I went out Saturday afternon with the idea that I would try something new, and find as many species as possible within a single afternoon. I started photographing at the Meadows in Lexington, and finished at Great Meadows in Concord. They're sorted by time, ranging from 15:35 to 19:17.
It was decidedly a learning experience. Most surprisingly, many of the identifications I'd made with confidence in the field were partly or entierly wrong. In the final count, I got a total of 58, with 40 of the common names guessed near-enough.
005 | ![]() | Chicory (Cichorum intybus) |
008 | ![]() | Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) I found one that was in flower later in the day; I wonder if I would have gotten another species by taking a closer look. |
010 | ![]() | Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) |
011 | ![]() | Common Cinquefoil (Potentilla simplex) |
012 | ![]() | Red Clover (Trifolium pratense) I thought it was "purple" but close enough. |
013 | ![]() | Night-flowering Catchfly (Silene noctiflora) I didn't count the styles, so I'm not sure of that one. I also guessed wrong. |
015 | ![]() | Common Ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia) |
016 | ![]() | Rabbit's foot clover (Trifolium artense) |
017 | ![]() | Common Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare) I missed the common name on this one; Bachelor's Buttons is something else entierly - perhaps I've had it wrong since childhood. |
018 | ![]() | Curled Dock (Rumex crispus) I didn't get the leaves in the picture, but I remembered them well enough. |
019 | ![]() | Purple Loosetrife (Lythrum salicaria) |
020 | ![]() | Water Hemlock (Cicuta maculata) |
026 | ![]() | Common Plantain (Plantago major) |
027 | ![]() | Yellow Wood-Sorrel (Oxalis europaea) This one's different from O. Stricta whose seed pods are at an angle with the stem; I should get both next time. |
028 | ![]() | Field Peppergrass (Lepidium virginicum) Next time, get the leaves too. |
030 | ![]() | Common St. Johnswort (Hypericum Perforatum) I had substituted "spotted" for "common"; the little dots on the petals are a field mark, but that's not its name. |
033 | ![]() | Deptford Pink (Dianthus armeria) Different from Marsh Pink, so another incorrect guess. |
034 | ![]() | False Foxglove (Gerardia ??) I'm not sure if I have enough to go on here, but I don't see what else grows that tall. I've tried to show both the leaf and the flower buds, since the whole thing is about 6' tall. |
037 | ![]() | Bouncing Bet (Saponaria officinalis) |
039 | ![]() | Common Mullein (Verbascum thapsus) |
040 | ![]() | Day-Lily (Hemerocallis fulva) |
041 | ![]() | Black Swallowwort (Cynanchum nigrum) I had given this up as unidentifyable, until stumbling across it while looking for something else in the field guide. I mean the paired shiny leaves and pods, not the other stuff it's tangled with. |
044 | ![]() | Celandine (Chelidonium majus) |
051 | ![]() | Lady's Thumb (Polygonum persicaria) |
052 | ![]() | Creeping Bell-flower (Campanula rapunculoides) |
054 | ![]() | Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica) |
055 | ![]() | Jewelweed (Impatiens capensis) |
058 | ![]() | Butter-and-Eggs (Linaria vulgaris) I later found one that was in flower, but didn't stop for it. |
059 | ![]() | Spurge (Euphorbia) (Lots of subspecies; I don't have enough to go on, here.) |
061 | ![]() | Tyrell Knapweed (Centaurea vochinensis) (I can't tell which knapweed is which without the book.) |
062 | ![]() | Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) There's more to confuse this with than I thought, so it would have been worth a closer look. |
065 | ![]() | Wild Carrot (Daucus carota) |
067 | ![]() | Horseweed (Erigeron canadensis) |
068 | ![]() | Early Goldenrod (Solidago juncea) I didn't realise there were so many varieties to choose from, but the stuff in the leaf axils is distinctive. |
071 | ![]() | Blue Toadflax (Linaria canadensis) |
074 | ![]() | Common Evening Primrose (Oenothera biennis) |
075 | ![]() | Aster (Aster ??) Oops! Not nearly enough to identify this one. |
077 | ![]() | Black Knapweed (Centaurea nigra) |
079 | ![]() | Red Campion (Lychnis dioica) I forgot to count the styles, but I think this is right. |
080 | ![]() | Common Buttercup (Ranunculus acris) |
082 | ![]() | Meadowsweet (Spirea latifolia) (New to me, but the name's familiar so maybe I just forgot.) |
086 | ![]() | Garlic Mustard (Alliaria officinalis) |
087 | ![]() | Spiny-Leaved Sow-Thistle (Sonchus asper) I didn't correctly name the subspecies. |
090 | ![]() | Burdock (Arctium ??) I should remember that I need to look for stem grooves to distinguish species. |
091 | ![]() | Creeping Charlie (Glechoma hederacea) I knew this one by smell and habit, but I could only find it in Peterson's by latin name, once I had that. Remembering that strong smelling things are often mint-family, would have helped. |
092 | ![]() | Birdfoot Trefoil (Lotus corniculatus) |
094 | ![]() | Swamp Rose (Rosa palustris) |
095 | ![]() | Panicled Tick-Trefoil (Desmodium paniculatum) I missed the id on this one, but I might have had a better chance later in the year, when the distinctive clingy seed pods are everywhere. |
097 | ![]() | White Clover (Trifolium repens) |
099 | ![]() | Narrow-leaved Vervain (Verbena simplex) |
103 | ![]() | Fragrant Water-Lily (Nymphaea odorata) Not American Lotus, which is yellow, and which I know I've looked up before. (In the background.) |
108 | ![]() | Hedge Bindweed (Convolvulus sepium) I guessed Jimsonweed, which has toothed leaves. |
110 | ![]() | Common Cattail (Typhia latifolia) |
112 | ![]() | Bur-Cucumber (Sicyos angulatus) Without flowers or fruit to go on, I could be convinced otherwise... I thought it was Wild Cucumber before getting the book out. |
114 | ![]() | Tall Meadow Rue (Thalictrum polygamum) |
115 | ![]() | Asiatic Dayflower(Commelina communis) I didn't stop for the ones I saw early on, then had trouble finding another patch, because it was gloomy enough for them all to be closed. |
117 | ![]() | White Avens (Geum canadense) One I've looked up before, but didn't remember. |
119 | ![]() | Rough-fruited Cinquefoil (Potentilla recta) I knew it was a cinquefoil, but was wrong about which one. |