June 17 tap images for gallery view

 

I'm a savannah sparrow, Passerculus sandwichensis. The photog has been trying to capture my image since I arrived back at the end of April. Well, I let him, yesterday.

 

 

I go by foxtail barley, Hordeum jubatum.
People, especially farmers, get fussed about me. It's the pointy seeds that stick into everything.
They needn't worry though. Next year I'll be two thirds as tall. The year after the same. In four or five years I'll have moved on.

 

 

They call me gumweed, Grindelia squarrosa.
As you can see I'll grow just about anywhere, including the middle of your driveway. That gum part comes from the sticky flowers just before they open.

 

 

Yep, you guessed it. I'm big bluestem, Andropogon gerardii. Like Indian grass, I'm why it's called tallgrass prairie. Up here in the north I reach six feet tall in warm summers. Further south I grow as high as eight feet.
At this stage I look identical to the other grass. A little later and my blades are edged with maroon. I've already got a couple of seed stems on the way.

 

 

Indian grass, Sorghastrum nutans, here.
At this stage I look identical to big bluestem. We're two of the grasses that give tallgrass prairie its name. Up here in Manitoba, during warm summers, we grow to about six feet tall.
You can't tell the difference between us at this stage. A little further along and my blades are brown on the edge. Those dark green stems have nothing to do with me; that's Baltic rush.

 

 

I'm a shield bug, Euschistus servus. Many people prefer to call me a stink bug. That's because I give off an ... ah ... unpleasant odour if you squish me. While I look like a predator, I eat plants. I also inject chemicals into them that disrupts their growth. That's why farmers despise me.
And we're a vector for many plant diseases that get transmitted when we use our piercing mouth parts to feed on the plants.

 

June 18 tap images for gallery view

 

I'm a leaf from cut-leaf Coneflower, Rudbeckia laciniata. Some people call me tall coneflower.
While my leaves are distinctive, some people think I'm Common Ragweed, Ambrosia artemisiifolia.
My flowers are way different. They look sort of like black-eyed susan, just not as dark in the middle.

 

 

Common milkweed, Asclepias syriaca L., over here. I'm a favourite of monarchs but you already know that.

 

 

Okay. Bring on the pollinators. Bumblebees and long-horned bees are my favourites. They're better at the cross-pollinating that I require. Oh, yeah. I'm blue flag iris, Iris versicolor.

 

 

I'm easily overlooked because I'm part of the under story. Yes, grasslands have under stories, too. Anyway, I'm called scratch grass, Muhlenbergia asperifolia. No idea why; I won't make you itchy.
Later in the summer, after I grow up (to about 8 inches) I will set seed, of course. If I'm in a patch (which I like) it will look like a low-lying fog has descended on me.

 

June 19 tap images for gallery view

 

Hello and good day to you. I'm a meadowrue. Possibly this one, tall meadow rue, Thalictrum pubescens.
My bottom leaves are slightly yellow because I was transplanted this year. Tricky business that. It takes us a while to bounce back when we've been moved. But you can see I'm sending up more leaves.

 

 

Virginia Ctenucha moth, Ctenucha virginica again.
I can hold onto glass (in a bit of a wind no less).
You should try it; it's fun. ☺
Well ... good luck with that.

 

 

Black-eyed susan, Rudbeckia hirta, "C'mon".
Truck drivers see me all over North America because I really like growing in highway ditches.
This is my second year in this spot. I was planted last year. I'll stick around for a couple more.

 

 

Up here in Canada I'm called False Dandelion, Hypochoeris radicata. Elsewhere people call me spotted catsear. The dandelion part is because my flower sort of resembles that of the "true" dandelion. Nothing else about me even hints at the other forb.
Prior to setting seed I was in flower for a day and half. Pollinators like me, a lot.

 

 

Gallardia, Gaillardia aristata, again. Can't help myself. I feel so perky. Bring on the bugs, er, bees and hoverflies.

 

June 20 tap images for gallery view

 

I go by alumroot, Heuchera richardsonii.
I have odd flowers which only tiny bees can get into. We forbs do that sometimes; you know, special relationships with certain insects.

 

 

Some people call me yellow coneflower, Ratibida columnifera. Others call me prairie coneflower.
I'm a short-lived perennial which means I move around every few years.
The guy with the camera has (if I may say so) some stunning photos of me in flower, so be sure to check out my page.

 

 

Gray goldenrod, Solidago nemoralis Aiton, here. Unless you're from southern Manitoba where they call me showy goldenrod.
I don't mess with other plants and usually grow one here, one there. My flower spikes have a distinct kink in them (when we get to that stage).

 

 

Good morning. I used to be called upland aster. That's until taxonomists realized I'm actually a goldenrod. So they renamed me: upland white goldenrod, Solidago ptarmicoides. Notice the white in my name? Yep, I have white, aster-like flowers. Go figure.

 

 

Hey. What are you looking at?
Birds do it.
Bees do it.
Well, crane flies do it, too.