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Solomon's seal is a 2-3.5' tall plant with a single, unbranched, hairless, arching stem. On the underside of the stem are 12-20 dangling clusters of flowers (2-3 flowers/cluster). The flowers are 1/2-1" long, whitish- or yellowish-green, tubular, with six lobes/tepals fused for most of their length but that flare slightly at their tips; the interior of the flower contains six stamens with yellow anthers and a single style. The fruit is a 1/4" diameter spherical berry, initially green, dark blue-violet or -black when mature. When in bloom or bearing fruit, Solomon's seal is distinctive and easy to identify; when not in bloom, the leaves of Solomon's seal can be difficult to distinguish from those of false Solomon's seal (Maianthemum racemosum) and starry false Solomon's seal (Maianthemum stellatum). (Both Maianthemum sp. have short petioles on their leaves and their flowers are terminal, at the end of the stem, rather than hanging down from the stem.) Polygonatum biflorum is sometimes (incorrectly) referred to as Polygonatum commutatum. The "Solomon's seal" in the name refers to scars on the rhizome fancied to look like a Hebrew seal. I have to admit I just don't see it.

Polygonatum

Polygonatum biflorum

Soloman's seal [Blooms: May-Jul]

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]

The tips of some short, lateral shoots of wild black currant produce clusters (racemes) of 6-15 flowers that are suspended by short pedicels from a central, drooping stalk 1-3" long. At the base of each pedicel is a 3/8" long yellowish bract. Individual flowers are 1/2" long, bell-shaped with a short tubular calyx with (1) five spreading, oblong, greenish-white apical lobes (sepals), (2) five squared-off whitish petals emerging from the tubular calyx and forming a ring-shaped wall, (3) five stamens, shorter than the petals, with cream-colored anthers, and (4) a green ovary with two styles that are fused except at their tips. The fruit consists of 3/8" wide, shiny berries, initially green, black when fully ripe, containing lots of tiny seeds. The berries are edible when cooked and have been used to make pies, jelly, or wines (if you can get to them before the birds do). Note that commercial black currants are derived from the European version of this species (Ribes nigrum), not Ribes americanum.

Ribes

Ribes americanum

wild black currant [Blooms: Apr-May]

Golden currant produces one- to three-inch-long clusters (racemes) of 5-18 drooping flowers from the leaf axils. Individual flowers are 3/4" long and across; the joined sepals are yellowish-green and tubular basally but abruptly flare into five bright golden-yellow, rectangular lobes with rounded tips. The petals are short (2-3 mm), rectangular structures that surround the throat of the corolla; they may be yellow or orange but are usually red or red-tipped. Between the petals are five stamens that extend to the tips of the petals, bearing white anthers; the styles are light green, fused to just below the stigmas, and protrude beyond the petals. The fruit is a small (1/4-3/8") edible berry with lots of seeds; fruit color is initially green but ranges from golden yellow to black when mature. Unlike gooseberries, this plant lacks spines and prickles; its large yellow flowers are distinctive. Golden currant is native to North America and was once very popular as an ornamental plant (and fruit for jams and jellies); it has probably escaped cultivation numerous times.

Ribes

Ribes aureum

golden currant [Blooms: Apr-May]

Missouri gooseberry produces groups (racemes or corymbs) of 1-3 flowers on a horizontal flower stalk near some leaf petioles; the 1/4-1/2" long flower pedicels droop downward, so the axis of the flower is vertical. An egg-shaped, sessile bract is present at the base of each flower stalk. Missouri gooseberry flowers are easy to overlook because they don't comport with one's usual idea of "flowers" — they are very elongate, as if viewed in a fun house mirror. The flowers have a very narrow, white or greenish-white, tubular calyx with 4-5 oblong, spreading or reflected sepal lobes as long as the calyx; five short, erect petals extending from the calyx; and 4-5 stamens that double the vertical length of the flower. Hidden inside, at the base of the calyx, is a smooth ovary topped by a single pistil with one style; only the style is visible externally, sometimes extending past the stamens during flowering. After fertilization, the flower parts wither and the ovary expands into a smooth, globular berry 6-12 mm in diameter containing numerous tiny seeds; the berry is initially green, turning dull red or dull purple when ripe. If you see a gooseberry in Jackson Park with a prickly surface on the fruit (looking like a miniature, green medieval mace), it is prickly gooseberry, Ribes cynosbati, which also has lobed leaves. I have yet to see prickly gooseberry in Jackson Park, but it is known to occur in northern Illinois.

Ribes

Ribes missouriense

Missouri gooseberry [Blooms: Apr-May]

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]

Great Plains ladies'-tresses flowers are arranged in three rows spiraling up around the stem. The petals and sepals are both white with a tinge of yellow on the lower lip (lower petal). The two petals are top and bottom of the bloom, with the lower, ruffled petal extending out and down; the two sepals are narrower than the petals and flank the side of the bloom, sometimes arching higher than the petals. Typically, there is a single stamen; the style is fused to the surface of the lower petal deep in the flower. The base of the flower is nestled between oval green bracts which cup the ovary and taper to a sharp point above the flower. Great Plains ladies'-tresses are probably pollinated by bumblebees, but information is sparse. If you get down on your hands and knees (or, better, lie down beside the plant) and put your nose up against the blooms, it is really true that they smell like vanilla(!). A closely related species, nodding ladies'-tresses (Spiranthes cernua) was once considered to be the same species as Great Plains ladies tresses, but the former still has its basal leaves on blooming and no scent while the latter never has the basal leaves when blooming and the flowers smell like vanilla.

Spiranthes

Spiranthes magnicamporum

Great Plains ladies'-tresses [Blooms: Sep]

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]

Clusters of lowbush blueberry's flowers develop on the previous year's twigs. The flowers are about 1/4" long, urn- or bell-shaped, nodding, white, and waxy. The flowers contain a short, green calyx with five teeth; a short, tubular corolla that is pinkish white or white with five triangular, recurved lobes around its margin; ten stamens with reddish brown anthers recessed behind the margin of the corolla and clustered around the style; and a single style whose stigma extends right to the margin of the corolla. Fertilized flowers are replaced by approximately 8 mm diameter berries, initially green but turning dark blue with a whitish bloom as they mature. (I.e., they look — and taste — like blueberries.)

Vaccinium

Vaccinium angustifolium

lowbush blueberry [Blooms: May]