The tan flower stalks of Deschampsia flexuosa seem out of place this early in the season, presaging the end of summer just when we were getting warmed up. A cool-season […]
SMILAX
Nothing to Smile At
’Round these parts, venturing off the forest trail and into the brush is not without some risk. Poison ivy is common, Lyme-bearing ticks lie in wait, and the native vine […]
PINK FLAMINGOS
A Local Rose Has Its Day
The last days of May saw the first beachside blooms of the naturalized Asian species Rosa rugosa, and June was filled with the dramatic, arching white displays of multiflora rose, […]
MILKWEED
A Commoner for the Monarchs
There are many threats to the survival of the monarch, that iconic orange-and-black butterfly that migrates each summer from Mexico to the Northeast and back over multiple generations. One is […]
SEEDY AND SUNBAKED
Oh Lanceolata, Thou Showeth Up Everywhere
Yellow-blooming species of the Coreopsis genus are not native to New England, though several have come from elsewhere in the country to naturalize here. The most widespread visitor is Coreopsis lanceolata, a tough […]
VERY POPULAR
The Tallest Tulips Are From Tennessee
Getting to inspect the blooms of a tulip poplar while out for a walk is a treat, since they’re often visible only to those equipped with wings. The tallest native […]
IRIS ESCAPADES
I’m So Over This Rainbow
The iris shares its name with the Greek goddess of the rainbow, ostensibly for the multitude of colors found across its hundreds of species worldwide. In this neck of the […]
A SLIPPERY SLOPE
Where Orchids Grow
To the visiting bee, the flower of Cypripedium acaule, the pink lady’s slipper, looks like a friendly spot for an easy meal of nectar or pollen. Once entered, the slipper is […]
PEEP SHOW
A Glimpse of Blue Toadflax
Squatting among the beach grass, plums, and roses that decorate the coastal bank bordering Wellfleet’s Mayo Beach is a colony of blue toadflax, a diminutive native wildflower whose beauty isn’t […]
CHEERS
Say It With Sassafras
The native Sassafras albidum is a tree full of wonders — scents of cinnamon and citrus from root to bark to tip; whimsical leaves shaped like mittens and tridents and footballs; resplendent […]
DIG IT
The Shuffle Bushes Are in Bloom Again
The spring-blooming shrubs and trees of the widespread, mostly North American genus Amelanchier have a long list of common names, many referring to their timing. Some people call them Juneberries because their […]
KINNIKINNICK
Give a Bear a Grape
There’s a path off North Pamet Road in Truro that slowly climbs around a bearberry-covered dune up to a soaring overlook of the Atlantic at the top, but there’s another […]
FAKE FRUIT
Rogues Callery
If the endangered plants and animals of the Shank Painter Pond Wildlife Sanctuary are the rubies and diamonds of Provincetown’s ecological crown jewel, as the sanctuary is often described, then […]
SWAMP THINGS
The Red Maple Helicopters In
On the Outer Cape, the swamp maple (Acer rubrum) can often be found with its feet wet, growing vigorously in low spots like the Atlantic white cedar swamp in Wellfleet. […]
DO NOT DISTURB
Mayflower Compact
At first glance, the native evergreen Epigaea repens looks a bit haggard. Its rough, leathery leaves, which have bite marks and brown spots left by the visiting insects it hosts, […]
