Spring
Click for Full Size | Name | Description |
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Arrow Arum; Tuckahoe (Peltandra virginica) | Perennial aquatic emergent in shallow water. Leaf blades are 15-45 cm long, 8-25 cm wide arrowhead shaped with pointed basal lobes, angling outward. Tiny petalless flowers grow densely on a stalk atop a leafless stem. Blooms May-June. | |
Asian Rockbell (Wahlenbergia marginiata) | Slender perennial 12-60 cm tall. Leaves linear, 1-4 cm long, appear mostly on lower half of stem. Pale blue flowers grow terminally on naked stalks 1-5 cm long. Flowers have 5 united petals 5-8 mm long with flaring lobes. Blooms late March-Oct. | |
Autumn Olive (Elaegnus umbellata) | Shrub with deciduous, simple, alternate leaves 3-8 cm long, 1-3 cm wide. Flowers fragrant, about 1 cm long in leafy clusters of 5-10, covered with silver scales. Petals, yellow to cream, united with 4 lobes. Blooms April-May. | |
Bear Grass (Yucca filamentosa) | Perennial with thick, leathery basal leaves 2-6 dm long, the edges fraying into stiff twisted fibers. A tall scape terminates into a branched inflorescence with white flowers having petals 3-6 cm long. Blooms late April-early June. | |
Big Root Morning Glory (Ipomoea pandurata) | A trailing perennial vine with wide, heart-shaped leaves. White flowers are bell-shaped to 8 cm long, equally broad, with lavender throats. Male and female flower parts extrude from the throat. Bloom May-July. | |
Bird Foot Violet (Viola pedata) | Plant is stemless. Leaves are 2.5-5 cm long with three principal divisions. Flowers are 3-4.5 cm broad with 5 lavendar petals opening in one plane. A brilliant orange color is conspicious in center of the flower. Blooms March-May. | |
Biscuit Flower;Yellow Pitcher Plant (Sarracenia flava) | Insectivorous perennial with hollow, trumpet shaped leaves, 3-10 dm tall,with narrow linear wing. Flower scape equaling the leaves. Petals bright yellow, 5.5-8 cm long. Flowers with a strong musty odor. Blooms March-April. | |
Black Gum (Nyssa sylvatica) | Small to large tree. Leaves are widest above the middle, 1-5 dm long, 1 dm wide. Petioles are 1-2.5 cm long. Male and female flowers are on separate trees. Female flowers are solitary. Fruit is a blue drupe. Blooms April-May | |
Black Jack Oak (Quercus marilandica ) | Small tree. Leaves obovate with three very shallow bristle tipped lobes near apex. Loses bristles with age. Upper surface is green, lustrous; the lower light brown, pubescent. Acorns are 1 cm long, pubescent. The cup covers 1/2 of the acorn. Blooms April. | |
Black Locust (Robinia Pseudoacacia) | Tree to 25 m tall. Leaves are 2-3 dm long with 7-19 leaflets 2-5 cm long, 1-2 cm wide. Drooping inflorescence is 1-2 dm long with numerous fragrant flowers. Petals are white with a yellowish patch on the standard. Blooms April-June. | |
Blackberry (Rubus cuneifolius) | Thorny shrubs with arching stems 0.3-1.6 m tall. Leaves are white with hairs beneath, divided into 3 toothed leaflets on the floricanes and 5 on the primocanes. Inflorescence has 3-9 flowers with white petals 1-1.5 cm long. Blooms April-June. | |
Blue Jack Oak (Quercus incana ) | Small tree. Leaves 5-11.5 cm long, 1.5-3 cm wide, pale green and lustrous above, hairy and nearly white beneath. The apex is bristle tipped. Petioles are 4-9 mm long. Acorns are solitary with a deep saucer shaped cup covering 1/3 of acorn. Blooms April. | |
Bog Moss (Mayaca fluviatilis) | Small, moss-like immersed or submersed perennials with branched, creeping or floating stems. Leaves are numerous, alternate, linear. Flowers are solitary, 3 parted, in the axils of leaves. Petals are maroon. Blooms May-July. | |
Bull Nettle (Cnidoscolus stimulosus) | Perennial herb 0.5-10 dm tall with dissected or lobed alternate leaves. Entire plant is covered in stinging hairs. White flowers are united into a tube with 5 lobes. Blooms late March-Aug.; Fruits May-Sept. | |
Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa ) | Perennial herb 2-8 dm tall, with stout stems clustered from a crown. Leaves are alternate, 4-10 cm long, 3-25 mm wide. Hemispherical inflorescence is 2-5 cm broad. Flowers are red to yellow and attract butterflies. Blooms May-Aug. | |
Carolina Cranes-bill (Geranium carolinianum) | Annual from overwintering basal leaves. Stems 10-60 cm tall, with dense, downward-pointing hairs. Leaves 1.5-3 cm long, 3-5 cm wide, palmately dissected into 5-7 deep lobes. Pink flowers grow in pairs. Fruit is tapered to a beak-like tip. Blooms Mar.-Jun. | |
Carolina Horse-nettle (Solanum carolinense) | Perennial 20-60 cm tall with star-shaped prickles. Leaves 7-12.5 cm long, 3-8 cm wide, with irregular, sharp-tipped lobes. Flowers, 2.3-3 cm across, grow in terminal, clusters. The white petals are fused, with 5 star-shaped lobes. Blooms May-July. | |
Carolina Jessamine (Gelsemium sempervirens) | High-climbing vine that twines upward from left to right. Evergreen, opposite leaves are 3-7 cm long, 1-2.5 cm wide. Yellow flowers are fragrant. Petals are united into a tube with 5 lobes, 7-10 mm long. Blooms March-early May. | |
Carolina Laurel Cherry (Prunus caroliniana) | Tree with simple, alternate, evergreen leaves, 5-10 cm long, 1.5-4 cm wide. Inflorescence 1.5-3 cm long from leaf axils of preceding year. Flowers have 5 white petals 2-3 mm long. Fruit is a dull black drupe. Blooms March-April. | |
Catawba Tree (Catalpa speciosa) | Tree to 40 m tall. Leaves are opposite, heart-shaped. The branched inflorescence is 1-3 dm long. Flowers are white with yellow marks, 4 cm or more long, with united petals. The lower lobe is notched. Blooms May-June. | |
Chickasaw Plum (Prunus angustifolia) | Woody shrub, 1-2 m tall, forming dense colonies. Leaves 4-7 cm long, 1-2.5 cm wide, finely toothed. White flowers have 5 petals and appear before leaves. Fruit is a juicy red or yellow drupe. Blooms mid March-early April. | |
Cinnamon Fern (Osmundastrum cinnamomeum) | Sterile fronds 6-14 dm long, twice divided into pinnae. Fertile fronds cinnamon colored, narrower and shorter than the sterile, appearing early and soon withering. Fertile fronds appear March-May. | |
Coastal Serviceberry, Shadbush (Amelanchier ) | Small shrub with simple, alternate leaves, 2-6 cm long, 2-3.5 cm wide appearing after the flowers. Flowers have 5 white, strap-shaped petals 0.7-1.2 cm long. Fruit is a purple pome. Blooms March-April. | |
Colicroot (Aletris farinosa) | Perennial herb in the Lily Family. Leaves are basal. Flowering scape is 4-12 dm tall with white flowers 5-11 mm long. Petals are united, constricted beneath the 6 flaired lobes, covered in blunt projections. Blooms April-early June. | |
Common Pyxie-moss (Pyxidanthera barbulata) | Evergreen prostrate shrublet, no more than 75 cm in diameter with almost hairless stems and leaves, 4-8 mm long. White flowers have 5 roundish lobes, 4-5 mm long. Inhabits moist soils. Blooms Mar.-Apr. | |
Common Yellow Wood Sorrel (Oxalis stricta) | Annual 15-60 cm tall. Long stalked leaves are divided into 3 obovate, leaflets 10-30 mm long, deeply notched. 5-8 flowers grow on stalks 3-9 cm long. The 5 yellow petals are 8-11 mm long and curved outward. Blooms mid April-Oct. | |
Creeping Bush-clover (Lespedeza repens) | Trailing perennial, 30-80 cm long, with upwardly adpressed hairs. Leaves are divided into 3 leaflets 1-2.5 cm long, half as wide. 4-6 flowers grow on stalks 4-8 cm long from leaf axils. Petals are pinkish-white to pale purple, 6-8 mm long. Blooms Jul.-Sept | |
Cut-leaf Evening Primrose (Oenothera lacinata) | Biennial to 75 cm tall. Leaves are broadly lanceolate 2.5-10 cm long. Margins are toothed/lobed. Flowers grow terminally from upper leaf axils. The 4 petals are pale yellow, 10-20 mm long and wide, notched. Blooms Mar.-Jul. | |
Daisy Fleabane (Erigeron strigosus) | Winter annual. Stem 0.4-1 m tall, branched above, hairy. Leaves sparse, lance shaped 2-18 mm wide, toothed. Flowers form a flat topped cluster. Flower heads are 12 mm across with numerous white rays and yellow disc flowers. Blooms May-Oct. | |
Dangleberry (Gaylussacia frondosa) | Shrub 3-9 dm tall. Leaves are deciduous 2.5-7 cm long, 1.5-3.5 cm wide, with golden punctate glands beneath. The inflorescence is 5-10 flowered. Urn-shaped flowers are greenish-white to pinkish, 3-5 mm long. Blooms late-March-May. | |
Deerberry (Vaccinium staminium) | Shrub 0.5-5 m tall. Leaves are alternate, deciduous, 3-10 cm long, 1.5-4.5 cm wide. Flowers are white, bell-shaped, open when very young and enlarged in age 5-8 mm long. Blooms April-June. | |
Dogwood (Cornus florida) | Small tree 5-15 m tall. Bark is broken into a checkered pattern of small squares. Leaves 6-10 cm long, 3-7 cm wide appearing after flowers. Flower heads compact with 4 showy white bracts 2-5 cm long, 1.5-3.5 cm wide, notched at apex. Blooms March-April. | |
Dwarf Bristly Locust (Robinia nana) | Shrub to 1.5-3 m tall. Leaves 1-1.5 dm long with 7-13 leaflets 3-4 cm long, 1.5-2 cm wide. Inflorescence nodding, 3-5 flowered, glandular. Petals roseate 1.6-1.8 cm long. Blooms April-May. | |
Dwarf Cinquefoil (Potentilla canadensis) | Perennial herb with creeping stems. Leaves palmately 5-lobed, 1-4 cm long, 8-20 mm wide, with long silky hairs. Yellow flowers grow singly from leaf axils on stalks 2-6 cm long. The 5 obovate petals are 7-10 mm long. Blooms Late March-Early June. | |
Dwarf Huckleberry (Gaylussacia dumosa) | Shrub 1-4 dm tall. Leaves are semi-evergreen, glandular punctate beneath, 1.5-4 cm long with a tiny spine at the tip. The inflorescence is 2-6 flowered, with white or pinkish globular to urn-shaped flowers, 3-5 mm long. Blooms March-June. | |
Dwarf Iris (Iris verna) | Perennial with an erect stem less than 1.5-5 cm tall. Flowers are very fragrant, bluish to violet with a yellow or orange band in the center. Petals are 2-8 cm long, 1-2 cm wide. Blooms late March-early May. | |
Dwarf Sundew (Drosera brevifolia) | Pinkish herb with glandular hairs on the flower scape and leaves that ooze a sticky secretion that contributes to the insect-catching function of the spatula-shaped leaves. Flowers have 5 white petals, 5-7 mm long. Blooms May-Aug. | |
Dwarf Witch Alder (Fothergilla gardenii) | Shrub to 1 m tall. Leaves 2.5-5 cm long, 1.8-3.5 cm wide, blunt tipped with rounded base. Flowers occur just before leaves in dense terminal spikes to 5 cm, long, 2.5 cm wide. No petals, but numerous white stamen with yellow tips. Blooms April-May. | |
Englemanns Arrowhead (Sagittaria englemanniana) | Perennial aquatic 30-50 cm tall. Leaves are basal, long-stalked, typically narrowly arrow-shaped, to 20 cm long, 5 cm wide. Lobes less tan 2.5 cm wide. Flowers in 2-4 whirls, male above, female below. Petals 3, white obovate to rotund. Blooms June-Sept. | |
English Plantain (Plantago lanceolata) | Stemless perennial. Leaves lance shaped, 1-3 dm long, 0.7-5 cm wide. Flowering stem solid, 5-angled, 1-5 dm long. Inflorescence 1-8 cm long, densely flowered. Petals united. Tube 2-3 mm long, 4 lobes 1.7-2.3 mm long. Stamens exerted. Blooms April-Frost. | |
Eustis Lake Beard Tongue; Downy Beard Tongue (Penstemon australis) | Perennial herb 20-70cm tall. Basal leaves are downy, 5-10cm long, 1.5-2.5cm wide. Opposite stem leaves, 3-10cm long, 1-2.5cm wide with tooth margins. Pinkish tubular flowers have five lobes, 2 recurved. Blooms May-July. | |
Fetter-bush (Lyonia lucida) | Colonizing shrub to 2 m tall. Evergreen leaves are lustrous, 3-9 cm long, 1-4.5 cm wide. Urn-shaped white to pinkish flowers, 6-8 mm long, appear in clusters in leaf axils. Plant is toxic, possibly fatal if eaten. Blooms April-early June. | |
Fibrous Bladderwort (Utricularia striata) | Aquatic perennial. Leaves are forked 3-4 times with filiform segments. Some have bladders that trap tiny invertebrates for their minerals. Flowering stem grows to 30 cm. Yellow flowers are 14-25 mm long, 2 lipped and spurred. Blooms Late April-Early July. | |
Field Garlic (Allium vineale) | Perennial with the odor of garlic. Stems 3-8 dm tall. Leaves hollow, cylindrical, 1-3 dm long, 2-5 mm wide. Lavender to white flowers numerous in an umbel. Petals 3-5 mm long. Plant may display a mixture of bulbils and flowers or either alone. Blooms May-J | |
Field Pansy (Viola bicolor) | Perennial herb with slender stems. The leaves are 0.5-3 cm long. Flowers are pale blue to white with blue veins. This is the only native North American Violet. Blooms March-May | |
Fringed Blue Star (Amsonia ciliata) | Stems are 3-7 dm tall, hairy, branched above. Leaves are alternate, 3-8 cm long, 1-5 mm wide. Flowers have blue petals united into a tube 6-8 mm long with 5 expanded lobes, also 6-8 mm long. Blooms in April. | |
Goats Rue (Tephrosia virginiana) | Perennial herb 2-7 dm tall. Leaves are 5-14 cm long, divided into 15-25 leaflets that are 1-3.3 cm long and 4-10 mm wide. Flowers are bicolored: lemon yellow to cream and rose. Blooms May-June. | |
Golden Club (Orontium aquaticum) | Perennial aquatic herb, 2-6 dm tall. Leaves in a basal cluster 1-4 dm long, 4-16 cm wide. Flower a golden yellow spadix, 4-10 cm long, 6-10 mm wide. Erect in flower, prostrate in fruit. Blooms March-April. | |
Grassleaf Roseling (Cuthbertia graminea) | Perennial herb 2-5 dm tall. Leaves are 0.2-3 dm long, 0.3-3 mm wide. The leaf sheaths are fringed with white hair. Petals are rose, 4-8 mm long. Blooms May-July. | |
Greater Tickseed (Coreopsis major) | Perennial herb 0.5-1 m tall with divided leaves. Yellow ray flowers are 2-4 cm long. Disk flowers are yellow or red. Blooms May-July | |
Hairy Cats-ear (Hypochaeris radicata) | Perennial with a flat rosette of basal leaves 5-15 cm long, irregularly or pinnately dissected or lobed and densely hairy. Stems are branched 30-60 cm tall. Yellow ray flower heads, 2-3 cm across, grow at tips of branches. Blooms Apr.-Jul. | |
Hairy Milkweed (Asclepias tomentosa) | Short haired perennial with milky sap 20-50 cm tall. Leaves, opposite in 3-6 pairs. 5.5-8.5 cm long and 1.5-3.5 cm wide. Pale green to yellowish flowers grow in 2-6 clusters from upper leaf axils. Rare. Blooms May-June. | |
Hairy Vetch (Vicia villosa ) | Annual with trailing or climbing vine-like hairy stems to 2 m long. Alternate leaves are divided into 10-20 narrow leaflets 1-3 cm long with branched tendrils. Purple flowers are densely clustered and secund. Blooms May-Sept. | |
Heart-wing Sorrel (Rumex hastatulus) | Annual to 60 cm tall. Leaves are 2-6 cm long with two widely spreading pointed lobes at the base. Flowers grow from slender stalks in whirls of 3-6 along branches. The 6 sepals are dull white to pinkish. Petals absent. Blooms March-early May. | |
Highbush Blueberry (Vaccinium formosum) | Erect shrub with deciduous, alternate leaves 4-8 cm long, 1.5-4 cm wide, appearing after the flowers. White, urn-shaped flowers are 8-11 mm long, 4-6 mm wide. Edible blue berry matures June-Aug. Blooms late Feb.-May. | |
Holly (Ilex opaca) | Tree with leathery evergreen leaves 4-10 cm long, 2-5 cm wide, with few to many sharp spine tipped teeth. Leaf edges revolute. Flowers white, 4 parted, in leaf axles. Male and female flowers separate. Blooms April-June. | |
Horsefly Weed (Baptisia tinctoria) | Bushy perennial 3-10 dm tall, blackening on drying. Leaves are divided into 3 leaflets, 0.6-2 cm long and 0.5-1.2 cm wide. Numerous yellow stalked flowers terminate the branches. Blooms April-Aug. | |
Inkberry (Ilex glabra) | Shrub to 3 m tall that forms extensive colonies. Evergreen leaves are 3.5-7 cm long, lustrous above, remotely toothed toward apex. The last pair of teeth are directly opposite from each other. Flowers are 6-8 mm across with 5-8 waxy petals Blooms May-June. | |
Ipecac (Euphorbia ipecacuanhae) | Perennial with a long root branched near top into many stems with only the tips showing above the soil. Leaves are opposite, fleshy 1-7 cm long and 0.5-20 mm wide. Appendages that resemble flowers are bordered in yellow. Blooms March-May. | |
Japanese Honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) | High climbing vine with opposite, evergreen leaves 3-7.5 cm long, 1.5-4.5 cm wide. Flowers are very fragrant and paired. Petals are white fading to yellow, united into a tube with longest lobe equaling the tube. Blooms April-June. | |
Kidney-leaf Rosinweed (Silphium compositum) | Erect perennial, 1-4 m tall with basal heart-shaped deeply lobed leaves. Flowering heads with yellow ray flowers 1-2 cm long, 3-5 cm wide, are numerous on a branched inflorescence from an essentially leafless stem. Blooms May-Sept. | |
Lance-leaved Tickseed (Coreopsis lanceolata) | Perennial to 10 dm tall with 1-5 nodes below inflorescence. Leaves 3-15 cm long, entire or pinnately dissected. Flowering heads on peduncles 1-4 dm long. Rays yellow, 3-5 cm long, 10-17 mm wide, conspicuously toothed. Disk flowers yellow. Blooms Apr.-Jun. | |
Loblolly Pine (Pinus taeda ) | Large tree with slender buds covered with reddish brown scales. Needles in 3s, to 15 cm long. Sheath leaf, brown, yellowish, 2 cm long. Male cones 2-3 cm long, shedding pollen March-April. Female cones 5-13 cm long, prickles stout, sheds seeds Oct.-Nov. | |
Long-leaf Pine (Pinus palustris ) | Large tree. Buds large, covered with silvery fringed scales. Needles 25-40 cm long. Male cones purplish, 3-6 cm long shedding pollen March-April. Female cones 15 cm long. Bracts thickened at end with short slender spine. Shedding seeds Sept.-Oct. | |
Longbranch Frostweed (Helianthemum canadense) | Perennial herb 1-3.5 dm tall. Basal leaves absent. 10-20 stem leaves, 1-3 cm long 2-8 mm wide. Flowers are yellow, usually solitary and terminal. 5 petals, 1-1.5 cm long. Blooms April-May. | |
Lyre-leaved Sage (Salvia lyrata) | Perennial from a basal rosette of leaves. Stem is 4-angled to 70 cm tall. Leaves are elliptic, 17 cm long, toothed, with purplish markings on upper surface. Pale blue tubular flowers with two lobes grow in pairs along upper stem. Blooms April-May. | |
Maleberry (Lyonia ligustrina) | Perennial shrub forming loose colonies. Stems to 1 m high, pubescent. Leaves deciduous, pubescent, 3-7 cm long, 1-3.5 cm wide, minutely toothed. Flower globose. Petals united with 5 flaring lobes, 2.5-3 mm wide and long. Blooms April-May | |
Maryland Hawkweed (Hieraclum marianum) | Perennial 20-60 cm tall, densely hairy below. Sap milky white. Basal leaves 4-12.5 cm long 1-4.5 cm wide, hairy. Stem leaves reduced in size up the stem. Flower heads yellow, 12-18 mm across, composed of ray flowers only. Blooms April-July. | |
Maryland Meadow Beauty (Rhexia mariana) | Perennial herb, forming colonies. Stems to 70 cm tall, with sides unequal. Leaves are 6.5 cm long, 2 cm wide. Flowers have 4 white to pale pink petals, 15-25 mm long, oblique. 8 anthers are yellow and curved. Fruit is urn-shaped. Blooms May-Oct.. | |
Mockernut; White-heart Hickory (Carya tomentosa) | Tree. Leaves divided into 5-9 (usually 7) leaflets to 22 cm long, 3.5-9.5 cm wide. Leaves hairless above, with fascicles of hairs and scales beneath and longer hairs along veins. Male flowers in catkins. Female flowers have bracts. Blooms April-May. | |
Multiflora Rose (Rosa multiflora) | Thicket forming shrub to 2 m tall, with long arching spreading branches. Leaves are pinnately divided into 7-9 leaflets, 1-5 cm long, with toothed margins. White flowers are 2-4 cm across and grow in clusters. Yellow stamen are numerous. Blooms May-Jun. | |
Muscadine (Vitis rotundifolia ) | High-climbing vine with conspicuous tendrils. Leaves are almost round to 8 cm across. Mature inflorescences are up to 5 cm long, few fruited. Edible berries are 1-2 cm in diameter. Fruit is used for making wine and jam. Blooms May-June. | |
Narrow-leaf Evening Primrose (Oenothera fruticosa) | Erect hairy, branched perennial to 8 dm tall. Leaves are opposite, to 11 cm long and 2.5 cm wide, narrowing at base. Flowers are 4 parted. Petals are yellow, united at base with lobes 1-2 cm long. Blooms April-Aug. | |
Narrow-leaf White Topped Aster (Sericocarpus linifolius) | Perennial herb, 2-7 dm tall. Leaves are 4-8 cm long, 2-7 mm wide, hairy on the margins and not twisted at the base, with punctate glands beneath. Disc and ray flowers are white. Rays are 7-12 mm long. Blooms June-July. | |
Narrow-leaved Blueberry (Vaccinium tenellum) | Colonial shrub 10-50 cm tall. Leaves are deciduous, 1.5-4 cm long, 6-18 mm wide, with gland-tipped hairs underneath and finely tooth margins Cylindrical white flowers are 5-8 mm, have fused petals curled lobes. Blooms March-May. | |
Narrow-leaved Skullcap (Scutellaria integrifolia) | Perennial 20-80 cm tall. Leaves are opposite with smooth margins. Flowering inflorescence is up to 20 cm long. Tubular violet-blue flowers, 2-5 cm long, are 2-lipped with 3 lobes and 2 lobes. Basal part of the tube is abruptly bent. Blooms May-June. | |
Netted Chain Fern (Woodwardia areolata) | Fronds 3-8 dm tall, once divided and joined in a wide wing along the frond rachis. Sterile fronds shorter than fertile with green petioles. Fertile leaves with purple-brown, shiny thick petioles 2X as long as the blades. Fruits June-Sept. | |
New Jersey Tea (Ceanothus americanus) | Shrub to 1 m tall. Leaves are alternate, 3-8 cm long, 1-4 cm wide, toothed, strongly three veined beneath. Terminal inflorescence has many tiny white flowers. Petal blades are about 1 mm long on a narrow claw about 1 mm long. Blooms May-June. | |
Northern Dewberry (Rubus flagellaris) | Perennial to 2 m long, trailing stems with prickles. Leaves divided into 3 leaflets on flowering branches. Leaves 2-8 cm long , 1-5 cm wide. Flowers have 5 white petals, 1.5-2.5 cm long. Delicious fruit in July. Blooms Late April-Late May. | |
Nuttalls Lobelia (Lobelia nuttallii) | Slender annual 30-60 cm tall. Stem leaves are linear 1-3.5 cm long, 1-4 mm wide with tiny blunt teeth. Delicate, pale blue to whitish flowers grow on short stalks. Petals are 8-11 mm long, tubular with 2 flaring lobes above and 3 below. Blooms May-Oct. | |
Oak Ridge Lupine (Lupinus diffusus) | Perennial herb 2-4 dm tall, densely hairy throughout. Evergreen leaves are 4-12 cm long, 1.5-5 cm wide. Flowers are light to deep blue with a conspicuous cream spot. Blooms March-May; Fruits June-July. | |
One-flowered Hawthorn (Crataegus uniflora) | Shrub to 3 m tall but usually less. Twigs with thorns 1-5 cm long. Leaves are 2-6 cm long and 7-30 mm wide, pubescent below, margins doubly serrate with gland tipped teeth. 1-3 white flowers with 5 petals and 20 stamen grow from leaf axils. Blooms April-Ma | |
Orange Milkwort (Polygala lutea ) | Biennial or short-lived perennial with succulent leaves in basal rosettes. Stems are 1.5-5 dm tall. Flowers are brilliant orange in a compact head 1-3.5 cm long, 1.2-2 cm wide. Blooms April-Oct. | |
Partridge Berry (Mitchella repens) | Creeping perennial with opposite, evergreen leaves 8-20mm long and wide with blunt tips. Paired white flowers are fragrand and have fused petals with 4 lobes, 12-18mm long, and hairs on inner surface. Blooms May-June | |
Passion Flower, May Pops (Passiflora incarnata) | Repent or climbing vine to 2 m long. Leaf blades are 3-5 lobed, 6-15 cm long, 6-15 cm wide. Flowers are mostly solitary from leaf axils. Petals are bluish to white, 3-4 cm long, with lavendar parts banded in purple. Blooms May-July. | |
Pencil Flower (Stylosanthes biflora) | Perennial to 50 cm tall. Leaves are on short stalks and divided into 3 leaflets 1.5-4 cm long, the tips with projecting points. One to several pea-shaped flowers grow terminally. Petals are yellow, 5-9 mm long. Blooms late May-Aug. | |
Persimmon (Diospyros virginiana) | Tree to 15 m tall. Leaves are simple alternate, 7-15 cm long, 3-7 cm wide. Yellow urn-shaped female flowers are on a different tree than the clustered male flowers. Fruit is a fleshy berry to 4 cm in diameter. Blooms May-June. | |
Pilose Hedge-hyssop (Sophronanthe pilosa) | Perennial 10-70 cm tall with hairs. Leaves are sessile, 12-20 mm long, 5-12 mm wide. Flowers grow from leaf axils with 2 leafy bracts at flower base. White petals united into tube with 5 spreading lobes 6-8 mm long. Blooms June-Sept. | |
Pine Barren Stitch Wort (Minuartia caroliniana) | A delicate short-lived perennial, 0.5-3 dm tall from a large basal cushion. Leaves are opposite, overlapping, 3-12 mm long, 0.3-1 mm wide. The petals are 5-12 mm long. Blooms April-June. | |
Pineland Stargrass (Hypoxis wrightii) | Stemless perennial. Leaves grasslike, to 30 cm long, 5 mm wide, folded lengthwise. 1 to 2 flowers grow atop a stalk less than 1/2 as long as the leaves. 3 yellow petals and 3 sepals look alike, 4-8 mm long, 2-3 mm wide. Blooms late March-April. | |
Pipsissewa (Chimaphila maculata) | Perennial to 2 dm tall. Leaves are evergreen, 2-6 cm long, 0.6-2.3 cm wide, sharply toothed, with a grayish area along the midrib and larger veins. Flowers are 1-2 cm wide and nodding with 5 white petals. Blooms May-June. | |
Poison Oak (Toxicodendron pubescens) | Shrub to 0.3-2 m tall. Leaves have 3 leaflets, densely hairy beneath and coarsely toothed. Flowers are greenish-yellow to white. Fruit is a drupe, covered in thick hairs. A severe contact poison. Blooms in May. | |
Poison Sumac (Toxicodendron vernix ) | Shrub or small tree, 1-4 m tall. Leaves grow on upper part of stem. They are divided into 7-13 leaflets, 5-12 cm long. Greenish yellow flowers grow in branched, elongate, sprays from leaf axils. This plant is poisonous causing severe dermatitis. Blooms May | |
Possum Haw / Swamp Viburnum (Viburnum nudum ) | Shrub 1.2-3 m tall. Leaves are opposite, elliptic 5-12 cm long, 2.5-6 cm wide with reddish brown dots beneath. White flowers grow densely in flat topped umbels, 15 cm across. Cup shaped flowers have 5 spreading lobes 5-8 mm across. Blooms Apr.-May. | |
Prickly Pear Cactus (Opuntia humifusa) | Low, woody, perennial with fleshy, segmented, photosynthetic, spiny, flattened stems. Leaves are alternate and promptly deciduous, fleshy 3-10 mm long. Flowers are 5-7 cm wide, with yellow petals. Blooms May-June. | |
Primrose-leaved Violet (Viola primulifolia) | Perennial herb with broadly lanceolate leaves 2.5-10 cm long. White flowers have 5 petals. The lowest petal is slightly larger with purple lines and backward-pointing blunt spur. Blooms March-April. | |
Procession Flower (Polygala incarnata) | Hairless annual. Leaves fleshy, alternate, linear, 5-17 mm long. Flowers in spikes or racemes. Sepals 1mm long, pink with pink wings 2.5-3 mm long. Flower tube reddish-pink, prominately fringed, 5-6.5 mm long. Blooms June-July. | |
Queens Delight (Stillingia sylvatica) | Hairless perennial to 80 cm tall with milky juice. Leaves 4-9 cm long, 1-4 cm wide. Flowers grow in thickish terminal spikes 5-12 cm long with yellow glands. Lower flowers are female, upper ones are male. Sepals yellow, petals absent. Blooms May-Jul. | |
Red Bud (Cercis canadensis) | Small tree to 10 m. Palmately veined leaves, 5-10 cm long, 6-15 cm wide with heart shaped bases and long petioles. Pink flowers borne in clusters of 2-6 on old wood, appear before leaves. Blooms in March. | |
Red Chokeberry (Aronia arbutifolia) | Shrub to 3 m tall. Leaves 4-10 cm long, 1.5-4.5 cm wide, are dark green above and densely white pubescent below. Flowers grow in terminal clusters of up to 10 flowers. The 5 white petals are 4-7 mm long. Stamens have red anthers. Blooms mid March-mid April | |
Red Clover (Trifolium pratense) | Perennial 2-5 dm tall. Leaves palmate divided into 3 leaflets, 1-3 cm long, half as wide. Flowering heads ovoid, 1-3 cm across. Flowers numerous. Petals reddish to purple 0.9-1.5 cm long. Blooms April-July. | |
Red Maple (Acer rubrum) | Medium to large tree. Flower parts are red and appear before the leaves. Leaves are 3-lobed. Fruit is a samara. Blooms in March; Fruits May-July. | |
Red Pitcher Plant (Sarracenia rubra ) | Carnivorous perennial. Leaves tubular, yellow-green, 10-50 cm tall with hooded leaf tip. Nodding flowers grow atop leafless stems 10-50 cm tall. Petals are purple to maroon 2-3 cm long, drooping, soon falling and leaving style disc. Blooms Apr.-May. | |
Rough Mexican Clover (Richardia scabra) | Diffuse sprawling hairy annual. Leaves are opposite, lance-shaped, 2.5-7 cm long, 1-2 cm wide. White flowers grow in dense terminal clusters from leaf-like bracts. The 4-6 flower petals are united, with lobes 1/3 the length of the tube. Blooms late June-Fr | |
Round-leaf Greenbriar; Horsebriar (Smilax rotundifolia) | Thicket forming perennial vine, climbing via curly tendrils. Stems are green throughout, with green prickles 8 mm long, tipped with brown. Leaves, deciduous, ovate. Yellowish flowers grow in small umbels from a few leaf axils. Blooms April-May. | |
Royal Fern (Osmunda regalis) | Sterile frond 5-18 dm long, to 5 cm wide, twice divided, petiole about equil to blade. Pinnae (leaflets) distinct, widely spaced, 4X as long as wide. Fertile frond tan, terminal inflorescence, open, 3X divided. Blooms March-June. | |
Sampson Snakeroot (Orbexilum pedunculatum) | Perennial herb 3-9 dm tall. Divided leaves have 3 leaflets 3-7 cm long, 0.5-1.5 cm wide, with punctate glands. Inflorescence is 2-10 cm long with conspicuous bracts below the purple flowers. Blooms May-July. | |
Sand Blackberry (Rubus cuneifolius) | Perennial, stems to 1.5m long distinctly angled, densely downy. Leaves are divided into 3 leaflets, 2-5 cm long, on flowering branches; 5 on non-flowering, with tan hairs beneath. Flowers have 5 white obovate petals, 1-1.5 cm long. Blooms Apr.-May. | |
Sandhills Ground-cherry (Physalis lanceolata) | Perennial endemic to the Sandhills. 25 cm or less tall, branched, and covered with rough hairs. Leaves 3.5-7 cm long, 2.5 cm wide, have wavy margins. Bell-shaped, dull yellow flowers, 18 mm across, are solitary on drooping stalks. Blooms May-Jul. | |
Sandhills Thistle (Cirsium repandum ) | Biennial 0.5-0.7 m tall with cobwebby hairs. Stems are leafy to apex, spreading and spiny. Purple tubular flowers occur in dense heads 3.5 cm across. Blooms mid May-July. | |
Sassafras (Sassafras albidum) | Aromatic deciduous shrub or small tree. Flowers appear before the leaves which are simple, alternate, 6-12 cm long, 2-8 cm wide with 1-2 lateral lobes. Yellow flowers have 6 petal-like segments, 3-5 mm long. Blooms March-April. | |
Savanna Bog Buttons (Lachnocaulon anceps) | Perennial forming mats. Leaves numerous, basal, 2-8 cm long, 3 mm wide. Flowering stalks 5-25 cm long twisted in a spiral, narrowly ridged. White flowers grow in a single round dense head atop each stalk. Heads are 4-7 mm across. Blooms mid May-late Sept. | |
Savanna Meadow Beauty (Rhexia alifanus) | Perennial herb grows to 1 m tall. Leaves are bluish green, 7 cm long and 1 cm wide. Flowers are rosy purple with 4 petals that are glandular beneath, 16-22 mm long. Anthers are 6-7.5 mm long. Fruit is urn-shaped. Blooms May-Oct. | |
Savanna Milkwort (Polygala ramosa) | Hairless biennial 10-30 cm tall. Spatulate basal leaves form flat rosette. Stem leaves are linear to 20 mm long. Brilliant yellow flowers grow in dense terminal heads forming an umbrella-shaped inflorescence. Blooms June-August. | |
Serviceberry (Amelanchier arborea ) | Small trees or shrubs. Leaves are alternate and fine toothed. Flowers appear on terminal racemes with the leaves. The 5 white petals are strap shaped, 0.7-1.2 cm long. Flowers have 5 stigmas and 15-20 stamen. The ovary is inferior. Blooms March-Early May. | |
Sheepbit (Jasione montana) | Annual herb 2-5 dm tall. Leaves are 1-3 cm long, 1.4-4 mm wide, sessile. Flowers are blue to lavender, in heads 2-3 cm broad. Blooms Rare. June-Sept. | |
Smalls Ragwort (Packera anonyma) | Perennial 30-70 cm tall. Basal leaves, 5-15 cm long, 1-3.5 cm wide, short toothed. Middle and upper leaves smaller, deeply cut. Flower heads numerous from leaf axils. Disc is deep yellow, 5-8 mm broad. Ray flowers are yellow, 10-15 mm long. Blooms May-Jun. | |
Smooth Milkpea / Common Milkpea (Galactia regularis) | Hairless trailing perennial to 1.5 m long. Numerous leaves are divided into 3 elliptic to lance-shaped leaflets 2-4 cm long. Flowers grow on stalks 3-13 cm long. Petals are purple-pink, the standard swept back to 180 degrees. Blooms Jun.-Aug. | |
Soft Milkpea (Galactia mollis) | Densely soft, hairy, trailing perennial with sparse leaves divided into 3 elliptic leaflets, 2-5 cm long. 1-6 flowers grow at tips of long stalk, 10-20 cm tall. Petals are pinkish. Blooms May-July. | |
Soft Rush (Juncus effusus) | Perennial forming tufts of sharp-tipped, green, photosynthetic stems, 0.5-1.2 m tall. Leaves absent. Flowers grow in a loose cluster from upper stem; not terminal. 3 Petals and 3 sepals look alike. Blooms June-Sept. | |
Sourwood (Oxydendrum arboreum) | Medium to large tree with alternate, deciduous leaves 0.8-2 dm long, 2.5-7 cm wide. Inflorescence is a terminal panicle of racemes. Flowers are urn-shaped, 5-8 mm long. Blooms June-July. | |
Southern Bayberry (Morella carolinensis) | Shrub to 2 m tall. Leaves obovate, 12 cm long, 5 cm wide. Male and female flowers are on separate plants. Male flowers are 0.2-2 cm long, 4-6 mm wide. Female catkins are 5-10 cm long. Blooms March. | |
Southern Flowering Spurge (Euphorbia pubentissima) | Perennial to 60 cm tall, branched above. Lower leaves alternate. Mid to upper leaves opposite, 2-6 cm long, 5-30 mm wide. Flowers are 3-8 mm broad. Petals absent, replaced by white petal-like glands 1-4 mm long. Blooms late March-July. | |
Southern Woolly Violet (Viola villosa) | Perennial herb with evergreen, pubescent leaves. Leaf blades are broadly rotund, 2.5-5 cm long with a heart-shaped base. Purple flowers are 1.5-2 cm across on slender stalks. Blooms March-April. | |
Stagger-bush (Lyonia mariana) | Shrub growing to 1.5 m tall with angled twigs and deciduous to semi-evergreen leaves. Urn-shaped white flowers, 7-14 mm long, appear in clusters on leafless branches. Leaves and nectar are highly toxic and may be fatal if eaten. Blooms April-May. | |
Storax (Styrax americana) | Shrubs with obovate leaves 3-7 cm long, 1-4 cm wide. Fragrant white flowers appear from leaf axils. Petals are united, with pubescent lobes 8-12 mm long. Stamen 10. Blooms April-June. | |
Streamhead Heartleaf, Sorries Heartleaf (Hexastylis sorriei) | Stemless perennial. Leaves are broadly ovate, 4-6 cm long, 3.5-6 cm wide, with heart shaped bases. Brownish petal less flowers grow just beneath the leaf litter. The sepals form a cup with 3 spreading, hairy lobes 5 mm long. Blooms March-May. | |
Streamhead Yam / Common Wild Yam (Dioscorea villosa) | Perennial twining vine to 4 m. Plants male or female. Leaves all alternate, or lowermost whorled. Blades ovate with heart-shaped base, 7-11 prominent nerves and hairy beneath. Flowers greens to yellow. Blooms May-June. | |
Swamp Azalea (Rhododendron viscosum ) | Sweetly fragrant shrub 0.5-4 m tall. Leaves are 2.5-7 cm long. Flowers appear as the leaves unfold. White petals united into tube 1.5-2.5 cm long with dense gland-tipped hairs and 5 flaring lobes. The stamens extend far beyond the petals. Blooms late May-J | |
Swamp Doghobble (Eubotrys racemosa) | Shrub, 1-3 m tall. Leaves 3-9 cm long, 1-4 cm wide, with sharp toothed margins. Fragrant flowers grow in single file, in straight to somewhat curved rows. Five white petals are united into a tube, 7 mm long, with tiny curved lobes. Blooms April-May. | |
Sweet Bay (Magnolia virginiana) | Small tree with semi-evergreen leaves 6-15 cm long, 2-6 cm wide, waxy above, silky below. Flower is cup-shaped with white petals 2.5-4.5 cm long. Blooms April-July. | |
Sweet Gallberry (Ilex coriacea) | Colonizing shrub to 6 m tall. Leaves are leathery, evergreen, 3.5-7 cm long, 1.5-4 cm wide, toothed at tip with salient teeth. Flowers appear in axils of leaves. Fruit is a black lustrous drupe, 7-10 mm long. Blooms April-May. | |
Sweet Leaf, Horse Sugar (Symplocos tinctoria) | Shrub to 6 m tall. Leaves are simple, alternate, leathery, deciduous or weakly persistent, 8-13 cm long, 2.5-5 cm wide. Flowers appear before the leaves and are fragrant, 5 parted in clusters on wood of previous year. Blooms March-May. | |
Sweetspire (Itea virginica) | Shrub 1-2 m tall with finly toothed alternate leaves, 2-9 cm long, 1-4 cm wide. Inflorescence is terminal, 4-15 cm long. Flowers are numerous, cup-shaped with 5 white, awl-shaped petal lobes, 3.5-4.5 mm long. Blooms May-June. | |
Ti Ti (Cyrilla racemiflora) | Tall shrub. Leaves are semi-evergreen, simple, alternate, widest above the middle,to 10 cm long and 4 cm wide. White, stalked flowers appear on numerous inflorescences 5-15 cm long from previous year's growth. Blooms May-July. | |
Toadflax (Nuttallanthus canadensis) | Slender biennial or winter annual. Flowering stem erect, 1.5-7 dm tall, from a basal rosette. Flowers blue or purple, 5-15 mm long including spur. 2 upper and 3 lower petals. Blooms March-May. | |
Toothed White-topped Aster (Sericocarpus asteroides) | Perennial 20-60 cm tall, pubescent. Basal leaves 2.5-10 cm long, toothed with fine pale hairs, present at flowering. Flowers grow in flat-topped inflorescence. The 3-7 ray flowers are white, 3-6 mm long. Disk flowers,dull white. Blooms May-July. | |
Trailing Arbutus (Epigaea repens) | Prostrate shrub with spreading branches. Evergreen, alternate leaves, 2-6 cm long, 1-3.5 cm wide have a heart-shaped base. White to pinkish flower petals are united. Tube is 6-10 mm long with 5 lobes, also 6-10 mm long. Blooms late Feb.-early May. | |
Tulip Poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera ) | Tall tree with leaves 6-20 cm long and wide with truncate apices and 4-6 lobes. Leaf base is truncate to heart shaped. Flowers have 3 green reflexed sepals 3.5-6 cm long, and 6 green and orange petals forming a cup. Blooms April-June. | |
Turkey Oak (Quercus laevis) | Small tree. Leaves obovate 12-20 cm long, 10-15 cm wide, lustrous above, with tufts of hairs on main veins beneath. Leaf has 3 wide lobes that are bristle tipped. Acorns are 2 cm long, faintly striped. The cup is turban shaped and covers 1/3 of acorn. Bloo | |
Venus Looking-glass (Triodanis perfoliata) | Winter annual to 60 cm tall. Stem leaves are ovate 1-3 cm long and clasping. Basal leaves are larger forming a rosette. Flowers occur in axils of mid to upper stem leaves. Petals are united with 5 lobes, 1-1.5 cm across. Blooms Apr.-Jun. | |
Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) | Perennial vine, clinging via adhesive discs on tendrils. Leaves are palmately divided into 5 leaflets 15 cm long, 6 cm wide, with toothed margins. Yellow-green flowers grow in branched clusters opposite the leaves. Petals are 2-3 mm long. Blooms May-July. | |
Virginia Dwarf-dandylion (Krigia virginica ) | Annual with numerous leafless stems, 15 cm tall. Leaves are basal, spreading, 10 cm long, 2-5 cm wide. Stems terminate in a single head of Flat-topped head composed of yellow ray flowers. Rays 6-10 mm long. Blooms March-June. | |
Water-shield (Bresenia schreberi) | Perennial aquatic. Plant thickly covered with clear viscous jelly. Leaves alternate, floating. Maroon flowers grow singly from leaf axils, slightly raised above water surface. Petals 12-20 mm, recurved to reveal erect stamen. Blooms Jun.-Oct. | |
Wax Myrtle (Morella cerifera) | Shrub 0.3-7 m tall. Leaves are semi-evergreen, to 8 cm long, 2 cm wide, widest above the middle, heavily resinous on both surfaces. Flowers have no petals. Fruit is a white waxy drupe. Blooms April; Fruits Aug.-Oct. | |
White Champion (Silene latifolia Ssp. alba ) | Pubescent annual 5-12 dm tall. Weedy introduction that has become established. Leaves 3-15 cm long, 0.5-4 cm wide. Flowers either male or female. Calyx tube 12-20 mm long, 4-16 mm broad. Petals united, white, the lobes 5-10 mm long. Blooms May-July. | |
White Clover (Trifolium repens) | Perennial with creeping stems 1-4 dm long. Leaves palmately divided into 3 leaflets 1-3 cm long. Flowering stalks 1-2.5 dm long. Inflorescence is nearly globose, 1-3 cm in diameter. 40-80 white to pinkish flowers per flower head. Blooms April-Sept. | |
White Sandhill Spurge (Euphorbia curtisii) | Slender perennial with white sap. Stem to 50 cm, widely branched. Lower leaves reduced, upper leaves 1-6 cm long, 1-15 mm wide. Flowers grow on long stalks. Petals absent. 2-4 mm wide white modified glands look like petals. Blooms late March-Early June. | |
Whorled Loosestrife (Lysimachia quadrifolia) | Erect perennial 3-10 cm tall. Leaves in whorls of 3-6, 3-12 cm long, 0.8-4.5 cm wide. Flowers are solitary in the axils of the upper 2-6 leaf whorls. Yellow petals are streaked with black, red at base, 1/3-1.6 cm broad. Blooms May-July. | |
Whorled Tickseed (Coreopsis verticillata) | Perennial 3-10 dm tall wity 6-12 nodes below the inflorescence. Leaves are 2 or 3 times divided into linear segments 0.5-5 cm long, 2 mm wide. Ray flowers are yellow, 1.5-3 cm long, 4-8 mm wide. Disc flowers are yellow. Blooms May-July. | |
Wild Azalea, Pinxter-flower (Rhododendron periclymenoides) | Shrub to 2 m tall. Leaves are very short-stalked, 3-9 cm long, 1.5-3 cm wide. Pink flowers appear in terminal clusters. The petals are united with 5 pink lobes that flare outward. The stamen and style are reddish and extend beyond the petals. Blooms April | |
Wild Indigo (Baptisia cinerea) | Perennial 3-6 dm tall. Leaves are divided into 3 leaflets,3-7 cm long. Bright yellow flowers with petals 2.5 cm long terminate the branches. This plant is an endemic indicator of the NC pineland. Blooms May-June. | |
Wire-plant (Stipulicida setacea ) | Extremely slender annual. The single stem grows to 12 cm long, widely forked into wire-like segments. Basal leaves overwinter then disappear. Stem leaves are just 1-2 mm long. Flowers terminal, 5 mm across with 5 tiny white petals. Blooms May-Aug. | |
Yaupon (Ilex vomitoria) | Large shrub with leathery, evergreen leaves, lustrous above 1-4.5 cm long, 0.8-2 cm wide. Flowers are 4 parted. Male and female flowers are separate, and 4 parted. Blooms March-May. | |
Yellow Pond Lilly (Nuphar advena) | Perennial aquatic. Leaves are floating or submersed. Floating leaves are ovate to roundish, deeply notched or heart-shaped at base. Flowers float at or just above the water surface. Petals are yellow, numerous, rounded. Blooms late April-mid Oct. | |
If you find an interesting plant take a picture. Send it to plants@walthour-moss.org Maybe we will include it here. |