Native Wildflower Treasures
In the past, I have not been a fan of letting grasses grow. I’ve been partial to a well-mowed field, but this year we’ve let our field grow a bit. The cool thing about letting things grow is you discover that you have treasures you never knew you had.
To help the pollinator population, we have been focusing on identifying and keeping native flowers and plants. You have to let everything grow to see what goodies are there. As David went out to our lower field to plant more pawpaw trees Friday evening, I identified wildflowers and spotted a couple new ones I’m excited about.
I also remembered something I read in “Braiding Sweetgrass” by Robin Wall Kimmerer about asters and goldenrod and why they look so beautiful growing together. Asters are purple and goldenrod are yellow. We have some goldenrod and asters, but in this part of the field, we also have wingstem (which is yellow) and ironweed (which is purple) growing together. The purples and yellows grow together in nature … not just for beauty, but also because they attract more pollinators in combination.
“Purple and yellow are complementary colors, a ‘reciprocal pair’ that evoke each other to the human eye—but also the eyes of bees, who pollinate the flowers. The bold contrast attracts their vision, so that asters and goldenrod (or ironweed and wingstem) growing together attract more pollinators than if they were to grow alone.”
Braiding Sweetgrass: Chapter 5 Summary and Analysis, LitCharts
Here are a few photos of my wildflower finds this evening.
Pluchea Odorata or Sweetscent or Saltmarsh Fleabane
Butterflies and other pollinators love Pluchea odorata. It is a species of flowering plant in the aster family. Common names include sweetscent, saltmarsh fleabane and shrubby camphorweed. It grows in North American and in parts of the Caribbean. It has a really sweet camphor type smell that I really enjoy.
“The leaves can be made into a hot tea. It’s a stimulant. It stimulates perspiration and is a diuretic. It is a safe and reliable menstrual stimulant when flow begins late, is scanty and there are clotty cramps. It is antispasmodic, thus relieving cramping. It similarly inhibits spasms and cramps from diarrhea and stomach ace. Used as an eyewash it reduces redness and pain from hay fever, wind and dust. Tea concentrate has been marketed as a coffee substitute. Unlike coffee which is a vasoconstrictor, sweetscent tea is a vasodilator. It is contraindicated for people who get migraines, during pregnancy and should be used in moderation.” (See Wikipedia )
Wingstem and Ironweed
The yellow flowers are Wingstem and the purple ones are Ironweed. The photo to the right is an example of how the yellow and purple together draws the eye of both people and pollinators.
The yellow flowers are wingstem and the purple flowers are Ironweed. We have quite a bit of ironweed on our property. It’s one of our favorites.
The Cherokee used ironweed for many medicinal uses and it’s still being used today by herbalists to relieve menstrual pain, after childbirth pain, for passing kidney stones, loose teeth, fever, chills, syphilis, gout, headaches, diabetes and more. Learn more about ironweed here.
Eupatorium Serotinum aka Late Thoroughwort
Eupatorium serotinum, also known as late boneset or late thoroughwort, is a fall-blooming herbaceous plant native to North America. It has a light, sweet scent that is very appealing. We have a bunch of this growing. It’s tall, over our heads in some spaces. As we stood in the midst of them, they really smelled delicious.
“Thoroughwort is one of the most popular domestic medicines in North America where it is used in the treatment of influenza, colds, acute bronchitis, mucous buildup and skin diseases. It has been shown to stimulate resistance to viral and bacterial infections, and reduces fevers by encouraging sweating. The plant, however, should be used with some caution since large doses are laxative and emetic and the plant might contain potentially liver-harming pyrrolizidine alkaloids.
“The leaves and flowering stems are antispasmodic, cholagogue (moves bile), diaphoretic, emetic, febrifuge, laxative, purgative, stimulant, vasodilator. A hot infusion of the dried leaves and flowers is used as a very effective treatment to bring relief to symptoms of the common cold and other similar feverishness – it loosens phlegm and promotes its removal through coughing.”
“This herb is practically unequalled in its effectiveness against colds. It is also used in the treatment of rheumatic illness, skin conditions and worms. The leaves and flowering stems are harvested in the summer before the buds open, and are dried for later use. A homeopathic remedy is made from the fresh plant, harvested when it first comes into flower. It is used in the treatment of illnesses such as flu and fever.” See NaturalMedicinalHerbs.net
Discovering these native wildflower treasures in our field has made me feel a lot better about having an unmanicured field. And the pollinators are loving the wildflowers so much more than sterile lawn.
