Wildflower Wednesday: Anglepod

 For years I thought the name of this plant was angelpod!  

 

Although angelpod is not its name, I think you'll agree with me that our Wildflower wednesday star,  Gonolobus suberosus, is a cool plant. 

It's called anglepod because it's milkweed like fruiting body has sharp angled edges. Gonolobus suberosus is it's botanical name but it has many common names: anglepod milkvine, anglepod milkweed or angular-fruit milkvine. It has leaves that are heart shaped  and opposite. The stems, petioles and leaf veins may show purplish shading that fades as the plant ages. The greenish-yellow star shaped flowers occur in a cluster near the top of the plant.  It is naturally occurring throughout the southeastern U.S. from Texas to southeastern Kansas to southern Illinois and Indiana to Maryland and southward to Florida. It's a perennial herbaceous vine that prefers habitats like borders, thickets, and open areas within forests. It's native to middle Tennessee and I am not sure how it got in to my garden, but I am glad it's here and gladly accept the gift.

I discovered it while checking out pollinator visitors on the ever expanding mountain mint. I almost walked into the vine that was draped across the path where it was climbing from a Frostweed plant onto the Smokebush, its tendrils were wrapped tightly around the shrub as it climbed to the top of the tree.

The characteristic five sided milkweed-like fruiting body was the first thing I saw. Then I noticed the 5 petaled starfish shaped flowers. They're small and typically greenish-purple or yellow. The petals surround a five-sided central disk with a yellow nectary that offers a sweet treat for pollinators.

 If you look closely at the above photo you may even see a blurry fly nectaring on the flower. Flies are the primary pollinator for this native plant. I read that the flowers have a slight carrion smell that attracts flies, but, I didn't notice any scent when I was snapping photos. 

Finding anglepod in my garden was exciting...I love discovering wildflowers that seem to just appear and its appearance following a very wet spring makes me wonder if the two are connected. Perhaps the seed was in the seedbank and the wet spring allowed it to germinate. On the other hand it might have been here all along and I finally noticed it. 

This quote from my friend Joanna Brichetto  explains why I am thrilled to have it in my garden.

"Anglepod is one of the three "secret" milkweeds in Nashville: volunteer vines that no one sells but that shows up anyway. People may not notice another weedy vine with heart shaped leaves, but Monarch butterflies do."  It's a "host plant for Monarch and other specialists who only use milkweed leaves and seeds for food."

the 5 sided central disk surrounded by the nectary

Ecological value

• Larval host plant: is a host plant for some milkweed-associated insects.   
• Food source: Although not a preferred host, it can still provide food for Monarch caterpillars.  
• Shelter: The dense foliage of the vine can offer shelter for small animals.  
• Pollination: Its flowers attract insects for pollination

 

 The Particulars

 Botanical name: Gonolobus suberosus

 Common Name(s): Anglepod Anglepod Milkvine Angularfruit Milkvine 

Family: Apocynaceae 

Life Cycle: Perennial

Light: Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day) Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)

Water: Medium 

Maintenance: Needs a structure to climb-a tree, a shrub or a screen

USDA Plant Hardiness Zone: 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b, 10a

 

Height: 6.00 to 10.00 feet 

 

Spread: 3.00 to 6.00 feet

 

Bloom Time: June to August

 

Bloom Description: Showy Yellowish-Green with purple center s on some

 

Fruit: Pods, about 4″ long and 1½” wide, are five-sided with two wide sides and three narrow sides, each separated by a pronounced angular ridge, hence its common name.  Dry pods split along the middle of the inner narrow side. (source)

 

Propagation: Seed, wind dispersed like other milkweeds

 

Wildlife Value: Larval host for monarch and queen butterflies and other critters that specialize on feeding on milkweed 

 

Comments:  Potential medicinal uses: Some people use the plant for its potential medicinal properties. Found in rich woods, streambanks, and shaded thickets—often scrambling through shrubs or low tree branches. Ideal for native shade gardens, woodland borders, or educational plantings focused on native milkweed relatives. Contains latex-handle with care.

(source) 

 

There are two varieties of Gonolobus suberosus in the southeastern USA. For this post I am using the general descriptions of Gonolobus suberosus. There is overlap and  some discussion about the differences. Go here for a science journal article.

These are:

• Gonolobus suberosus var. granulatus - West of the Appalachian Mountains
• Gonolobus suberosus var. suberosus - Primarily of the Appalachian Mountains and eastward 

 

Welcome to Clay and Limestone and Wildflower Wednesday. This day is about sharing wildflowers and other native plants no matter where one gardens~the UK, tropical Florida, Europe, Australia, Africa, South America, India or the coldest reaches of Canada. It doesn't matter if we sometimes share the same plants, how they grow and thrive in your garden is what matters most. Sharing native wildflowers on social media is one of the best ways to educate others of their value to wildlife and the ecosystem. Please share your wildflowers with others through your writing or your photos.

 

xoxogail 

 

 Gail Eichelberger is a gardener, Tennessee Naturalist and nature writer in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone. She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.

Wildflower Wednesday: Asclepias syriaca

I am super excited to share Common milkweed with you today for Wildflower Wednesday. Three years ago I planted one small plant and now I have well over a three dozen plants and most bloomed. That's both wonderfully exciting and terrifying. Now, if only a Monarch butterfly would lay eggs and cats would start consuming the leaves!

Bumbles and other bees love the nectar and pollen rich flowers

It's an interesting looking plant with gorgeous flowers that smell delicious. It typically grows 3-4' tall on stout, upright stems with thick, broad-oblong, reddish-veined, light green leaves (to 8" long), although, in ideal conditions it can grow to be 6 foot tall.

they bloom over a long bloom period from late spring well into summer.

The flowers or umbels are lightly drooping clusters of fragrant, pinkish -purple flowers that appear mostly in the upper leaf axils. The flowers are nectar and pollen rich and attract a variety of critters. Stems and leaves exude a milky sap when cut or bruised....thus the name milkweed.

Source

The seed pods develop after fertilization into warty seed pods (2-4" long) which split open when ripe. Once the floss/coma has plumped up the soft and beautiful silky-tailed seeds are ready to parachute away on the wind.

Botanists call this wind dispersal, but, for me it's pure magic. It's a trip to my childhood; where the dried pods were small boats and the feathery comas were soft fluffy pillows for fairies to rest as they floated in the puddles.

The seeds are cool (and fun to try to photograph) as they blow about, pausing for a brief moment before the wind catches them and they are gone. Traveling on the wind a few feet or a few miles, they will drop from the sky onto a spot of soil and wait the winter out. Technically that waiting period is called vernalization. Milkweed seeds need cold weather in order to germinate. Come spring, the seed will grow and any of the silk/coma that's left in the garden will be gathered by hummingbirds and warblers for their nests.

Total magic or nature at its clever best. You decide.

balls of pink fragrant blooms

It's a colonizer and when you plant one you can be guaranteed that there will be dozens before you know it. Trust me on this and plant it were you don't mind it taking off or be prepared to dig them up when young (taprooted so transplant when young) to share with others. Yes, it's aggressive, but, planting milkweed is important to Monarch butterfly. Besides, you do need this fragrance in your garden.

The preference is full sun, rich loamy soil, and mesic conditions, but this robust plant can tolerate  many different growing situations...even some shade. It can be found in a variety of habitats including croplands, pastures, roadsides, ditches and old fields. It's native from southern Canada and the eastern USA west to the great plains.

Nature's mega food market for insects

 "Common milkweed is Nature's mega food market for insects. Over 450 insects are known to feed on some portion of the plant. Numerous insects are attracted to the nectar-laden flowers and it is not at all uncommon to see flies, beetles, ants, bees, wasps, and butterflies on the flowers at the same time. Occasionally hummingbirds will try, unsuccessfully, to extract nectar. Its sap, leaves and flowers also provide food. In the northeast and midwest, it is among the most important food plants for monarch caterpillars (Danaus plexippus). Other common feeders are the colorful (red with black dots) red milkweed beetle (Tetraopes tetraophthalmus), the milkweed tussock caterpillar (Euchaetes egle) and the large (Oncopeltus fasciatus) and the small (Lygaeus kalmia) red and black milkweed bugs. The latter two are particularly destructive as both the adults and nymphs are seed predators. They can destroy 80 to 90 percent of a colony's seed crop. The red (or orange-red) and black coloration of most of these insects is known as aposematic coloration; that is, the colors advertise the fact that the organism is not good to eat." Source


Native Americans used this species as a source of fibers and during the Second World War children in the northern states were encouraged to collect the seed pods that were processed for the coma, or floss, which was used for floatation in life vests. Today the coma is harvested for use in pillows and comforters.

 Asclepia syriaca is one of my favorite rough and tumble native wildflowers. Rough and tumble wildflowers are beautiful and charming plants that are usually found growing in meadows, prairies and roadside ditches. The beautiful thing about them is that they haven't had their best characteristics bred out of them. There are no cultivars or hybrids~That means they have not been crossed or genetically altered by human hand to be shorter, more floriferous, double flowered, disease resistant, sterile or what ever else is the going fad. I am pretty sure you can't improve on what nature has already done~creating plants that dance beautifully and gracefully with their pollinator and wildlife partners.

That definition fits common milkweed perfectly. It has a beautiful relationship dance with pollinators and an especially important one with Monarch butterflies. Monarchs cannot survive without milkweed; their caterpillars only eat milkweed plants (Asclepias spp.), and Monarch butterflies need milkweed to lay their eggs.

Planting milkweed is one of the easiest ways that each of us can make a difference for them. There are several dozen species of this wildflower native to North America, so no matter where you live, there is at least one milkweed species naturally found in your area. Planting local milkweed species is always best and common milkweed is native where I live.

In case you wondered if you're gardening on the Monarch Migration Trail the following maps will help. Btw, Middle Tennessee, where I garden, is not on the migration trail, but, I planted common milkweed for all the visiting pollinators.

Happy Wildflower Wednesday my friends.
xoxogail

Moving north

Heading south

The particulars:

Asclepias syriaca
Common Name: common milkweed
Family: Apocynaceae
Type: Herbaceous perennial
Native Range: Eastern North America
Zone: 3 to 9
Height: 2.00 to 3.00 feet Spread: 0.75 to 1.00 feet
Bloom Time: June to August
Bloom Description: Pink, mauve, white
Sun: Full sun/light shade
Water: Dry to medium
Maintenance: Low
Suggested Use: Naturalize, meadow, field
Flower: Showy, Fragrant
Wildlife value: High. Attracts: Butterflies, bees, flies, ants, beetles...
Fruit: Showy
Comments: Can spread somewhat rapidly by rhizomes. Often forms extensive colonies in the wild. Tolerate: Deer, Drought, Erosion, Dry Soil, Shallow-Rocky Soil

Welcome to Clay and Limestone's Wildflower Wednesday celebration. WW is about sharing and celebrating wildflowers from all over this great big, beautiful world. Join us on the fourth Wednesday of each month. Remember, it doesn't matter if they are in bloom or not; and, it doesn't matter if we all share the same plants. It's all about celebrating wildflowers. Please leave a comment when you add your url to Mr Linky.

 Gail Eichelberger is a gardener and therapist in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone. She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.

Wildflower Wednesday: The Siren Call of a Wildflower

My favorite garden catalogs arrived this month and just like that I am head over heels in want of a plant that could be wrong for this garden!

with pedulous umbels that are similar to allium (source 

Meet Asclepias exaltata! A Monarch butterfly host plant that grows in shade. I'm not kidding, Asclepias exaltata is one of the most shade tolerant of its genus. That's exciting news for those of us that have more shade than sun in our gardens and want to grow host plants for the Monarch butterfly.

But, there's a but, Asclepias exaltata is a moisture loving plant! Where I garden the soils are generally dryer (summer), heavier and more neutral than where poke milkweed is naturally found. Is this enough of an issue to make me turn a deaf ear to the siren call of this beautiful wildflower?

I don't know, so I'm going to research Poke milkweed before I sail away!

R W Smith photographer

 A. exaltata is a tall and elegant looking flowering plant that can be found in woodland areas across the eastern portion of the United States and Canada. It has a sweet fragrance in bloom and the weeping downward pinkish flowers have been described as reminiscent of an exploded firework.  I like the exploded firework image, but, for the more botanically inclined:  "Umbels weep down with each flower on a long pedicel with 10+/- flowers per umbel. Color is white with lavender to green tinges. Stems of the umbels are a purplish color. Horns protrude through the hoods. Corolla reflexes backward. Corolla, hoods, and horns are a light pink color. " (Monarch Watch source)

The unique flowers give way to beautiful elongated seed pods in late summer. Poke milkweed is taller than its relatives and is less likely to take over your entire garden like Asclepias syriaca/common milkweed.  Once established its deep taproot will make it nearly impossible to transplant successfully, so it’s best planted where it will be happy, and left undisturbed.

The photos below are from the Minnesota Wildflower website.

Look at that plant in the shade

The plant gets its common name from it's large leaves which superficially resemble Pokeweed (Phytolacca americana).

Provides a Monarch larval food source in the shade!

All sources mentioned that it grows best in moist soil and several suggest that it's happiest in moist soils along with cooler temperatures. All of the sources say it flowers nicely in dappled sun and some, say it will flower in full shade. One grower suggests keeping it out of the direct sun or the leaves will yellow. Illinois Wildflowers says the plants must be protected from prevailing winds and grown in rich loamy moist soil with good drainage.

All agree that it has a strikingly sweet fragrance when in bloom and the seed pods are cool. Several gardeners said that bunnies ate their plants to the ground.

The particulars

Asclepias exaltata
Common Names: Tall Milkweed, Poke milkweed
Asclepiadaceae (Milkweed Family)
Perennial Native Wildflower
Bloom: Jun, Jul, Aug
Color:  White, Pink
USDA Zones: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
US Regions: Midwest, Northern, Northeast, Southeast
Distribution: AL, CT, DE, GA, IA, IL, IN, KY, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MS, NC, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, SC, TN, VA, VT, WI, WV  Canada: ON, QC
Light: Partial, Shade
Soil: Sand, rich loam
Moisture: Seems to require moderate moisture.
Size: 3'-5'
Benefits: Pollinators, Butterflies,
Habitat: Woodland plant, grows best in dappled sunlight in the understory in loamy soils with moderate moisture. Taprooted.
Deer Resistant, but not bunny resistant
Germination: Requires stratification cold/wet for 4 weeks. Seeds are not expensive and are available on the internet.
Uses: Attracts Pollinators, Honeybees,  Butterflies and bunnies
Good wildlife value

In conclusion: Butterfly lovers with shady gardens are in luck! Especially, if you have a moist, shady garden in the eastern United States and Canada. If you have a dry shade garden and want to water this plant during dry periods you, too, can grow A exaltata. Forget growing it in the deep south, it's too hot. If you have a sunny, dry garden then stick with A tuberosa, you won't be disappointed or exhausted from dragging a hose around all summer.

 I still hear the siren song, but, right now, I'm leaning toward growing it from seed, in a container, close to the door, where I can smell the sweet fragrance, watch pollinators visiting and water it daily.

xoxogail

PS Before I go, I want to share with you garden guidelines that help me make better plant choices.  You can modify it to fit your garden and goals.

Before I place any in the online cart I like to make sure:

• It has a good chance to survive the difficult conditions at Clay and Limestone.
• It's a middle Tennessee or Central Basin native.
• It's a nectar or pollen source for pollinators.
• It's a host plant for pollinators.
• It has berries, seeds and/or nuts for my critter visitors and residents. 
• It has good wildlife value.
• It will aid the diversity of my critter friendly garden.
• It isn't available locally.
• Exceptions can be applied by a gardener willing to haul water all summer long for moisture loving plants; purchase containers so plants get good drainage; and, what ever else a plant needs whose siren call won the gardener's heart.

Welcome to Wildflower Wednesday and thank you for stopping by to see what plant made a siren call to me this month. Thanks for joining in and if you are new to Wildflower Wednesday, it's about sharing and celebrating wildflowers from all over this great big, beautiful world. Join us on the fourth Wednesday of each month. Remember, it doesn't matter if your wildflower is in bloom or not and, it doesn't matter if we all share the same plants. Please leave a comment when you add your url to Mr Linky.




Gail Eichelberger is a gardener and therapist in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone. She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.

Frostweed flowers are nature's winter magic

Verbesina virginica has begun its flowering magic and I never tire of seeing it blooming on a cold morning.

Verbesina virginica/white crownbeard/wingstem is a valuable food sources for late pollinator visitors, so I've let it seed with some abandon in the wilder parts of the garden.

You can see capillary action in the above stem

Although, more common on the first frosty mornings of fall, here in my Middle Tennessee Zone 7 garden we have all the right ingredients for frostweed flowers to make their special appearance even in winter.

All that is needed is a warm winter day followed by a cold winter night. During the warm day, the Verbesina's roots draw water up into the stem and later that night freezing temperatures force the sap from the stems where they freeze into sculptural ice candy flower curls. The scientific term is capillary action, but

I think it's magic.

Verbesina's quirky magical winter behavior is just one of the many reasons it's a queen among the rough and tumble flowering natives in my garden. Bumble Bees love it. Green Metallic bees love it. Giant Carpenter Bees love it. Butterflies love it. In fact, it's an essential late summer/early fall nectar food for all visiting pollinators and it's an especially important food for  the Monarch Butterfly. It's has been selected for monitoring by Monarch Watch, an organization devoted to education, conservation and research about/for the Monarch Butterfly. It will always have a place in my garden.

I love its candy curls of ice, but, in the back of my mind are images of summer blooms and visiting pollinators.

xoxogail

I am posting this magical flower for Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day! Stop by May Dreams Gardens to see what other gardeners are sharing for Bloom Day.

Gail Eichelberger is a gardener and therapist in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone. She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.

Wildflower Wednesday: Cutleaf coneflower

Welcome to Clay and Limestone on a hot, humid sunny August day! Our Wildflower Wednesday star, Rudbeckia laciniata, is blooming and the smallest bees are feasting on the nectar and pollen.

Cutleaf coneflower grows 3-9 ft. tall

Cutleaf coneflower is a native clump forming perennial with upright stems. The leaves are large, dark green and deeply lobed. Clusters of showy daisy-like flower heads top the plant from late July to fall in my garden (Central South/Middle Tennessee, Zone 6b/7a)

Each head consists of a yellow-green globe shaped cone surrounded by drooping yellow rays. It's a rhizomatous plant and thrives in partly shaded sites with moist or wet fertile soils.

 The statuesque Rudbeckia is a Clay and Limestone rough and tumble wildflower beauty that is tolerant of our hot and humid weather, but it needs an extra drink of water during our droughty summer months. 

 It's blossoms attract a variety of pollinators~bees, flies,

 beneficial wasps, butterflies,

Do you see the crab spider hiding on the back side of the cone?

skippers and moths.

 Caterpillars of Silvery Checkerspot Butterflies forage on the foliage and seeds are sometimes eaten by goldfinches.

tall stems make this a good plant for back of the border

The particulars
Rudbeckia laciniata
Common Name: Cutleaf coneflower, Green headed Coneflower, 

Type: Herbaceous perennial

Family: Asteraceae

Native Range: North America (click on map to enlarge)

Zone: 3 to 9

Height: 3.00 to 9.00 feet

Spread: 1.50 to 3.00 feet (or more)

Bloom Time: July to September

Bloom Description: Yellow rays and green center disks

Sun: Full sun to part shade

Water: Medium, not xeric

Maintenance: Medium, this plant spreads so you will need to edit/divide. Dead head plant for continued bloom

Flower: Golden yellow

Wildlife value: Butterflies, small and large bees.  Leave Seedheads standing for Chickadees. A good plant for Monarch butterflies especially if you are on their migration/flyway trail (click on map to enlarge)

Deer don't browse cutleaf coneflower

Prefers average, medium to moist soils in part to full sun. Tolerates hot, humid summers, but is not drought tolerant.
Propagation: Divisions from a friend, potted plants from native plant nurseries or seed. Seeds will need moist, cold stratification unless planted in the fall.

The Joes are a good companion plant for Cutleaf coneflower

 Companion plants: I love it with Phlox paniculata 'Jeana', Vernonia, Joe-Pye weed and taller Panicums. The leaves are a nice contrast to Baptisias and Thermopsis, just make sure there's good drainage for companion plants that don't like wet feet.

Comments: Spreads by rhizomes, so give it room to grow. Outstanding in mass plantings, as a back-of-the-border perennial, for streambanks and pond edges and in meadow, prairie, naturalistic and cutting gardens. It does best in full sun, but tolerates light shade.   

I have a deep appreciate for all the Rudbeckias and find the intense golden yellows not only attractive, but important additions to our garden. They bloom from late summer to frost; their saturated warm colors don't get washed out by our intense summer sun; they're easy to grow, they look fantastic with other late blooming rough and tumble wildflowers, they're excellent cut flowers and are important food and nectar source for wildlife.  Cutleaf coneflowers are a valuable late season nectar source for migrating monarchs.

So give them a try, you won't be disappointed.
xoxogail

Wildflower Wednesday is about sharing wildflowers all over this great big beautiful world. It doesn't matter if we sometimes show the same plants, how they grow and thrive in your garden is what matters most. I hope you join the celebration...It's always the fourth Wednesday of the month!



Gail Eichelberger is a gardener and therapist in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone. She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.

October Blue Skies Arrived Early This Fall

And the garden residents are celebrating the sweetness of the days.

The tiniest pollinators

The smallest butterflies

The bottoms up blooming flowers

The really big Asters

The bumbles nectaring on the late blooming Golden Asters

Even the hiding predators are all appreciative of the cool mornings, the warm days, the gentle breezes and the brilliant blue sky.

But, no one at Clay and Limestone is celebrating the beginning of Autumn more than me!

I hope your days are filled with cool morning, warm days, blue skies and wonderful garden visitors.

xxoogail

1. Aster tataricus (read more at Pardon My Big Aster)
2. Verbesina virginica and Red-banded Hairstreak (Calycopsis cecrops)
3. Physostegia virginiana (more here)
4. A tataricus
5. Heterotheca villosa “Ruth Baumgardner” and pollinator (here)
6. Asclepias incarnata foliage
7. Conoclinium coelestinum with  Skipper 
8 A tataricus and Monarch Butterfly


Gail Eichelberger is a gardener and therapist in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone. She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.