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Alfalfa
(pea family): introduced from Europe as a forage plant; perennial.
Flower: Ovate
cluster up to 5 cm long, blue-violet or purplish; up to 1 cm long; 5
united sepals, 5 united petals; short spikes, May to October.
Leaves:
Clover-like, alternate, compound, composed of 3 oval hairy leaflets;
terminal leaf is stalked; lateral leaves are stalkless.
Stem: Green
Seed: Seed pods
are shaped like coiled spirals in August-September.
Height: up to 1 m.
Habitat: Fields
and roadsides adjacent to fields.
Other: Alfalfa - a
friend of the farmer. Alfalfa is used as a high quality component of
forage mixtures for cattle. Alfalfa is also important for soil
enrichment, soil water holding capacity improvement, mulch, and
extraction of deep minerals and nitrogen. Alfalfa takes the nitrogen
from the air and adds it to the soil. This helps improve the soil and
allows the plant to grow in poor soil. The plant has deep tap root
that may penetrate up to 30 m below the surface. Alfalfa is even used
by humans for nutritional tablets and alfalfa sprouts! Alfalfa is a
very nutritious food. Its calcium, carotene, chlorophyll, and vitamin
K content make alfalfa an important nutritional supplement.
Location: Burwash
Date: July 12, 2003
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Detail of alfalfa flower.
Location: Burwash
Date: July 12, 2003.
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Red clover;
introduced from Europe.
Flower: Purple-red
or magenta, dense globe-shaped flower clusters; tubular,
sweet-smelling, ~up to 2 cm across, May - September.
Leaves: Alternate,
compound, with 3 leaflets, each 2 - 5 cm long; leaflets display a
pale-coloured inverted "V-shaped" pattern on the upper surface.
Stem: Green,
hairy, with nodes.
Height: up to 50 cm.
Habitat: Open
fields and grassy waste areas.
Interest: Only
bumble-bees and butterflies have the mouth parts equipped to reach
down into the individual flowers to reach the nectar. The word
clover comes from the Anglo-Saxon word for club - cloefer.
This refers to the three-knotted club that belonged to Hercules. The
design for the club suit in a deck of playing cards is taken from the
clover leaf.
Language of
Flowers: Means "industry" or "Dedication". The
four-leaf clover means "Good luck".
Location: Burwash
Date: July 26, 2009
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White
clover; also known as alsike clover, Dutch clover, wild white
clover; perennial introduced from Europe and Asia.
Flower: White to
pinkish white; occur in terminal clusters 15 - 20 mm across; each
globe-shaped cluster contains up to 40 individual flowers, up to 10
mm long.
Leaves: Alternate,
compound, with 3 leaflets, each 2 - 5 cm long; 1-3 cm long; often
have an inverted "V" shape on the upper surface.
Stem: Green,
hairy, with nodes; plant often roots at the nodes; up to 50 cm long.
Height: up to 50 cm.
Habitat: Open
fields, grassy waste areas, and ditches.
Interest: Like
other members of the legume family, white clover fixes nitrogen from
the air into the atmosphere to improve poor soil. The plant has a
shallow root system and does not tolerate drought.
Location: Trout
Lake road
Date: June 22, 2002.
Language of
Flowers: Means "industry" or "Dedication". The
four-leaf clover means "Good luck".
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Common
or tall buttercup; perennial, hairy plant; Alien.
Family: Buttercup (Ranunculaceae)
Flower: Yellow; 5
glossy petals; petals overlap; 2.5 cm wide; 5 green sepals; May-September.
Leaves: Basal
leaves are long stalked and deeply cut into 5 to 7 segments with
pointed tips, 3-10 cm wide; stem leaves are alternate, short-stalked. See
following photo.
Stem: Hairy,
erect, branched, hollow.
Height: up to 0.8 m.
Habitat: Open
fields or meadows that are moist.
Interest and
folklore: This is a plant introduced from Europe. It is an old custom
to hold the cup-like buttercup flower under a friend's chin. If you
see the yellow colour reflected on their skin, then they are supposed
to like butter.
Language of
Flowers: Means "childishness", or "riches", or
"memories of childhood", or "ingratitude". Source
Location: Burwash
Date: June 22, 2002
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Seed pod of tall
or common buttercup.
Location: Burwash
Date: July 7, 2002
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Tall buttercup leaves.
Location: Indian
Mountain Road, Manitoulin Island
Date: May 23, 2010
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Meadow of tall or
common buttercup growing in a moist ditch.
Location: Indian
Mountain Road, Manitoulin Island
Date: May 23, 2010
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Meadow of tall or
common buttercup, Burwash, Ontario.
Location: Burwash
Date: June 22, 2002.
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Common
St. Johnswort; also known as Klamath Weed; introduced from Europe; perennial.
Flower: Yellow; 5
petals; 0.5 cm; bushy stamens; black dots on margins of some petals;
occur in one terminal cluster; June to September.
Leaves: Paired,
oval or elliptical, up to 5 cm long; see-through dots on leaves.
Stem: Erect,
branching at the top; has two raised ridges running up its length.
Height: up to 75 cm.
Habitat:
Roadsides, pastures, old fields.
Other: The whole
plant may have an incense-like scent.
Interest: This
plant is named in honour of Saint John the Baptist. In pre-Christian
times, sprays of St. Johnswort were suspended over ikons to drive
away evil spirits. When crushed, a red pigment stains the flower
petals and the fingers red. The plant appears to bleed. This is
said to be the blood of Saint John. The leaves have many small, clear
dots. According to another legend, these are spots where the devil
pricked the plant with a needle. The plant resisted and from then on,
the devil feared this plant. Therefore, people believed that this
plant would protect them from the devil. The plant also contains
hypericin, a photosensitizing compound, that can result in light
sensitive skin if consumed in high dosage.
Language of
Flowers: Means "superstition", "animosity", and
"you are a prophet". Source |
Location:
Killarney Highway 637
Date: July 6, 2003.
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Common St.
Johnswort flower detail. Note the black dots on margins of some petals.
Location: Burwash
Date: July 26, 2009
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Cow
vetch; also known as tufted vetch; introduced from Eurasia.
Flower:
Bluish-purple, pea-like, 1.5 cm long; one-sided clusters of many
flowers on spikes that bend downward; May-August.
Leaves: Alternate,
thin, nearly stalkless, thin, 5-10 pairs of leaflets and a branched
tread-like twisting tendril at tip; leaflets about 2.5 cm long.
Fruit: Pods,
brownish, lance-shaped, flattened; 2-3 cm long, 5-7 mm wide.
Height: 60- 120 cm.
Habitat: Fields,
fence lines, road sides.
Interest: Member
of the pea family. Its flowers look like pea and bean flowers. It
produces pods and grows like a bean or pea plant. When a vetch
tendril comes in contact with another plant, the tendril curls around
the other plant for support as it continues to grow upward and
outward. Bees love the sweet nectar of cow vetch.
Language of
Flowers: Vetch means "I cling to thee". Source
Location: Burwash
Date: July 26, 2009
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Cow vetch plant
with several flower heads.
Location: Burwash
Date: July 1, 2005
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Cow vetch plant
seed pods.
Location: Burwash
Date: August 15, 2010
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Language of
Flowers: Daisy means "innocence" (given its simplicity and
whiteness), "preference", or "beauty and
innocence". Ox-eye daisy means "a token". In the
Middle Ages, the knight who wore two daisies on his shield was the
"Lady's" choice. If a Lady wore a crown of daisies, it
meant that she had not chosen her suitor. |
Daisy,
ox-eye, also known as white daisy, white weed, field daisy, and dog
daisy; introduced from Europe; perennial.
Flower: Solitary
heads; white ray florets and yellow disc florets in centre; 2-5 cm
wide; at ends of stems; 15-35 ray florets that are 10 - 20 mm long; June-August.
Stem: Flowering
stems; numerous branching stems raising from the base, leafy.
Leaves: First-year
plants produce a basal rosette of leaves; Second-year plants produce
stem and flowers; stem leaves are alternate, smooth, glossy, toothed
or lobed and partly clasp the stem; stalked basal leaves are 4-15 cm
long and 5 cm wide.
Height: 30-100 cm.
Habitat: Waste
areas, roadsides, meadows, fields, virtually any sunny dry area.
General Interest:
The word daisy comes from two Anglo-Saxon words: daeges and eage,
which mean "day's eye". When the daisy flowers open, the
white ray flowers uncover and surround the yellow disk flowers at the
centre. The yellow tube flowers resemble the Sun, so the flower is
considered to be the "eye" of the day.
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Elecampane;
also known as Elfdock, Elfwort, Horse-elder, Horseheal, Scabwort,
Starwort, Velvet-dock, Wild sunflower, Yellow starwort; introduced
from Europe.
Family: Aster (Asteraceae)
Flower: Yellow;
5-10 cm wide; sunflower-like flowers with long, narrow, straggly ray
flowers surrounding a darker central disk; July-September. See
next photo.
Leaves: Large,
rough, toothed, stem leaves stalkless and clasp stem; basal leaves up
to 50 cm long on long stalks; hairy above and downy beneath; pointed;
upper leaves are stalkless.
Stem: Hairy, tall, erect.
Height: 60-180 cm.
Habitat: Fields,
road sides, but prefers shady areas.
Interest 1:
Introduced from Europe, but thought to be of Asian origin. According
to legend, the plant is Helen of Troy's plant which sprang up from
her tears when she was abducted by Paris.
Interest 2: The
name Elecampane comes from the Latin word campus,
meaning field.
Interest 3: The
root contains a gum that was used in England as an ingredient in confectionery.
Location:
Manitoulin Island
July 29, 2009.
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Elecampane
flower. Language of Flowers: Means "tears". Source
For more insight,
check out Wikipedia
and Botanical.com
Location:
Manitoulin Island
Date: July 29, 2009
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Leafy
Spurge; also known as Spurge, wolf's milk, and wolf's-milk.
Family: Spurge (Euphorbiaceae)
Flower:
Yellow-green in umbrella at top of plant; petal-like bracts surround
flowers; March-September. See
following photo.
Leaves:
Lance-shaped; 2-7 cm long; whorled just below flower.
Stem: Somewhat
woody, smooth.
Height: up to 1 m;
20-40 cm in spring when first flowering.
Other: All parts
of the plant contain a white milky sap, or latex, that may irritate
human skin and livestock. First reported in Ontario in 1889. Spurge
is a common garden "escapee" from the old Burwash town
site. Leafy Spurge was introduced into North America from
Eurasia in the early 1800's.
Poison
information
Location: Burwash
Date: May 13, 2007
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Leafy Spurge flower.
Location: Burwash
Date: May 13, 2007
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Location: Burwash
Date: July 24, 2001 |
Mallow
Flower: Pink or
white; 5 petals; July-September
Height: 1 m.
Other:This
particular photograph may be of a domestic plant that has escaped
into the meadow. It was photographed in the area of an old
settlement. See following photo of the plant.
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Location: Burwash
Date: Summer 2000
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Mallow plant.
Language of
Flowers: Means "good and kind", "sweetness", and
"mildness". Source
Location: Burwash
Date: Summer 2000
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Orange
hawkweed; perennial; also known as Devil's Paintbrush, Orange
paintbrush, Red daisy, King devil.
Flower: Orange
flower heads in a compact, flat-topped cluster, each head up to 2.5
cm across; 5-25 flower heads; composed of ray florets; bracts are
covered with black bristly hairs; June to September.
Leaves: Basal as
rosette leaves; club-shaped, 5-15 cm long, 1-3.5 cm wide; upper and
lower leaf surfaces covered by hairs; smooth leaf margins.
Stem: Hairy; 20 -
70 cm tall; covered with black hairs; stem exudes milky juice when broken.
Height: up to 50 cm.
Habitat: Vacant
lots, fields, roadsides, old dry meadows.
Interest: At one
time, it was believed that the hawkweeds improved peoples' eyesight.
Hawks, whose survival depended on good eyesight, are said to have
visited the hawkweeds to drink their juice to strengthen their
eyesight. Because these plant are hard to remove once established,
farmers called them Devil's Paintbrush or Devil's Weed.
Location: Burwash
Date: June 9, 2001.
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Language of
Flowers: Means "quicksightness". Source |
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Location: Burwash
Date: June 23, 2002
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Orange hawkweed
wildflower meadow.
Location: Burwash
Date: June 23, 2002
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Garden
phlox or Fall phlox
Flower: Blue to
lavender; pyramidal ; 5 petals that are trumpet-shaped ; July-October.
Stem: Smooth, erect.
Leaves: Opposite,
7-12 cm; ovate; distinct veins.
Height: 0.5 - 1.5 m
Other: Often
indicates proximity to old houses. This flower likely has escaped
from a former domestic garden.
Garden phlox is
native to parts of northeastern US and southern Canada. It appears on
this page because as many as 50 cultivars have been created for the
retail trade. These cultivars are human-induced and clearly are not native.
Location: Burwash
Date: September
24, 2000.
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Garden phlox
flower detail. This cluster of plants escaped from a pre-existing
garden that had been established when the Burwash community was in place.
Location: Burwash
Date: September
24, 2000.
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Salsify
Plant; alien biennial native to Mediterranean; Also known as s
Purple or common salsify, Oyster plant, Vegetable oyster, Jerusalem
star, Goatsbeard, and Salsify.
Family: Aster (Asteraceae
or Compositae)
Flower: Purple ray
flowers; flower head is up to 5 cm across; green bracts that are
longer than the ray flowers; single flower on the stem; ray flowers
are surrounded by 8 or 9 green bracts; May to September.
Leaves: Rosette
and stem leaves are grasslike with parallel veins; release a milky
sap when broken; 15–50 cm long; leaf base is broad and clasps
stem; stem leaves are alternate.
Stem: Unbranched
generally; exudes a milky sap from the stems.
Height: Up to 120 cm.
Habitat: Waste
areas, meadows and fields.
Other: The genus
name is derived from two Greek words that, combined, mean "goat's
beard"?a reference to the long, light hairs on its seeds; plant
is hermaphroditic (has reproductive organs of both male and female
sexes); plant is hardy to Zone 5 and thus is likely not to occur
north of Manitoulin Island; the root is said to taste like an oyster;
hence the alternative familiar name of oyster plant.
More
information - Weed Gallery, University of California |
Location: Highway
6 ditch, south of Sheguiandah, Manitoulin Island.
Date: May 23, 2010.
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Stitchwort,
lesser
Flower: White,
deep cleft makes single petals appear like 2; May-October.
Leaves: Narrow
leaves; opposite.
Stem: Flower at
top of stem; stem is weak and the plant does best where supported by
other sturdy meadow grasses and wildflowers.
Height: 20-50 cm.
Habitat: Meadows,
fields, fence lines.
Other: Tends to
sprawl throughout grasses; very weak stem breaks easily.
Location: Burwash
Date: June 22, 2002.
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Mass of Lesser
Stitchwort in a meadow.
Location: Burwash
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Yellow
goatsbeard, also known as Go-to-bed-at-noon, Joseph's flower,
Noonflower, Noontide, Western Salsify and Yellow Salsify; introduced
from Europe;
Flower: Single
yellow flower; 2.5 - 6 cm across; all ray flowers surrounded at base
by 10-14 long, pointed green bracts that are longer than the
ray-flowers; June - August.
Leaves: Grass-like
leaf blades; alternate, up to 30 cm long; clasp stem.
Stem: Hollow just
below flower heads; smooth; contains a milky juice.
Height: 30-90 cm.
Habitat: Common
along roadsides, vacant lots, and edges of fields.
Interest: Yellow
Goatsbeard, a member of the Sunflower family, is an early morning
wildflower. The yellow flowers open in morning, but usually close by
noon or on a cloudy day. The flower head follows the Sun. When the
seeds have formed, the floral head becomes a large
"blowball", formed of silky "sails" that carry
the seeds away. Some people think the seeds resemble goat's beard;
hence, the name Goatsbeard.
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Yellow goatsbeard
gone to seed.
Location: Burwash
Date: June 26, 2010
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Yellow goatsbeard flower.
Location: Burwash
Date: September
14, 2003
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Yellow
hawkweed: also known as King Devil, Field Hawkweed; perennial
Family: Aster (Asteraceae)
Flower: Yellow
flower heads in a compact, flat-topped cluster, each head ~1 cm
across, June to September.
See following photo.
Leaves: Rosette
leaves; upper and lower leaf surfaces covered by hairs.
Stem: Hairy
Height: up to 50 cm.
Habitat: Fields,
roadsides, and vacant lots. Hawkweed spreads by stolons and rhizomes
creating colonies that form patches.
Interest: At one
time, it was believed that the hawkweeds improved peoples' eyesight.
Hawks, whose survival depended on good eyesight, are said to have
visited the hawkweeds to drink their juice to strengthen their
eyesight. Because these plant are hard to remove once established,
farmers called them Devil's Paintbrush or Devil's Weed.
Language of
Flowers: Means "quicksightness". Source
Location: Burwash
Date: June 9, 2001
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Yellow hawkweed
wildflower meadow, with ox-eye daisy and orange
hawkweed.
Location:
Killarney Highway
Date: June 9, 2001.
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Yellow hawkweed
flower head.
Location: Burwash
Date: June 9, 2001.
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