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@toxicoradica.northsky.socialOct 13, 2026, 2:11 AM

🌸 frogfruit 🌿
Phyla lanceolata

#nativeplants #ecoregion71

a little flowerspike, seen from above, with ten tiny blooming flowers in a ring around its periphery. eight of the flowers are pink with red throats, while two are white with yellow throats. the flowers have five lobes: two little ones on top which often appear merged, two lateral lobes, and a bottom lobe longer and wider than the rest. just within the mouth of each flower there are two pairs of minute stamens. two little flowerspikes with blooming flowers (& a third still budding), seen mostly from the side. the lower spike has three blooming flowers, all white with yellow throats. the other, higher flowerspike has ten blooming flowers that are a mix of white with a yellow throat and pink w a red throat. the flowerspikes grow at the end of long green flowerstems; their origins are unseen or out of frame. however, it seems the budding spike on the lower right grows from an on-screen leaf axil. the frogfruit's green, opposite leaves are lance-shaped with margins toothed, especially on the half of the leaf nearer the tip. a dense mat of frogfruit; the view is filled with opposite pairs of green, lance-shaped, toothed leaves. the verdant expanse is occasionally broken by small flowerspikes bearing tiny flowers, a handful or so blooming simultaneously on each spike. some of the flowers are pink with red throats, others are white with yellow throats. it seems to be random, the two colors of flower commingle on each flowerspike.
@toxicoradica.northsky.socialOct 11, 2026, 2:15 AM

🌼 frost aster 🌿
Symphyotrichum pilosum

#nativeplants #ecoregion71

a close look at a portion of a racemous branch of a larger panicle, seen from above. in this photo there are four blooming composite flowers on a hairy stem running from top to bottom. each flowerhead has up to a couple dozen elliptic, white ray florets surrounding bright yellow disk florets with five tiny spreading corolla lobes. one flowerhead's disk is packed with still-unopened florets in the middle, with only the outer row of florets open. these mature florets have bright yellow fused stamen tubes with a yellow style growing through the middle, together extending out & beyond the mouth of the floret. on the other flowerheads' disks, the outer rows of florets have faded, turning reddish; only the inner florets are yellow. the end of a single branch of a larger panicle, lined with composite flowers with white rays and yellow disks, as well as a few buds, and one flowerhead at the tip of the stem whose rays have browned and curled in. the green stem on which the flowers sit is coated in dense hairs. no matter where on the stem the flowerstems are set, the stems seek upwards to keep the flowerhead facing the sky. at the base of each flowerstem there is a linear leaf bract; almost all of them have dried & turned brown. the base of each flowerhead is covered with green linear phyllaries, loosely appressed, long enough that they butt up against the bottom of the rays. the ray florets have white, petal-like corollas that lie mostly on a plane, tilted away from the viewer by an unseen hand... only the tips of a few of the bright yellow disk florets can be seen between the rays. a wide open field under a cloudy sky, a prairie filled with dense vegetation mostly coming up to around chest-high, with some exceptions like the towering ironweed in the background and a shorter patch in the foreground where some frost asters grow. the lower portions of their main stems are mostly lost in the tangle, but we can see many long, sprawling branches with many parallel sub-branches, collectively bearing dozens or hundreds of flowerheads with white petal-like rays and bright yellow disks.
@toxicoradica.northsky.socialOct 10, 2026, 4:59 AM

🌼 sweet everlasting 🌿
Pseudognaphalium obtusifolium

this plant emits a heavy, sweet aroma that reminds me of molasses

#nativeplants #ecoregion71

a small cluster of fourteen composite flowers, part of a much larger panicle. tightly packed tiny disk florets, colored yellow but fading to light brown, cluster within papery white involucral bracts which taper from the wider base to the narrower tip of the flowerhead. the individual florets are barely discernible. flowerheads in this cluster range from still budding (florets still hidden within the involucral bracts) to fresh blooms (yellow disks visible at the tip of the flowerhead) to fading (yellow turned to light brown). a bit more than a quarter of a large, dense panicle of small, white, conical flowerheads. the many branching stems that support the several hundred composite flowers in this photo are green, but covered in a dense mat of tiny white hairs. by the base of many of the branches are long, thin green leaves. the papery white involucre of each flowerhead tapers from the base, but in mature flowers it cut off before reaching a point. instead, the missing nose of the cone reveals a disk of many tiny, tightly packed florets, practically indistinguishable. these disk florets are yellow initially but fade to light brown. there are a few flowerheads in the photo that have gone to seed, and furthermore successfully dispersed those seeds. the involucre opens up, the constituent bracts spreading wide. the spread open, empty, expired flowerheads resemble daisies. sweet everlasting growing in a thick prairie. a relatively short plant, it doesn't rise to waist high. its stem starts branching fairly low, many ascending stems lined with long, thin green leaves. the stems all appeat white due to to a dense coat of tiny white hairs. the lowest leaves on all the stems are brown and wilted, but those further up are still verdant. the various stems all terminate in panicles of small, white, conical flowerheads.
@toxicoradica.northsky.socialOct 8, 2026, 12:26 AM

🌸 giant ironweed 🌿
Vernonia gigantea

#nativeplants #ecoregion71

a close-up photo looking primarily at a single ironweed flowerhead from the side (other flowerheads intrude into the frame but you are welcome to ignore them). this small composite flower stands at the end of a long, thin, dark purple flowerstem. the base of the flowerhead is cylindrical and lined with several rows of short, dark purple phyllaries, with a minute fringe of white hairs at the margins particularly on the lowest two rows. there are over a dozen large disk florets, but no ray florets. the disks have vivid purple tubular corollas that divide into five long, narrow, spreading & often recurving lobes. the stamens and styles push out well beyond the mouth of the florets. the stamens' white anthers fuse into a tube through which the purple style grows, tipped with two recurving stigma lobes. short, tan orange bristles poke up between the disks.seen from the side, a terminal panicle of vivid purple diskoid composite flowers at the top of a dark purple stem. the dozens of flowerheads in this honestly kinda small and dense ironweed panicle each bear around a dozen or so trumpet-shaped disk florets each with five long, narrow, spreading & recurving corolla lobes. the stem is lined with alternate green leaves, lance-shaped with finely serrated margins & a rough texture. the leaves near the panicle ascend as if to offer the blooming flowerheads moral support; the leaves lower down stick out to the sides impassively. a honestly kinda short giant ironweed standing merely chest-high in a thick prairie, accompanied by the yellow sprays of tall goldenrod and white starbursts of frost aster. this ironweed has a reddish green stem with a light complement of long, thin green leaves pressing the line between lance-shaped and linear, with finely serrated margins, growing alternate. at the top of the stem there is an erratically branching panicle of several dozen flowerheads each with around a dozen purple disk florets but no rays. many of the flowerheads are fading, going to seed.
@toxicoradica.northsky.socialOct 7, 2026, 2:17 AM

🌻 tall goldenrod 🌿
Solidago altissima

#nativeplants #ecoregion71

two racemous branches of a larger panicle, running down parallel from the top of the photo, seen from above. both stems are entirely obscured by the many dozens of small composite flowers blooming along their upper surfaces. each of the flowerheads has between half a dozen and a full dozen long, thin, ribbon-like bright yellow ray florets and several bright yellow disk florets with five spreading lobes. the sides of the flowerheads, where visible, are lined with slightly less vividly yellow or even a bit greenish phyllaries. seen from the side, a sprawling, terminal, pyramidal panicle containing hundreds of small, bright yellow composite flowers growing on the topsides of the panicle's many branching stems. the sturdy main stem is light green and bears lance-shaped, alternate, light green leaves. the leaves on the branching stems in the panicle tend to be much smaller, and even leaves on the main stem grow progressively smaller towards the top. the branches lowest on the stem are the longest and only bear flowers in short sections at their tips (one large branch on the right even has numerous flowering subbranches of its own). towards the top of the main stem, the branches are just short racemes. the flower-bearing, racemous stems tend to arch downwards towards their tips, and the plant as a whole leans to the right. a stand of tall goldenrod growing in a prairie under a partly cloudy but still bright and sunny blue sky. the goldenrod are taller than me. they have sturdy yellow-green stems lined with lance-shaped, alternate, light green leaves with a rough texture. towards the top of the stems, the leaves are reduced and many smaller, ascending branches grow off the sides of the main stems. the lower branches are longest and their lower reaches bear small leaves, but they terminate in short sections of densely packed bright yellow flowers. the branches grow shorter, the further up the main stem they grow, until they have no leafy section at all, just a run of little yellow flowers. these terminal panicles each contain many hundreds of flowers. in the bottom left, there is a single white and yellow frost aster flowerhead, just behind three ascending racemes of a ragweed. in the background above and behind the goldenrod stand some now-exhausted, somehow-even-taller ironweeds.
@toxicoradica.northsky.socialOct 5, 2026, 12:13 AM

🌼 white snakeroot 🌿
Ageratina altissima

#nativeplants #ecoregion71

a small cluster of blooming composite flowers on the outskirts of a larger panicle. each of the five flowerheads in this photo has between around half to a full dozen or so disk florets, and no ray florets. the disks have pure white tubular corollas with five pointed spreading lobes, as well as long, strongly exserted, bifurcated & erratically bending styles. the cylindrical bases of the flowerheads are lined with narrow, appressed, light green phyllaries. seen from above, a panicle of several dozen blooming composite flowers with over a dozen budding flowerheads in the mix as well. each flowerhead contains between around half a dozen and a full dozen or so pure white disk florets, with no ray florets. each floret has a tubular corolla with five pointed, spreading lobes. a long, bifurcated white style sticks out far beyond the mouth of the floret, but meanders and bends rather than sticking straight out. the base of each flowerhead is cylindrical and covered by narrow, light green phyllaries. the stems of the panicle are smooth and green, with occasional small, linear leaf bracts. white snakeroot growing on a steep dirt creekbank strewn with old fallen tree leaves, a few gray sticks, roots hanging out of the ledge above, and a scattering of fellow green herbs. the snakeroot has a smooth green stem with opposite leaves. its leaves are green, with a distinct network of veins creating valleys upon their upper surfaces. they are mostly egg-shaped, but taper to long points; their margins have many little teeth. the stem terminates in a panicle of white diskoid flowerheads.
@toxicoradica.northsky.socialOct 4, 2026, 2:10 AM

🌸 short's aster 🌿
Symphyotrichum shortii

or just called shorties, for short

#nativeplants #ecoregion71

a close-up look into the face of a medium-sized composite flower with around a dozen light blue-violet, elliptic ray florets surrounding several dozen light yellow, tubular disk florets with five pointed, spreading lobes. only the outermost series of florets in the flowerhead's disk are blooming; those in the center have yet to open. the blooming disks have a tan & pale yellow striped column rising from their center, a tube of fused stamens through which the style grows. behind this flowerhead, there are many buds still enclosed within narrow, light green phyllaries. small, green, elliptic leaf bracts line several panicle branches that run across the bottom of the photo. one of these stems terminates at the base of a blooming flowerhead, seen from the side. the base of the flower is between cylindrical and bell-shaped, and covered in several series of narrow, light green phyllaries with darker green pointed tips. the dozen or two pale blue-violet rays lie on a plane not quite perpendicular to our perspective. above the rays, there are several dozen pale yellow disks, out of which grow fused stamen tubes with pale yellow styles running through them, emerging from the top of the anthers and splitting into two short pale yellow or pale purple stigmas. two short's asters growing in between fallen tree branches on the forest floor. one runs off towards the bottom left, the other the bottom right. the leaves low on the stems are long & heart-shaped, with long leafstems. further up, the stems develop into a long terminal panicle. the leaves become progressively smaller, grading into lance-shaped bracts. numerous small, slender raceme-like branches angle off the main stem, each terminating in a flowerhead or bud; even smaller sub-branches fork off occasionally too. the flowerheads have up to a couple dozen elliptic, very pale blue-violet rays and a pale yellow disk.
@toxicoradica.northsky.socialOct 3, 2026, 2:04 AM

🌻 horsebalm 🌿
Collinsonia canadensis

#nativeplants #ecoregion71

a close-up looking down upon part of a panicle of light yellow flowers with funnel-shaped tubular corollas. the flower in the middle is best in focus and it faces the viewer. it has a short green calyx with narrow, pointed lobes. the corolla is narrow at the base but quickly widens. it is bilabiate; the upper lip has four small lobes (tough to see on this flower, a little easier to make them out on the flower to the left); there are also four little purple streaks that run back a short ways. the bottom lip has just one lobe, but it is adorned with a frilly white fringe with two purple streaks. two long, yellow stamens stick far out of the corolla, one on each side nestled in the crease between the two lips, with tan anthers at the tips. a long, thin, reddish purple style, strongly exserted like the stamens, hangs off by the stamen on the left. in the flower to the left, the style hangs out by the right stamen. there are only five blooming flowers on this branch of the panicle right now but there are around half a dozen buds growing, as well as a tower of even smaller buds lined up the stem nowhere near ready. looking from the side at an ascending branch of a pyramidal panicle of tubular, light yellow flowers. each flower has an upper lip with four small lobes and a lower lip sporting a single lobe with large frilly white fringe. the two yellow stamens and single purple style are very long, even longer beyond the mouth of the flower than the entire length of the corolla. the flowerstems which hold each flower's short green calyx are slightly ascending, but the corolla grows out of the calyx with an initial upward bend that sets it closer to vertical. over a dozen and a half blooming flowers are visible in this photo across several panicle branches (though most flowers are blurry). horsebalm growing in old fallen tree leaves on a steep slope. its stem is unusually bent and prostrate rather than standing erect, so its large, egg-shaped green leaves with scalloped edges almost appear to be a basal rosette. the top of the stem is a branching pyramidal panicle of tubular light yellow flowers; several dozen flowers are currently blooming, and the stems bear many more flowerbuds at their tips.
@toxicoradica.northsky.socialOct 1, 2026, 12:59 AM

🌼 tall rattlesnakeroot 🌿
Nabalus altissimus

#nativeplants #ecoregion71

three long, narrow, green flowerbuds hanging from a stem alongside one blooming composite flower (also pendant). there are short, dark green outer bracts at the base of the involucre, then a much longer, lighter set of inner bracts that run down the length of the corolla until just beyond where the light yellow, petal-like corollas of the flowerhead's five ray florets spread apart. there are no disk florets. five long styles descend from the pendant flowerhead, each pale yellow, one per floret. they subtly bifurcate by their tips, which are dusted with bright yellow pollen from their passage through the reddish tube of fused anthers that persists around the base of each style. a large, loose panicle of dangling flowerheads at the top of the stem of a tall rattlesnakeroot. the many branching stems tend to bear most of their composite flowers near their tips. many are still buds, shaped like little green torpedoes. the blooming flowerheads face the ground, their (usually) five light yellow ray florets flaring open to reveal a set of long, hanging styles. in the background, forest trees grow at the top of a gully's exposed rock outcrop. tall rattlesnakeroot growing among poison ivy on the forest floor; it stands around waist high. low on its stem, it bears alternate green leaves with five distinctively shaped deep palmate lobes. the leaves of these rattlesnakeroots are highly variable, often even on the same individual when comparing upper leaves to lower leaves. higher up, these leaves loose two of their lobes and form a T shape; near the top, there are some simple leaves just shaped like eggs. some flowers grow from leaf axils even fairly low on the stem, but most are higher up where the stem branches a few times to form a panicle. the flowers hang from their stems facing the ground, their light yellow petal-like rays spreading near flat. in the center of each flowerhead, there is a cluster of long styles, often dusted with bright yellow pollen at their tips, with a ring with reddish stamen tubes at their base.
@toxicoradica.northsky.socialSep 29, 2026, 1:18 AM

🌸 white turtlehead 🌿
Chelone glabra

despite the common name, is not actually related to turtles

#nativeplants #ecoregion71

a terminal flowerspike of large, tubular, bilabiate flowers, subtended by four green, lance-shaped leaf bracts. the flowers and buds in this spike have two green sepal-like bracts tucked up tight around their calyces, obscuring some of the actual sepals, which are sightly lighter green & oval. three flowers are in bloom: two facing away, one in best focus facing partially forward but mostly to the right. there is also a large bud nearly ready to open on the left. the corollas are mostly white, but at the tips they have patches of a deep purplish pink particularly on the inside surfaces. the upper lip is helmet-shaped and composed of two shallow lobes separated by a ridge running along the middle of the helmet and a small notch at the tip of the upper lip. the lower lip has three lobes: two lobes on the sides and an elevated, tongue-like lobe in the middle. long white hairs grow on the inner surface of the lower lip.looking directly into the face of a turtlehead flower. a twig has been used to press down on the tubular, bilabiate flower's lower lip, revealing the reproductive structures usually hidden within the tubular portion of the corolla. the lower lip has two lateral lobes as well as a slightly elevated middle lobe with more pronounced dark pink coloration. long white hairs grow on the inner surface of all three lobes on the lower lip. the helmet-like upper lip is mostly white, only turning pink at its tip. arching just below the upper lip from the back of the flower are four stamens and a single style. two stamens on each side curve like ribs towards the tip of the upper lip. their thick white filaments have dense hairs by the base, but turn smooth further up. the anthers are covered in white fuzzy hairs. the smooth white style runs up the middle, along the top ridge formed where the two upper lobes meet. the stigma barely pokes out above the fuzzy anthers, and is difficult to discern. turtlehead flowers face left & right in the background. white turtlehead growing at the edge and indeed within a shallow creek running on shale bedrock. short, flat shale and chert rocks sit loose in the water, nowhere near inundation. brown, freshly fallen tree leaves float on the creek or are trapped on the rocks. a fallen tree trunk runs across the photo left to right just behind the prone stem of the turtlehead. the stem would likely stand over waist high if it were upright instead of running just above & frequently resting on slight prominences in the bedrock. the turtlehead's leaves are large, green, and lance-shaped, occuring alternate & at intervals along the stem. the stems of flowerspikes branch by the leaf nodes. half a dozen spikes of large, tubular flowers can be seen in this photo, though some are largely hidden behind leaves. the flowers are mostly white but turn pink at their tips. angled slightly ascending from the spike, their helmet-like upper lips and tongue-like lower lips seem to resemble the outstretched head of a turtle. up to around four or five flowers are blooming from each spike.
@toxicoradica.northsky.socialSep 28, 2026, 1:08 AM

🌼 ghost pipe 🌿
Monotropa uniflora

doesn't photosynthesize,
hasn't chlorophyll

#nativeplants #ecoregion71

three ghost pipes growing from bare dirt, near moss, on the forest floor. these small flowers each have a slender, waxy white to pale pink stem with occasional white, scale-like leaves with margins starting to turn black. at the top of the stem, not even making it up ankle-high, the stem bends completely over and terminates in a single nodding flower. there are more, larger, and fresher leaves by the top of the stem than in its upright section, all translucent white. the bell-shaped flower has white petals that obscure all reproductive structures within. a twig has been used to bend one of the ghost pipes over to get a look inside the flower. within the curtain of white petals, there is a large cream white stigma, broad enough to fill most of the area within the petals. stamens with twin, pale yellow anthers are squeezed between the petals and the stigma around its circumference. a line of six ghost pipes growing in bare dirt on the forest floor. their thin, white to pale pink stems are lined with small, translucent white leaves, especially by the top where the stem bends over sharply. at the end of each stem is a bell-shaped white flower with waxy white petals. the smallest flower is barely above ground; the tallest is still below ankle height.
@toxicoradica.northsky.socialSep 25, 2026, 10:34 PM

🌼 tall thoroughwort 🌿
Eupatorium altissimum

#nativeplants #ecoregion71

a close look at a small bunch of around a dozen and a half small composite flowers, a small part of a much larger panicle. the flowerheads have just a few disk florets and no ray florets, and their sides are lined with several green phyllaries densely covered in a frosty-looking fuzz of tiny white hairs. white bristles stick up around the disk florets, some of which are blooming, others not yet. the disks have tubular white corollas with five gently spreading lobes. in the center of the corolla of each blooming floret there is a purple tube formed by fused anthers which barely sticks out beyond the mouth of the floret. a white style grows through the center of the stamen tube and extends much further out, longer beyond the corolla than the corolla's whole length. after escaping the stamen tube, the style splits in two. a terminal panicle of dozens of small, white, diskoid composite flowers. the base of the flowerheads are lined with light green phyllaries that appear frosty due to their dense coat of tiny white hairs. the light green branching stems that bear the flowerheads are similarly coated in tiny hairs. towards the tips, these stems are green, but lower down they are somewhat reddish. a few of the thoroughwort's light green, lance-shaped leaves are visible here too. tall thoroughwort standing around shoulder-high in a dry grassy savanna with some trees in the background. the two nearer thoroughworts are leaning towards the viewer & to the left, while one i the back to the right stands more erect. their stems are lined with opposite leaves, light green and lance-shaped with three distinct parallel veins running from base to tip. large, loose terminal panicles cap each of the throughworts' main stems; there are also some smaller axillary panicles at upper leaf nodes. the flowers are small and cylindrical, with light green bases and tiny white florets on top.
@toxicoradica.northsky.socialSep 24, 2026, 12:51 AM

🌸 great blue lobelia 🌿
Lobelia siphilitica

#nativeplants #ecoregion71

the terminal raceme of a great blue lobelia with a couple dozen blooming flowers mostly facing generally leftward though there are a few on the right as well. the stout green stem off which all the flowers grow has a few lance-shaped green leaves growing alternate by the bottom of the photo; the leaves diminish in size going up. there's no clear line where the situation changes from flowers growing from leaf axils to flowers subtended by leaf bracts, one grades into the other. the flowers grow each on a short, thin flowerstem that ends at a green calyx with long, claw-like lobes grasping the base of the corolla. the bilabiate tubular corollas are light blue-violet; they have three large, hanging lobes on the bottom lip and two small ascending lobes on the upper lip. the flowers highest up the stem are merely buds. in the background, a creek runs over shale bedrock, trees of the surrounding forest reflecting off its mostly still surface. a close-up photo of three flowers in a tall raceme, one facing forward, one slightly to the right, and the third facing to the right (this last one is a bit blurry). there are bits of other flowers in the raceme visible, but these are the only three entirely in frame. each flower had a green calyx with long, thin lobes; these are mostly obscured by the rest of the flowers due to the angle of this shot. each flower has a bilabiate tubular corolla, colored light blue-violet. the bottom lip has three long, wide lobes hanging parallel; where the lateral lobes meet the central lobe there is a raised white patch. the upper lip has two thin lobes that curve back and inward a bit such that their pointed tips nearly meet. the slit in the corolla tube between the two upper lobes is not directly visible, but is evinced by the arching column which rises diagonally from within to above the corolla, arching downwards by its tip. this column is a green style tipped with a thick white stigma, surrounded for most its length by a tube of fused stamens with light blue-violet filaments and dark purple anthers. great blue lobelia growing in a moss-covered patch of thin soil atop shale bedrock on the side of a creek in a hilly forest. the tallest lobelia of the several in this photo stands around waist-high. low on the stem there are large, alternate green leaves sorta obovate to lance-shaped. the top half of the plant is a tall terminal raceme with a couple dozen blooming flowers, mostly on the facing side of the stem. the flowers are light blue-violet and have two lips; the lower lip has three large hanging lobes, while the upper lip has two small erect lobes.
@toxicoradica.northsky.socialSep 22, 2026, 1:24 AM

🌼 oval ladies'-tresses 🌿
Spiranthes ovalis
var. erostellata

#nativeplants #ecoregion71

a flowerspike of tiny white orchid flowers at the top of a green stalk, seen from the side. the flowers are arranged in three columns which twist gently as a triple helix, most pronounced at the top of the spike where none of the flowers are open. one column is out of sight on the far side of the spike; one is mostly facing to the right; and the third is mostly facing forward, slightly to the left. each flower has a leafy bract at its base, cupping the hairy green ovary. the sepals and petals collectively form an apparently bilabial tube-shaped structure lying horizontal. two upper petals with a sepal resting on top across both petals for the 'upper lip' which rises slightly at the tip, while the third petal alone forms the 'bottom lip' which curves down sharply at its tip. the two remaining sepals are held out to the sides where they spread apart slightly. another angle, a little closer in, which better reveals the spiraling character of the three columns of tiny white orchid flowers. the flowers low on the spike are open, while those above are closed & may not ever open; this variety is capable of self-pollination. this perspective also gives a glimpse down the throat of some of the flowers, where there is a mild greenish tinge. some of the reproductive organs are tucked away in there but nothing can be seen distinctly. an oval ladies'-tresses growing on the floor of a deciduous hardwood forest, surrounded by the green leaves of violets. its thin green stalk rises from a bed of leaf litter & terminates below knee-height with a spike of tiny white orchid flowers arranged in a triple helix. there is one leaf growing at its base, smooth & shiny green, with entire margins, lance-shaped; a couple similar, though progressively smaller leaves grow at intervals higher on its stalk.
@toxicoradica.northsky.socialSep 20, 2026, 2:17 AM

💮 pink slender-thoroughwort 🌿
Fleischmannia incarnata

#nativeplants #ecoregion71

a small flat-topped panicle of small composite flowers which only have disk florets, no ray florets. around half a dozen flowerheads are blooming; there are additionally a handful of flowerbuds. the plant's green main stem rises from the center bottom of the photo then sprouts two opposite branches of similar thickness to the center stem. new subsidiary branches are starting to develop on all three. the flowerheads are cylindrical, lined with light green phyllaries whose tips often turn red. the corollas of the disk florets are light pink, maybe with a hint of blue. each corolla has five tiny spreading lobes and a tall style that splits in two at its tip. looking down upon a flat-topped panicle of with half a dozen blooming flowerheads as well as a few faded heads that already went to seed. most of the disk florets on these flowerheads are not yet open, which makes it easier to see those few that have opened up. each disk has light pink corolla with five spreading lobes. most are still developing their styles, but there are a few whose styles have grown well past the end of the corolla & split in two. pink slender-thoroughwort growing in a field of short grass near a treeline in a limestone cedar glade. its green stem stretchess upward an improbable height given its flimsy appearance (over knee high), leaning strongly to the left. the stem bears alternate leaves, triangular in shape with scalloped margins, set at the end of long leafstems. most of the leaves look wilted; it hasn't rained here in nearly a month and summer has been fierce. at the top of the stem there is a small, flat-topped panicle of light pink flowers.
@toxicoradica.northsky.socialSep 18, 2026, 12:53 AM

💮 slenderstalk beeblossom 🌿
Oenothera filipes

#nativeplants #ecoregion71

seen from the side, a single blooming flower near the tip of a slender green stalk, with a handful of narrow buds developing above. the flower sits on a very short pink flowerstem that bends to the side and joins to a light purplish-green ovary with an X-shaped cross-section. beyond that, there is a narrow light green tube before the sepals. the four sepals are thin, pink, and strongly reflexed backwards, but they curve back in, too, some of them even pointing back forwardsish at their tips. four white, paddle-shaped petals are arranged across the top half of the flower, above the stamens and style; however, the petals are a bit wilty so lean forwards instead of standing erect. there are eight stamens with thin white filaments and tan yellow anthers that look crumbly and dry. like the petals, the stamens also droop. the thin white style is longer than the stamens and it droops even further down. its four-lobed pale yellow stigma faces the ground. same flower, seen from the front. this flower is the only blooming member of a long raceme. above, there are around a dozen flowerbuds which get successively smaller the further up you look. below, there is a small gap where slightly older flowers have dropped away, but below that there are some blurry developing fruits. the one active flower has four droopy white paddle-shaped petals; four strongly reflexed thin pink sepals; eight droopy stamens with white filaments and tan yellow anthers; and a long white droopy style with a pale yellow stigma. slenderstalk beeblossom growing in a patch of prairie by a limestone cedar glade with a treeline in the background dominated by eastern redcedars. the beeblossom is difficult to distinguish in this field of tall dry grass. up to around knee-height or so, it has a red stem with multiple branches, all with thin green leaves near the top. from these branches grow tall green flowerstalks, long racemes with well-spaced flower nodes, rising head-high. little seedpods are growing up most the stalk, but near the top there is one blooming flower, then about a dozen flowerbuds above. the flower has drooping white petals and thin, peeled back pink sepals.
@toxicoradica.northsky.socialSep 14, 2026, 2:48 AM

🌸 blue mistflower 🌿
Conoclinium coelestinum

#nativeplants #ecoregion71

seen from mostly above, a small panicle of around nine smallish, light blue-violet composite flowers. the flowerheads are diskoid, i.e. they have only disk florets, no ray florets. each of the disks have a thin tubular corolla with five tiny spreading lobes and a long, bifurcated style that extends far beyond the tip of the corolla. the flowerheads have up to several dozen florets, on which the mass of long, somewhat limp styles are the most distinctive feature. another mistflower panicle, seen from the side. this panicle bears around a dozen and a half flowerheads with light blue-violet disk florets, but no rays. some flowerheads, particularly at the front, have mostly budding disks; further back the flowerheads are fully blooming, their many thread-like styles often obscuring the rest of the florets. where visible, the florets' corollas are thin & tubular, with five small spreading lobes. blue mistflower growing on a bed of last year's fallen tree leaves in a forest. it stands over knee-high and for most of that height bears opposite green leaves shaped somewhere between an egg and a triangle. the stem terminates in a small panicle of light blue-violet flowerheads with long, thread-like, droopy styles that often obscure the whole rest of the flower. there are couple smaller panicles growing either on smaller mistflowers hiding behind this tall one, or perhaps they grow from leaf axils.
@toxicoradica.northsky.socialSep 11, 2026, 3:26 AM

🌸 perennial fuzzybean 🌿
Strophostyles umbellata

their beanpods aren't really that fuzzy. but i suppose they are fuzzier than most beanpods anyways 🤷🏼‍♀️

#nativeplants #ecoregion71

close-up look into the face of a bean flower. its banner petal is wider than tall, but almost semicircular, colored light pink. there is a depression in the center bottom of the banner with somewhat darker pink around the edges & near white in the center. the two wing petals are a little darker pink than the banner. they are asymmetric, the left held higher than the right. they embrace the keel petals. the keels are near white at their base but darken to hot pink, to purple at the tips. these two petals are held so close together they resemble a single tissue; they spiral upwards, reaching just above the top of the depression at the center of the banner. a few stamens with pale yellow anthers peek out from between the keels as they twist. side view of the same flower, with one of the fuzzybean's trifoliate leaves with lance-shaped leaflets on the left. the flower is set at the end of a slowly ascending green stem. got some bugs on its short green calyx. the light pink banner petal leans back around π/4 radians from vertical. two pink wings flank the prominent keels, which are white at the base then transition through pink to purple as the curl upwards. perennial fuzzybean twining through short recently mown grass in a powercut. the fuzzybean is a vine with trifoliate green leaves with lance-shaped leaflets. the single blooming flower in this photo sits at the end of a fairly long green stem which rises up above the grass & its own leaves. the flower has a light pink banner, pink wings, and keels that run from white to pink to purple at the tips.
@toxicoradica.northsky.socialSep 10, 2026, 1:13 AM

🌸 field thistle 🌿
Cirsium discolor

#nativeplants #ecoregion71

seen from the side, a large composite flower with an urn-shaped receptacle covered in small, green, scale-like phyllaries each with a light green stripe running vertically down the middle and a long golden yellow spike rising diagonally outwards from the tip. at the top of the flowerhead there are no ray florets, but hemispherical mass of numerous disk florets with long, very thin tubular, five-lobed corollas colored light pink. the disks' styles are much taller than the corollas, and for a part of their length are enrobed within a tube of fused anthers. some lil insects are crawling between the disks. spiny green leaf bracts surround the base of the flowerhead. same flowerhead, seen from a much higher angle- the urn-shaped, spine-covered base is obscured. this flowerhead has only disk florets, no rays, but the disks are numerous, many dozens, facing all directions outwards. their corollas are long, thin tubes that terminate in five thin, spreading lobes. each floret has five stamens with long, slender filaments that extend slightly beyond the mouth of the corolla. above that point, the stamens' anthers fuse into a tube that surrounds the style; at the very tips, the anthers are purple. the styles are extremely long and generally curve skyward at least a bit. there is a bee or fly flying around on the left, and a closer bee on the right climbing among the forest of styles. it has black legs and eyes, a light yellow & fuzzy body, and long brown antennae.a bad photo which shows the stem of a field thistle from near its base up high enough to see five flowerheads, none of which are blooming. the green stem bears alternate leaves, green with deep pinnate lobes which are sharp & spiky. from the main stem grow several ascending branches, all lined with spiky leaves, all of which terminate in a flowerhead which is not blooming 😮‍💨. they are urn-shaped and covered in spines. the thistle comes up near to head height.
@toxicoradica.northsky.socialSep 8, 2026, 1:03 AM

🌸 downy lobellia 🌿
Lobelia puberula

#nativeplants #ecoregion71

a raceme of about a dozen and a half light blue-violet flowers growing at erratic intervals up a tall green stem, all on the same side of the stem but facing various directions generally forwardsish. the flowers have tubular corollas that terminate in two unequal lips, top & bottom. the top lip has two narrow lobes that stand mostly erect, leaning over and bending back. they are separated by a lengthwise split in the corolla that runs most of the way down the tube. the bottom lip has three larger and wider lobes that hang down, one straight down & the two lateral lobes angling to the sides. each of the lower lobes has a distinct midline crease. all five lobes are light blue-violet, though on the bottom lip there are patches of white where the lobes meet. each corolla is set in a green calyx with long, linear lobes. some of the lobelia's leaves can be seen further down the stem, though they are blurry. also blurry are the large greenbriar leaves in the background.a close-up on a short segment of the raceme of a downy lobelia, featuring three flowers in their entirety. the flowers grow on a green stem many short white hairs. each flower is subtended by a narrow, green leaf bract. the shallow calyx is green, covered in short hairs, and terminates in five long, tapering lobes that curve away from the corolla. the tubular portion of the corolla is very light purple, and has a long split down the top through which the flower's stamens and style can be seen. the five stamens have white filaments and dark purple anthers, all fused together into a tube around the style. the style is mostly hidden within the stamen tube, but its stigma is exposed when the flower is fully mature. the stamens and style rise above the corolla through the top slit, then curve downward by the tip. the corolla's lower lip has three large, hanging lobes, while the upper lip has two small erect lobes with the slit in the corolla tube running between them. downy lobelia growing alongside a thriving greenbriar on the forest floor, old fallen tree leaves and sticks lying around nearby. the lobelia has a single unbranching stem with alternate leaves close to the ground. these leaves are green, egg-shaped to oval, larger lower down and quickly shrinking before disappearing altogether less than halfway up the thigh-high stem. above the leaves there is a tall raceme of about a dozen and a half light blue-violet flowers with three large lobes hanging down from the flower's bottom lip & two smaller lobes standing up on top. all of the flowers grow on the same side of the stem.