Filtered (291)
Woodbine is a woody vine that usually uses trees as a substrate; the vine can be as much as 60' long. The stem is initially green and hairless; as it matures it becomes woody and develops a reddish- or grey-brown color. The leaves are alternate, palmately compound, usually with five (rarely 4 or 7) leaflets that are about 5" long and 2.5" wide with coarse marginal teeth, shiny-green when young but getting duller with age; the compound leaf has a slender 6-8" long petiole. Three- to six-inch-long clusters of 10-75 flowers arise from the main vines opposite the leaves; the clusters have two main branches and multiply-branched flower stalks with no clear central stem. Individual flowers are inconspicuous, 1/4" across with five yellowish green petals with narrow margins perpendicular to the plane of the petal and a pointed, curled tip; the petals are initially spreading but later become reflected backwards. In the center of the flower are five pale red stamens with creamy white or purple anthers, a reddish ovary, and a single white, stubby, conical style. The fruits are round blue-black berries 3/8" across that are reminiscent of grapes in a cluster with red, branched flower stalks; each berry contains four seeds. Woodbine has palmate leaves with five leaflets, very similar to Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia), but lacks the distinctive aerial roots "bearded" with short tendrils that are present in Virginia creeper. Opposite the base of the leaf petiole on the stem, woodbine produces a thin filament that branches 2-3 times, anchoring the vine by twining around objects. In Virginia creeper, the equivalent filaments are stouter, branch up to 10 times, and end in robust, egg-shaped pads that attach to the substrate. The inflorescence of woodbine lacks a central axis; the inflorescence of Virginia has a distinct central axis. Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parthenocissus_inserta) lists other differences between the two species. Illinois Wildflowers, USDA Plants, and and World Flora Online consider the two species to be one; Minnesota Wildflowers considers them to be separate and distinct. Flora of North America indicates the correct scientific name for woodbine is Parthenocissus vitacea (not P. inserta), as does ITIS and MissouriPlants.com, implying that woodbine and Virginia creeper are distinct species. Both woodbine and Virginia creeper have 40 chromosomes. Lu et al.'s (2012, 2023) molecular and morphological analyses indicate that woodbine and Virginia creeper are very closely related but are distinct species, and I'll consider that to be correct here.

Parthenocissus

Parthenocissus vitacea

woodbine [Blooms: ??]

Wild parsnip is an exotic plant, native to Eurasia, in the carrot family (Apiaceae); it produces flat umbels of flowers (like Queen Anne's lace, except yellow). This is the wild version of the domestic parsnip. The compound umbels are 3-8' across, flat topped, with 15-25 umbellets; each umbellet includes 15-35 1/8" yellow flowers borne on 3/8" long pedicels. Individual flowers have five very short, yellow petals, initially curled inward, but later the petals reverse curvature and curl outwards; there are also five yellow stamens and two styles that arise from an ovary with a swollen, greenish-yellow nectar pad. The fruits are 1/4" long flat, oval, coin-like discs; when mature the disk is brown and the edges of the disk are winged.

Pastinaca

Pastinaca sativa

wild parsnip [Blooms: May-Jun]

Calico penstemon (aka, long-sepaled penstemon) is a typical penstemon/beardtongue — 1-3' tall with an unbranched stem and a panicle of flowers at the apex of the stem. Flowers are about 1" long, with a calyx with five long (5-12 mm), narrow (1-2 mm) lobes, a tubular corolla with two upper lobes and three lower lobes on the aperture, and four stamens and a single style, all enclosed by the corolla. The corolla's exterior is light purple or light violet and covered in fine hairs; the interior of the corolla is white and smooth, without ridges. The lobes on the lower lip of the corolla do not protrude beyond the lobes of the upper lip. Calico penstemon is fairly rare in Jackson Park.

Penstemon

Penstemon calycosus

calico penstemon [Blooms: Jun-Jul]

Foxglove beardtongue's inflorescence consists of 3-6 pairs of panicles at the apex of the stems. Individual flowers are white or (less often) pink with a green or maroon calyx, five narrowly triangular lobes, and a tubular corolla that flares abruptly distal to the calyx. The corolla's aperture bears five lobes (two above on the upper lip, three below on the lower lip) with pink or purple nectar guides inside the tube. The filament of a sterile stamen (a "staminode") bearing sparse yellow hairs runs along the midline of the lower half of the corolla, while the filaments of the other four stamens wrap around the inside of the corolla like ribs in a ribcage, with the black anthers positioned on either side of the midline of the upper corolla. A single style runs along the upper midline between the black anthers to emerge between the two upper aperture lobes. The fruit is a bullet-shaped capsule about 1/2" long nestled in the persistant calyx. The calyx, flower stalks, and the flowers themselves are densely covered by glandular hairs; the main stems and leaves are hairless. Foxglove beardtongue is ubiquitous in Jackson Park.

Penstemon

Penstemon digitalis

foxglove beardtongue [Blooms: May-Jul]

Slender beardtongue (aka, lilac penstemon) is another beardtongue/penstemon that is uncommon in Jackson Park. The stems are unbranched, green or purple, and may or may not bear hairs. There are both basal and stem leaves. The basal and lower stem leaves are 1-3" long and 1/2" wide, variable in shape and leaf margins; the stem leaves are smaller and minutely toothed. Individual flowers are pinkish, purple, or pale violet, about 3/4" long; they are comprised of a green calyx with five triangular lobes and a tubular corolla that is abruptly inflated in the more distal two thirds of the flower. The lower lip of the corolla has three lobes that extend down and out from the aperture the upper lip has two smaller, erect lobes. The interior of the corolla is white with several dark purple lines that act as nectar guides. The filament of a sterile stamen (a "staminode") bearing sparse yellow hairs runs along the midline of the lower half of the corolla, while the filaments of the other four stamens wrap around the inside of the corolla like ribs in a ribcage, with the black anthers positioned on either side of the midline of the upper corolla. A single style runs along the upper midline between the black anthers. The fruit is a more or less bullet-shaped capsule nestled in the persistant calyx. The calyx, flowers, and flower stalks are all covered with glandular hairs; the stems and leaves are not.

Penstemon

Penstemon gracilis

slender beardtongue [Blooms: Jun-Jul]

Large-flowered penstemon flowers develop in the axils of the stem leaves in pairs. (Occasionally a triplet will arise.) Individual flowers are up to 2" long, pale lavender or pink, tubular, sightly flattened vertically but flaring at the aperture, with a two-lobed upper lip and 3-lobed lower lip with purple lines on the interior. The bluish-green calyx has five teeth. A distinct longitudinal ridge runs along the upper surface of the corolla, intersecting the aperture between the two upper lobes. A white style with a tiny stigma runs along the inside of the corolla under the longitudinal ridge and protrudes from the throat. The four fertile stamens are recessed, with their filaments wrapped around the inside of the corolla like a ribcage and the anthers on either side of the dorsal midline; the fifth (sterile) stamen runs along the lower midline and ends in a recurved or coiled tip with a prominent pad bearing short, brilliant-yellow hairs. The fruit is a teardrop-shaped seed pod nestled in the remains of the calyx. Large-flowered penstemon prefers poorer but well-drained soils with significant rocky material or sand. This species is officially listed as "endangered" in Illinois.

Penstemon

Penstemon grandiflorus

large-flowered penstemon [Blooms: May-Jul]

Hairy beardtongue is 1-2.5' tall and blatantly hairy — backlit plants seen from a distance show a white nimbus around the stems. The flowers are slender, lavender colored, with white lips; the aperture of the flower is nearly occluded by the arched lower lip. Like the other beardtongues/penstemons the tubular flowers have an upper and lower lip have a total of five lobes (two above, three below). The calyx, flower stems, and the flowers themselves are densely covered by glandular hairs; the stems are densely covered with fine white hairs. The stem leaves are pointed, triangular with toothed margins, and occur in opposite pairs; the leaf pairs are oriented at 90° to the pairs above and below them on the stem.

Penstemon

Penstemon hirsutus

hairy beardtongue [Blooms: May-Jul]

Pale beardtongue stems terminate in a 4-10" long panicle of flowers that is longer than broad. Flowers are 3/4" long consisting of a short, green calyx with five teeth, a tubular, white corolla similar to that of other penstemons/beardtongues, four fertile stamens with brown anthers, a bright yellow "beard" on the lower lip (as in hairy beardtongue), and a single style. The upper lip of the corolla has the usual two erect lobes, but the lower lip has three rounded lobes that project forward well beyond the margin of the upper lip. The outer surfaces of the flowers and flower stalks are covered with hairs. The throat of the corolla's lower surface has three thin purple veins, a narrow patch of long, bright yellow hairs, and a pair of low ridges/grooves, one on either side of the midline. The fruit is an egg-shaped capsule 1/4" long nestled in the persistent calyx. Both pale beardtongue and foxglove beardtongue (Penstemon digitalis) have white flowers and might be confused. However, the flowers of pale beardtongue are smaller, the flowers have two distinct ridges on the interior of the lower half of the corolla, and the three lobes on the lower lip are parallel to the floor of the corolla and extend well beyond the upper lip. None of these traits are present in foxglove beardtongue. In Jackson Park, pale beardtongue is less common than hairy beardtongue and much less common that foxglove beardtongue.

Penstemon

Penstemon pallidus

pale beardtongue [Blooms: May-Jun]

Ditch stonecrop is native to North America; its range includes the majority of the states in the U.S. and the provinces in Canada. It is a small (1-2' tall) plant with green or red stems, usually unbranched. Cymes of flowers 1-3" across arise from the upper stems, each cyme with 2-4 spreading flowering stalks; flowers are restricted to only one side of the flower stalks. Individual 1/4" flowers are yellowish-green to white, have five spreading, green sepals, ten stamens with cream-colored or yellow-orange anthers, and five beaked carpels, each with a single style and a green stigma; petals are completely absent. (The carpels look rather like a teapot with no handle and a very wide spout, or like a "duck" wine decanter. Look it up.) The carpels become the seed capsules; they turn bright red when mature. Ditch stonecrop prefers wet habitats (like ditches). It is completely unrelated to biting stonecrop (Sedum acre).

Penthorum

Penthorum sedoides

ditch stonecrop [Blooms: Aug-?]

Waterpepper is a rather spare plant, 1-2' tall which needs close observation to be appreciated. 2-7" long spikes of minute flowers, only a few of which are open at any one time, terminate the upper stems; the flower spikes often nod or droop. Each greenish-white flower is ~1/8" long with five tepals covered with glandular pits (see below), green towards the base, brilliant white at the tips, 4-6 white stamens, and 2-3 white styles. The flowers never open very far. P. hydropiper is distinguished by (usually) reddish stems and the presence of tiny glandular pits (often pale yellow or brown, and only visible with magnification) on the greenish portions of the tepals. Cultivated varieties of waterpepper have been eaten in Japan and Europe, but the wild form produces a variety of oils that can cause skin (including the oral mucosa) irritation and swelling.

Persicaria

Persicaria hydropiper

waterpepper [Blooms: Aug-Sep]

Pale smartweed is a very tall smartweed (2.5-4') characterized by long, dense, drooping, whitish flower clusters and the absence of bristles on the leaf sheaths (ocreae). Stems terminate in drooping flower spikes 2-8" long, densely packed with small (1/8" long) flowers. Individual flowers have 4-5 greenish-white to pinkish tepals, 5-6 stamens with pink anthers and two styles. Because the flowers open only at their tips, the reproductive structures are difficult to observe. After fertilization, a three-angled seed, 2 mm across, develops nestled in the tepals. This is the largest smartweed that occurs in Illinois. Pale smartweed prefers wet soils (e.g., the shores of water bodies). Pale smartweed is similar to Pennsylvania smartweed (Persicaria pennsylvanica) but that plant has erect, cylindrical flower spikes and the flowers are pink or reddish.

Persicaria

Persicaria lapathifolia

pale smartweed [Blooms: Jul-Oct]

Creeping smartweed is another weedy exotic, but its charm increases as you look closer. The flower spikes are 1.5" long and <1/4" wide; they are covered with tiny (~1/8" long) flowers with five pink tepals, only a few of which are open at any one time. (Petals are absent.) There are five stamens with pink or yellow anthers and three styles hidden within the flower; they are visible only with difficulty. At the base of each flower is a small membranous sheath with bristles as long or longer than the flowers (not present on all flowers). After fertilization, a three-angled seed that tapers to a point on each end develops nestled in the tepals. This is an Asian species that was introduced to North America around 1910 near Philadelphia and reached Illinois in the 1940's; it strongly prefers wet soils. Creeping smartweed resembles lady's-thumb (Persicaria maculosa), but creeping smartweed's sprawling habit and the long bristles associated with the flowers are distinctive.

Persicaria

Persicaria longiseta

creeping smartweed [Blooms: May-Oct]

Lady's-thumb is an exotic, native to Europe, but has a long history in North America — it was first reported from the Great Lakes in 1843. Flower spikes (racemes) are 1/2-1.5" long and densely covered with tiny (1/8" long) pinkish-white flowers; flower color is quite variable, even within a single flower spike. The flowers are "shy" and often open only at the tips of the 4 or 5 sepals (there are no petals); both the six stamens and the single style (divided into three towards the distal end) remain hidden. Seeds are black; they develop singly within the persistent sepals and remain largely hidden by the sepals; they can be found on flower heads still blooming. Lady's-thumb prefers wet habitats.

Persicaria

Persicaria maculosa

lady's-thumb [Blooms: Jun-Sep]

Pennsylvania smartweed flower spikes are 3/4-2" long, distinctly cylindrical with a blunt tip, erect, and densely covered with white, pink, or reddish flowers, only a few of which are open at any time. The peduncle of the flower spike is usually covered with short glandular hairs. Individual flowers are ~1/8" long, and have five tepals (white, light pink, or rose pink), 6-8 stamens with yellow, white, or pink anthers and two styles. Pennsylvania smartweed is a particularly variable species and may be difficult to identify unequivocally. If the stems zig-zag between nodes, if the flower stalks' peduncules are covered with glandular hairs, or if the flower spikes are short, cylindrical and erect, the specimen is likely to be Pennsylvania smartweed, but any or all of these features may be missing.

Persicaria

Persicaria pensylvanica

Pennsylvania smartweed [Blooms: Jul-Sep]

Dotted smartweed (Persicaria punctata) is a very common smartweed in Illinois wetlands. The upper stems produce spike-like racemes 2-6" long with white to greenish-white flower buds and flowers sparsely distributed along their length. Individual flowers are about 1/8" long with five white tepals covered with glandular depressions (best viewed with a hand lens). There are 6-8 stamens with red or pink stamens; the single style divides into two or three branches near its base. The flowers only open at their tips. The single seed is three-angled, oblong, and shiny brown to black; it remains tightly enclosed in the tepals as it develops. In Jackson Park, only dotted smartweed and waterpepper (Persicaria hydropiper) have glandular depressions on the surface of the flower tepals.

Persicaria

Persicaria punctata

dotted smartweed [Blooms: Aug-Sep]

Cleft phlox flowers are supported by 1" pedicels, are 3/4" across, white or pale violet, with a tubular corolla that flares into five petal-like lobes that are each deeply cleft at their tips; the throat is very narrow. A three-lobed stigma and the orange anthers of the stamens lie just within the opening to the throat of the flower. Cleft phlox is endemic to the Midwest. The cleft petal lobes distinguish cleft phlox from all other Phlox species.

Phlox

Phlox bifida

cleft phlox [Blooms: Apr-?]

Woodland phlox is a 1-1.5' tall plant with a fuzzy to hairy stem, light green or reddish brown in color. Leaves are opposite (or sometimes in a three-leaf whorl), sessile or clasping the stem, three times longer than wide, lance-shaped with smooth margins, and fuzzy to hairy overall with short hairs around the margins. The flowers are 1" across, pale blue-violet, lavender, or (rarely) white, and with a long, narrow tubular throat that abruptly flares into five petal-like, spoon-shaped lobes. The calyx is green or reddish-green, hairy, with five long, narrow teeth almost half the length of the flower, spreading near their tips. The five stamens and style are hidden within the throat. Woodland phlox has relatively broader leaves than other Phlox species and has a more intense blue-violet (and less pink) color.

Phlox

Phlox divaricata

woodland phlox [Blooms: Apr-May]

Smooth phlox is a 1-2' tall plant with an unbranched, hairless stem topped with a slightly domed cluster of 3-20 pink or lavender flowers. Each flower is about 3/4" across and has a long, tubular throat that abruptly flares into five petal-like lobes; each lobe is wedge-shaped and overlaps the next lobe clockwise. The calyx (also hairless) consists of five triangular segments that taper rapidly to sharp points; the calyx is <1/3 the length of the corolla tube. The five stamens and single style with a three-part stigma either lie within the corolla tube or are just visible in the throat. After fertilization, a narrow seed capsule filled with numerous seeds fills the persistant calyx. Smooth phlox prefers moist to wet habitats. Smooth phlox flowers resemble prairie phlox (P. bifida) but the latter species is quite hairy on the stems, leaves, and the exterior of the flower (the calyx); smooth phlox is hairless. Checking the hairiness (or lack thereof) of the calyx is the quickest way to tell prairie phlox from smooth phlox.

Phlox

Phlox glaberrima interior

smooth phlox [Blooms: Jun-Aug]