Our property is divided by a brook running southwest to northeast. Shortly after the brook enters our property the land flattens out and the brook fills it up. When we first moved here we called it the pond, because it was a fairly big, though shallow, expanse of water. Maybe it was the drought, or maybe it does this every summer, but the “pond” turned into a swamp:I took a walk in that area early one August morning when the sun was hitting the uphill part of the property but hadn’t reached the bottom of our little valley yet. Here’s some of the flowers I found. William Cullina, author of Native Ferns, Moss, and Grasses, calls the flowers “bristly kielbasas.” Couldn’t have said it better myself. By the way, those pointy things are called perigynia (singular is perigynium). Dodder is in only one of my reference books, Weeds of the Northeast . It is not a pretty plant, not garden-worthy. It really creeps me out. Dodder, you see, is a parasite. According to Wikipedia, it grows toward the smell of its host plant. It attaches itself to a plant, wraps itself around it, penetrates the vascular system of the host plant, and feeds off of it. The dodder’s own root system atrophies and dies once this happens. It can feed off multiple plants. (Shudder) A great plant for Halloween. Fortunately, in our cold climate, dodder is an annual. In tropical climates it is sort of like kudzu. Aaaaaaaaaaaaah!! What’s that twining around my leg??!!!
Posted for Wildflower Wednesday, created by Gail of Clay and Limestone, to share wildflowers/native plants no matter where you garden in the blogasphere. “It doesn’t matter if we sometimes show the same plants. How they grow and thrive in your garden is what matters most. It’s always the fourth Wednesday of the month!”