The true flower is the small green center. It is surrounded by 4 white, petal-like, 2 inch long bracts that are notched at the ends. These white bracts are commonly mistaken for the actual flowers.
Locations: Shiloh Greenway
Downy Beardtongue
Flowers are pink on the outside, white on the inside, and have 2 lips. The upper lip has 2 lobes and is shorter than the lower lip with 3 lobes.
Downy Goldenrod
Flowers in conical clusters at the top of stems.
Downy Lobelia
Purple tubular flowers often growing on one side of a spike. The upper lip has two lobes, the lower lip has three lobes and white markings.
Drummond’s St. John’s-wort
Yellow pinwheel-shaped flowers with needle-like leaves.
Dwarf St. John’s-wort
Flowers are in branching clusters at the end of the stem.
Early Goldenrod
Flowers are mostly on one side of the stem. The rays around the center disk are unevenly spaced and do not open at the same time. It is one of the earliest blooming goldenrods, beginning in July.
Eastern Gray Goldenrod
This goldenrod grows in clumps of unbranched stems, with the flower clusters on one side. The top of the flower cluster tends to bend.
Eastern Redbud
Clusters of pink to red or purple pea-shaped flowers blooming before the leaves. Flowers grow right on the stems of new and old branches.
Elderberry
Dense clusters of small white flowers.