherwort was introduced from Europe (where it was previously introduced from Asia) primarily as a medicinal herb; it is now considered invasive. Motherwort could possibly be confused with field mint (Mentha arvensis) but field mint lacks the distinctive three- or five-lobed angular-cleft leaves of motherwort and has boldly-protruding stamens that are lacking in motherwort.

Leonurus

Leonurus cardiaca

motherwort [Blooms: Jun-Aug]

Hairy puccoon flowers are 3/4" across with a VERY hairy, green calyx with five sharply-triangular teeth , a yellow to yellow-orange tubular corolla with five widely-spreading rounded lobes, five stamens hidden inside the corolla beneath the throat, and a single style with a two-lobed, disc-like stigma. The flowers of hairy puccoon are heterostylous; i.e., either they have long stamens (~14 mm) and a short style (2-5 mm) or short stamens (~3 mm) with a long style (5-12 mm), but neither the anthers nor the stigma extend beyond the throat of the corolla (although they may get close). Hairy puccoon is very similar to hoary puccoon (L. canescens) but with stems that are less hairy and the hairs are "disorganized." The calyx at the base of the floral tube are very hairy in both species, but the teeth of the calyx in L. caroliniense have a distinct keel running down their midline. (I.e., subspecies L. caroliniense croceum.) Flowers of hairy puccoon are larger — up to 1" vs. 1/2" in hoary puccoon. The fruit is an egg-shaped nutlet, white when mature.

Lithospermum

Lithospermum caroliniense

hairy puccoon [Blooms: May-Jun]

Great blue lobelia's flower spike is 0.5-2' long, densely covered by blue-violet flowers with white stripes. individual flowers are about 1" across, the apex angled upwards, with a green, very hairy calyx with five long, narrow teeth and the bell-shaped corolla a tube that splits distally into in an upper and a lower lip, each with long white hairs on their outer surfaces. The lower lip consists of three lance-shaped, descending lobes with white patches near their bases; the upper lip has two lobes that flank on either side a cylindrical structure (five bluish stamen filaments fused with and surrounding the style) with a down-turned tip (the stigma) surrounded by brush-like anther "beards". The flower stalk and calyx are green and densely hairy. Like most lobelias, great blue lobelia contains toxic alkaloids that can produce serious symptoms; keep pets away. This species is unlikely to be confused with any other. If mystified by the flower structure, see http://iowaplants.com/flora/family/Campanulaceae/lobelia/l_siphilitica/Lobelia_siphilitica.html.

Lobelia

Lobelia siphilitica

great blue lobelia [Blooms: Aug-Oct]

Amur honeysuckle flowers occur in near-sessile pairs arising from leaf axils; there is a 2 mm long flower stalk (the thickness of a U.S. five cent coin). The corolla is about 1" long and tall, white or cream-colored, consisting of four fused, vertical upper lobes and a single lower lobe at 90° to the upper lobes; this geometry creates an opening through which protrudes five long stamens with yellow anthers and the solitary pistil with a green, knobby stigma. Outer surfaces of the flower are hairy. The fruit is a 1/4" diameter, shiny-red, spherical berry, usually in clusters of 2-4, that looks rather like a large current. The berries are mildly poisonous. The berries of amur honeysuckle are very similar in appearance and distribution to the berries of Morrow's honeysuckle (Lonicera morrowii), but the berries of the former are sessile while the berries of the latter are attached to 1/2" long pedicels. In addition, the leaves of amur honeysuckle have elongated tips while the leaf tips of Morrow's honeysuckle are relatively blunt; only amur honeysuckle has sessile flowers. Please don't plant this in your garden — too often, it escapes.

Lonicera

Lonicera maackii

amur honeysuckle [Blooms: Apr-Jun]

Morrow's honeysuckle is another invasive exotic, this one from northern Asia, a highly branched shrub 6-10' high that prefers disturbed woodlands and a strong competitor for space. Flowers arise in pairs from leaf axils on pedicels at least 1/2" long. Each flower consists of a tubular greyish-green calyx with five teeth covered with short hairs; a tubular corolla 3/4-1" long and across, initially white but becoming cream colored over time, with five long, narrow, widely-spreading lobes (four on the upper lip, one on the lower lip); five stamens with white filaments and yellow anthers; and a single, slender white style with a dome-shaped, green stigma. The fruit is a red berry 1/4" across. The berries of Morrow's honeysuckle are very similar in appearance and distribution to the berries of amur honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii), but the former are attached to 1/2" long or longer pedicels while the latter are sessile; in addition, the leaves of amur honeysuckle have elongated "drip tips" while the leaf tips of Morrow's honeysuckle are relatively blunt.

Lonicera

Lonicera morrowii

Morrow's honeysuckle [Blooms: Apr-May]

In grape honeysuckle, a short flowering stalk emerges from the tip of the stem where it emerges from the terminal pair of leaves; 2-5 whorls of flowers develop along this flowering stalk. Each flower is about 1" long. It consists of an egg-shaped, swollen, dark green ovary; a pale yellow to orange-yellow, two-lipped corolla that fades with age to orange or red; five stamens with yellow anthers; and a single style with a dome-shaped stigma. There are no hairs on the flowers. Both the stamens and the style protrude from the corolla. The ovary of fertilized flowers produces berries which are initially green but, at maturity, become globoid, orange-red to red, and about 1/4-1/2" long. Grape honeysuckle is the only honeysuckle (native or exotic) in Jackson Park that is a woody vine; it is distinctive and should be easy to recognize.

Lonicera

Lonicera reticulata

grape honeysuckle [Blooms: Jun]