NATURALIST'S 



NOTEBOOK 



Laurel Hill Prey 



Indian Blanket, Gaillardia 



Laurel Hill Press 



Railroad Vine, Ipomoea pes-caprae 



Laurel Hill Press 



summer also offers opportunities for those 

 willing to brave the heat. 



Duke University botany professor 

 Robert Wilbur, a wildflower fan, says the 

 coastal plain's geology and topography 

 sprout hundreds of intriguing wild natives. 



"It's a rich flora," he says. "The whole 

 coastal plain has very unique and interesting 

 flora." 



Though development encroaches on 

 pristine areas, you can find wildflowers if 

 you know where to look. Here's a taste of 

 what's out there, starting with some of the 

 easiest to spot in June, July and August. 



Q 



Passion Rower, Passiflora incamata 



r n roadsides and near 

 condominiums, hotels and beach houses: 



• Indian blanket Gaillardia pulchella. 

 A daisylike flower with red, orange or 

 yellow petals, it is found in relatively dry 

 places such as dunes. 



• Maypops/Passion flower Passiflora 

 incarnata. This ornate, sky-blue flower 

 stays close to the ground and produces a 

 lemon-sized, greenish-yellow fruit in the 

 fall. Some say the flower represents 

 Christian imagery: 10 petals call to mind 

 the 1 apostles who did not betray Christ, 

 and five stamens represent the five wounds 

 inflicted on Christ. 



• Morning glories Ipomoea spp. These 

 vines have funnel-shaped flowers and heart- 

 shaped leaves that trail along the ground in 

 dry soils. The name comes from the often- 

 white flowers that open to welcome the 

 morning but collapse by mid-day. 



• Golden asters Chrysopsis spp. 

 These upright stems of abundant, long- 

 lasting yellow flowers usually grow upright 

 in dry, sandy soils. 



• Yuccas/Spanish bayonets Yucca 

 spp. Members of the lily family, these 

 flowers have long, pointed leaves in an 

 evergreen basal rosette. From the leaves 

 emerges a stalk three to five feet tall, 

 covered with six-petaled white flowers. 



• Thoroughworts Eupatorium spp. 

 Upright plants two to four feet tall sport 



flat-topped clusters of small, white flowers. 

 "Individual flowers are very small, but 

 there are lots of them so they make a 

 very obvious show to attract pollinators," 

 Ward says. 



Q 



f n frontal dunes and areas that 

 lie between the high tide mark and beach 

 houses: 



• Seaoats Uniola paniculata. The 

 signature plant of the frontal dunes, sea oats 

 bloom in the summer when their pale green 

 flowers and fruits often pass unnoticed. As 

 the season goes on, they turn straw-colored. 

 Resistant to salt spray, sea oats stabilize the 

 dunes, so avoid walking on or picking 

 them. 



• Sandspurs Cenchrus spp. Wild- 

 flowers that most people try to avoid, 

 sandspurs are not known for their flowers, 

 but for their fruit. These are covered in 

 long, barbed spines that stick to clothing 

 and help the plant get around to new sites. 



I 



.n wet areas close to the ocean or 

 sound or in roadside ditches: 



• American water lily Nymphaea 

 odorata. This beautiful, fragrant perennial 

 has large, roundish to heart-shaped leaves 

 that float on the water. The creamy white 

 flowers are three to six inches across and 

 remain open for days. 



• White-topped sedge Dichromena 

 colorata. Although most sedges look like 

 grasses and don't have showy flowers, this 

 one is striking, with floppy, white, thin 

 bracts that surround very small flowers. 

 Sedges can be easily identified because 

 their stems are triangular rather than round. 



• Pickerel weed Pontederia cordata. 

 Found in standing water or very wet soils, 

 this native perennial grows two to three feet 

 tall and produces a very upright spike of 

 blue flowers. 



• Cattail Typha latifolia. This plant 

 can grow to six feet tall and has long, green 



30 EARLY SUMMER 1999 



