WISCONSIN WILD FLOWERS AND FERNS 
More and more people are starting 
a “wild” garden, complete with the 
many lovely wild flowers and interesting 
ferns native to Wisconsin. There is a 
fascination to these wild flowers that 
once experienced makes the growing 
of the “cultivated” flowers seem routine 
by comparison. Being all hardy perren- 
ials, once established you have a recur- 
ring pleasure each year as you watch 
them poke their way up at the beginning 
of spring. Although they can be planted 
in spring and fall, we favor the fall 
planting so you can watch them come 
up the following spring. See book list- 
ings for excellent source for wild flower 
information. Keep this literature for 
your fall orders. 
BANEBERRY, RED EARLY: Actea rubra. Tall 
white flowers in May, red berries in July. 
BANEBERRY, WHITE LATE: Actea alba. Similar 
to above. White berries in August. 
BLOODROOT: Sanguinaria canadensis. Fragile gold 
and white blossoms in early spring. Height ten 
inches. Single leaf. 
BLUEBELLS, SCOTCH: Campanula rotundifolia. 
Delicate bluebells June till fall. 
BLUEBELLS, VIRGINIA: Mertensia virginica. Cup 
shaped pink to blue flowers with large floppy 
leaves. One foot high. 
COHOSH, BLUE: Caulophyllum thalictroides. Yel- 
low flowers in spring. August, blue berries. 
COLUMBINE, WILD: Aquilegia canadensis. Red 
and yellow flowers in late May. 
DOGTOOTH VIOLET, WHITE: Erthronium albi- 
dum. Long mottled leaf. White 6 petal flower. 
DOGTOOTH VIOLET, YELLOW: Erthronium 
americanum. Light yellow; like white dogtooth. 
DUTCHMAN’S BREECHES: Dicentra cucullaria. 
Fern like leaves with 4-8 small ‘‘breeches.” 
GENTIAN, BOTTLE: Gentiana andrewsi. Late 
summer flower. Deep blue, glossy leaves. Tall. 
HEPATICA: Hepatica acutiloba, Small early spring 
flower. Varying blue to white. 
JACK-IN-THE-PULPIT: Arisaema triphyllum. Looks 
like minister popping from pulpit. 
JACOB’S LADDER: Polemonium reptans. Tall 
spring flower. Blue bell shaped flowers. 
LOBELIA, BLUE: Lobelia syphilitica. Blue spikes 
in August. About 18 inches high. 
LOBELIA, CARDINAL: Lobelia cardinalis. Red 
blooms in late summer. Quite tall. 
MARSH MARIGOLD: Caltha palustris. Glossy 
golden blooms in May. Thick edible heart shaped 
leaf. 
PHLOX, WILD BLUE: Phlox divaricata. Masses of 
dolicate blue flowers in May. 
SQUIRREL CORN: Dicentra canadensis, Tiny pink 
and white flowers. Fern-like leaves. 
TRILLIUM, NODDING: Trillium cernuum. Grace- 
ful white flowers. Spring blooming. 12” high. 
TRILLIUM, SHOWY: Trillium grandiflorum. White 
butterfly-like flower. An early spring species. 
VIOLET, BIRDSFOOT: Viola pedata. Varying 
shades of lavender. Profuse flowering. 
VIOLET, BLUE: Viola cucullata. The common deep 
blue variety. Spreads rapidly. 
VIOLET, CONFEDERATE: Viola cucullata var. 
Large white flowers with blue center. 
VIOLET, FRECKLED: Viola cucullata var. White 
speckled with blue coloring. Fascinating. 
VIOLET, SWEET WHITE: Viola blanda. Tiny 
fragrant white flowers. 
VIOLET, TALL YELLOW: Viola pubescens. Tall 
stems with fragrant yellow flowers. 
—SE be Od ThE RSID E AF OR? Rive Hise 
