Wildflower Wednesday: Fleischmannia incarnata, Worth A Second Look

Pink thoroughwort, our Wildflower Wednesday star, is struggling in the intense heat but, by golly it hasn't died! 

 

It prefers a moist environment and it's been anything but moist this past month in middle Tennessee. I discovered it in my garden about ten years ago. It looked like  Conoclinium coelestinum/Blue Mistflower, but, the flowers were less numerous and pink, plus it was practically laying on the soil and  blue-mist flower is upright with sturdy red stems. 

 

I'm never surprised to discover a new native plant in this neighborhood or even in my garden. Plants frequently appear, either having gone unnoticed or because conditions were favorable for growth of seeds in the soil seed bank. 

Wildflowers and other Central Basin natives grew with happy abandon in the forested woodland where this garden now stands. In the 1940s and early 1950s a neighborhood was carved from the woodland and houses were built. Homeowners came and went, while the wildflowers grew quietly on the woodland edge. Forty plus years ago, my husband I bought this house and that I fell head over heals in love with the wildflowers that bloomed that first fall and spring. The autumn memory of blue clouds of ex-asters that were covered with bees and butterflies still makes me smile. 

The woodland remnants in my backyard and side yards were where I discovered the beautiful wildflowers that have become my gardening soulmates: False Soloman's Seal, Spring Beauties, Purple phacelia, Rue Anemone, Trout-lily, False Garlic, Blue-eyed Grass, Wild Sweet William, Sweet Betsy, Goldenrods, Blue Mistflower, Frostweed and those many white and blue ex-asters.

Long time readers might remember that I built this garden around those native beauties, so, finding  Fleischmannia incarnata back then was a wonderful addition to the mixture.

source: Alan Cressler

 Fleischmannia incarnata is a North American species of flowering plant in the Asteracea family. It is native to the United States from Florida north as far as Virginia, Ohio, and Illinois, and west to Texas and Oklahoma and even Arizona. It's found growing in moist woodlands, thickets, marshes, and along streambanks. In optimal growing conditions, it can reach 6 feet tall, but, in my garden it's a low branching sprawler. It produces numerous flower heads in a flat-topped array at the ends of the stems, each head has about 20 pink or whitish-pink disk flowers per head. There are no ray flowers.

The leaves are opposite, widely spaced at nodes, and triangular shaped; they remind me of Nepeta. They're softer to the touch than leaves of Blue Mistflower, which is another way to tell them apart.

leaves are described as catnip like!

It has an airy, loose limbed attractiveness and is a good partner for Eupatorium serotinum, both are found in moist shade. It's not unusual to find it sprawling against neighboring plants in a lax fashion. Training it on a trellis might help show off it's pretty flower faces to the world.

Foraging bees are frequent visitors. Skippers hover around it, doing their lovely mating dances. It doesn't appear to be a host plant for butterflies, but, if anyone reading this knows otherwise, please let me know. Birds feed on the dry seed heads, so leave the plant standing over winter.

 

Source

 Here's why I think you should bother to try to locate and grow pink thoroughwort in your garden.

• It's a late season, low maintenance native flower that supports pollinators and birds
• Native to the southeastern United States and west to TX, OK and AZ 
• It thrives naturally in woodland edges, moist thickets, and average garden soils
• Deer resistant
• Fragrant blooms
• Lovely colored flowers 

 The particulars

Botanical name: Fleischmannia incarnata
Common Name: pink slender thoroughwort, pink thoroughwort, pink boneset
Herbaceous perennial
Native Range: In the USA: AL, AR, AZ, FL, GA, IL, IN, KY, LA, MO, MS, NC, OH, OK, SC, TN, TX, VA, WV. May even be found in upper midwest states

source

 

Tennessee Range:

Size: 12 in. - 6 ft. | 30 cm - 1.8 m, low branching growth habit, sprawling. 

Bloom Time: Aug–Dec. depending upon where you garden

Bloom Description:Inflorescence - Flat-topped panicles of heads at branch tips and flower heads with disc florets and no ray florets. Flowers are fragrant.

Best Plant Description: In appearance it is reminiscent of a tall, gangly ageratum with pale pinkish florets and catnip-like leaves.

Sun Light: Shade, Partial to Full Shade

Water: Prefers moist soil

National Wetland Indicator Status: FACU+ FAC

 Maintenance: Low, as long as it is not allowed to dry out.

Propagation Methods: From seed; direct sow outdoors in fall or direct sow after last frost.

Seed Collecting: Allow seedheads to dry on plants; remove and collect seeds.

Comments:Woodlands, thickets, moist soil, roads, ditches, stream banks, bottomlands, swamps, depressions, cedar glades and if your lucky in your garden.

Wildlife value: This plant is attractive to bees, butterflies and/or birds (seeds). Doesn't appear to be a butterfly host plant, but, it is an excellent nectar source.

Commercially available:  Beaufort, SC nursery, Lone Star Nursery in Austin, Rewild Memphis


xoxogail

Welcome to Clay and Limestone's Wildflower Wednesday celebration. WW is about sharing and celebrating wildflowers from all over this great big, beautiful world. Join us on the fourth Wednesday of each month. Remember, it doesn't matter if they are in bloom  and, it doesn't matter if we all share the same plants. It's all about celebrating wildflowers. Please share your wildflowers on your favorite social media site. Share to help educate others.

Gail Eichelberger is a gardener, Tennessee Naturalist and nature writer in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone. She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.

First Wednesday Taking Care of Wildlife Challenge: Scoop The Poop

Did you know that studies show that roughly 28% to 40% of dog owners admit they do not always pick up their pet's waste. When questioned they list a bunch of not particularly good reasons for not scooping the poop. One person told me it was natural therefore it was okay not to pick it up! BTW, it's not natural!

Don't be like them, pick up your dog's poop! 

Here's why!

• Yes, dog poop is bad for the environment and is classified as a dangerous pollutant by the Environmental Protection Agency.
• It could contain harmful parasites, pathogens and bacteria that can be transferred to people and other pets. Dog poop is a common carrier of nasty things like heart worms, whipworms, hookworms, roundworms, parvovirus, giardia, salmonella and E. coli. 
• It can be washed into the storm drains and local waterways because it's untreated, creating excess nitrogen and phosphorus that feed suffocating algae blooms.
• It's not a fertilizer! Their waste is overly acidic and harmful to grass and local ecosystems.
• In cities the problem is compounded by rats and other rodents. Dog waste is often a leading food source for rats in urban areas. Rat urine and feces have been linked to a number of diseases that can easily be passed to humans, including leptospirosis, typhus, and salmonellosis. (source)
• It's the considerate thing to do. 

 Here's what we pet owners can do.  (source)   

• ALWAYS carry poop bags with you whenever you are out and about with your dog. Take more than you think you will need…you never know.     
• PICK IT UP! Every. Single. Time.     
• Tie the bag closed and toss it in the garbage. Dog poop CANNOT go in compost or yard waste bins. I repeat, DO NOT compost dog poop! 
• Don't drop the bag on the side of the rode to pick up later...You won't remember! 
• Pick up poops in your yard weekly (more often is better and definitely before a big rain). Rain won't wash it away.   
• Hire a dog poop collection service. Yes, this is real, and they exist in many cities and counties. They do it so you don’t have to.

 

Dear Readers, None of us enjoy picking up poop but we do it because it's the right thing to do for the environment, for wildlife, for other pets and for others.

xoxogail 

 

 

Take the Taking Care of Wildlife In Our Gardens Challenge

The first part of this challenge is to do something, even lots of things, each month that support the critters living in our gardens. Gardening with native wildflowers, shrubs and trees that make sense for our ecoregion is a good place to start or continue (as the case may be). Plants and their pollinators are a classic example of mutualism: they have coevolved through evolutionary time in a reciprocal beneficial relationship. This is also true for other critters that visit and live in our gardens. 

Activities that increase our knowledge of the natural world are equally as valuable. Helping others learn about nature is included. Golly gee whiz, there are so many things you can do. 

The second part of the challenge is to post about it somewhere: Your blog, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or even your neighborhood listserve. Wouldn't an article in the local paper be a coup for nature! Why post it? Because positive publicity is needed to educate our friends, neighbors and communities about how important even the smallest changes we make as gardeners can be for pollinators, birds, insects and mammals, including humans, that live all around us. 

Why now? My neighborhood is changing. Yours might be, too. Every day an older home along with many (if not all) of the mature oak, hickory, maple, Eastern cedar and hackberry trees are cut down. Insects, birds, even mammals lose their home site and food supplies when we lose trees. During construction soil is compacted by bulldozers, trucks and piles of debris cause runoff; surface runoff that can carry pollution to streams and rivers. It's important that our neighbors and our community have information about how important trees are to our ecosystem. Trees contribute to their environment by providing oxygen, improving air quality, climate amelioration, conserving water, preserving soil, and supporting wildlife.

In place of the "bee lawns" composed of Claytonia, Salvia lyrata, Ruellia humilis, fleabane, Western Daisy, Violets, self-heal, clovers, native grasses (in my neighborhood it's poverty oat grass) and sedges, they're being sodded with non-native grasses. These monoculture turf lawns contribute nothing environmentally. Here's what we lose when our diverse lawns are replaced with pristine turf grass:

• Gone are the lightening bugs.
• Gone are the ground dwelling/nesting native bees.
• Gone is the habitat for insects, spiders and other critters. 
• Gone is plant diversity. 
• Gone are trees that provided for hundreds of moths, butterflies and other insects.
• Gone are the nesting sites for woodpeckers, hummingbirds, Chickadees and other birds. 
• Gone is a healthy foodweb.

We can't stop the progmess, but, maybe we can make a lot of educational noise and help our new neighbors see the value in providing for critters and ultimately helping the environment. xoxogail

Gail Eichelberger is a gardener, Tennessee Naturalist and nature writer in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone. She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.

Wildflower Wednesday: Euphorbia corollata

 I am still crazy about our native Euphorbias. I love most of the weedy Euphorbias, but Euphorbia corollata is NOT a weedy plant! It's a wonderful white flower addition to any late summer garden that is filled with yellow composites.

I appreciate that it softens all the yellows, but it's a powerhouse plant! It has survived weeks without watering, weeks of temperatures in the 90s and the attempted take over of the garden by Partridge Pea.

 

Flowering spurge is special. 

• it has small white flowers with yellow centers with a touch of green that are held above dusty-green foliage. 
• it's dusty green glabrous foliage is attractive even out of bloom. 
• bonus points when those leaves turn pinkish or red in the fall.

the foliage contains a toxic white latex

 

What makes it extra special:

• its unique flowers, 
• long bloom time (up to six weeks), 
• noticeable seed heads, 
• ability to tolerate any soil (just give it good drainage) 
• the glabrous foliage.
•  it blooms in both full sun and part shade in my garden. 
• once it's established it's also a deer and drought resistant plant. Both pluses in a garden visited by deer and with hot, dry summer months. 

Because it prefers poor soil rather than a rich soil, it's less likely to be out compted by other plants. That worked well at Clay and Limestone until the Partridge pea moved in! 

My bad...I have a tough time pulling out blooming flowers, but the partridge pea was aggressively crowding the Euphorbia. So it had to go. Trust me there's plenty left for the very busy bees. 

Flowering Spurge has a whorled stem which produces branches that contain numerous flowers.

Flowers  of this spurge are actually modified leaves; the "real" flowers are small, golden structures in the middle of the white bracts.Those real flowers are Flowering Spurge are an important nectar source for the endangered Karner Blue butterfly. For readers north of Tennessee, the Karner Blue geographical region is along the Great Lakes region.

After bloom, female flowers become capsules, each containing three seeds. The capsules split open to eject their seeds.

 

Euphorbias share some important characteristics. 

• they all secrete milky, caustic, latex sap when injured—an adaptation that likely evolved to discourage predators.
•  flowers grow in a cyathium, a structure found nowhere else in the plant kingdom. 
• a cyathium consists of fused bracts that form a small cup and hold a group of tiny flowers
• there are both male and female flowers on the plant
  
• they have cool developing seedheads

THE PARTICULARS

Family: Euphorbiaceae (Spurge family)

Botanical Name: Euphorbia corollata

Common Names:  Baby's Breath of the Prairie, Eastern Flowering Spurge, Flowering Spurge, Garden Spurge, Poison Milkweed, Tramp's Spurge, White-flowered Milkweed, White Spurge, Wild Hippo, Wild Spurge 
 

Native range: Texas north to South Dakota and east through all of the states to the Atlantic. It is also known from Ontario.

Hardiness: Zones 3a to 9b

source

Soil: Prefers dry, well draining, poor soil which helps deter competition

Exposure: Full sun to partial shade

Flower: Sprays of tiny flowers cover this plant in mid-summer. The small green nectar glands and their extensions can easily be mistaken for petals on this interesting flower. Euphorbias have male and female flowers on the same plants, I find the developing fruit quite interesting to observe.

Autumn color: The leaves and stem can color from pinkish-red to scarlet color.

Wildlife value: Attracts all kinds of wasps, small bees, flies, small butterflies and predatory or parasatoid insects that prey upon pest insects. Please follow the link to  Illinois Wildflowers to find an extensive list of faunal associations. Flowering Spurge is rarely eaten by mammalian herbivores because of the toxic white latex in its foliage

Toxic: Contact with plant, especially its milky sap, can cause irritation of skin, eyes, and mucous membranes.

Where to plant: This tap rooted plant needs to go into the ground as soon as possible. It doesn't thrive in a container. Plant it in well drained soil and protect it from aggressive plants.

 

the  fruit/pods split and expel their seed

Saving Flowering Spurge Seeds: This plant produces small pods that will split and expel their seed when completely ripe. Gather the pods as soon as they begin to dry, but before they split. Spread the pods out to dry in a protected location, keeping in mind that they may still explode. Separate the seed from the husks. Store the seed in a cool, dry place. I use a net bag that ties around the plant to collect seeds. See below.

Flowering Spurge Germination: Direct sow in late fall, pressing the seeds into the surface of the soil. Seeds require 30 days of cold stratification for germination. The plant will self-seed.
The source for seed collection and germination information; you can also order seeds.

Sources: Missouri Wildflowers, Prairie Moon Nursery, Izel Native Plants, Plant Delights Nursery, Wonder Gift and Garden

 I like this plant so much that I keep adding more to my garden. It might look delicate but it is a hardy plant. If it can survive a cedar glade, then it can survive almost anything we gardeners throw at it. 

xoxogail 

 Welcome to Wildflower Wednesday and thank you for stopping by to see Euphorbia corollata a sweet wildflower that you'll rarely see in a nursery, but, might see out your car window as you drive down a county road. Thanks also, for joining in and if you are new to Wildflower Wednesday, it's about sharing and celebrating wildflowers from all over this great big, beautiful world. Join us on the fourth Wednesday of each month. Please share your wildflowers on your favorite social media site. Share to help educate others!

Gail Eichelberger is a gardener and therapist in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone. She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.