Fernleaf Yellow False Foxglove

Fernleaf Yellow False Foxglove
Aureolaria pedicularia

This species is cool in that it is a hemiparasite, which means that it gets some of its nutrition from another plant, namely oaks.  Its roots attach to the roots of an oak tree and suck out the juice.  It doesn't hurt the oak tree.  All of the Aureolaria species, i.e. the yellow false foxgloves, are hemiparasites on oak trees.  You won't find any in a garden anywhere unless it's shaded by an oak.

According to the botanists, this species differs from other Aureolaria species by its bipinnatifid leaves, pinnatifid calyx teeth, and glandular hairs on its stems and pedicels.

Note the bipinnatifid leaves

Note the pinnatifid calyx teeth

Note the glandular hairs on the stem and pedicels

Fan Clubmoss

Fan Clubmoss
Lycopodium digitatum

Ah, the clubmosses, which aren't a moss at all, but rather a primitive vascular plant. These plants have been roaming the earth for some time now, over 300 million years.  The plants of old were monstrous, as large as oak trees, and the dominant plants of the era.  Coal beds were formed by these and other spore-bearing plants.

Fun Fact: The spores of this plant are high in oil and are quite flammable, once called "lycopodium powder".  When tossed in a flame, they ignite briefly with a bright flame and have historically been used as a source of light for photographer's flashes, as well as many other uses that people have had over the years for flashy flames.  Now I've got to go out and collect some, for research purposes.

Leaves look like a fan

European Lily Of The Valley

European Lily of the Valley
Convallaria majalis

This plant is a good example of the difficulty of taxonomy.  In this case, the difficulty is that this plant had been found in the southern Appalachian mountains in the early 1800's, far from any known plantings of it in gardens at the time.  The American variety is a bit different than the garden variety, so taxonomists had to figure out what to do with it, i.e. is it a species, a variety, or the same as the European variety.

As with every other plant, each taxonomist had a different idea and in the days before the internet and instant communication, chaos reigned in the American Lily of the Valley world.

In one paper I read, they noted that the American version has been named variously over the years as:

• Convallaria majalis
• C. montana 
• C. majuscula
• C. majalis var. montana
• C. pseudomajalis

Of course, they didn't like any of the names and came up with a new one:

• Convallaria majalis L. subsp. majuscula

You can find mention of practically any of these names currently in use in various places.  Of course, it doesn't really matter here, since the southern Appalachian mountains don't run through Indiana.  We'll only find garden escapes.

The pretty flowers make this a favorite for gardens and bridal bouquets.

Elmleaf Goldenrod

Elmleaf Goldenrod
Solidago ulmifolia

Plant namers have the same sort of trouble as street namers; it's easy to run out of ideas for names.  When it gets to the point of naming plants after other plants, you know they hit the bottom of the barrel.  In fact, the species name of ulmifolia literally means elm leaf, so they couldn't even think of a good scientific name.

On the other hand, if you know what an elm leaf looks like, it does make it easier to identify this species, since the leaves look more like elm leaves than the other goldenrod species.

This is one of the woodland species, along with Zigzag (Solidago flexicaulis) and Blue-stemmed or Wreath (Solidago caesia) Goldenrods.  All three of these are a delight to see during a walk through the woods.

The leaf looks somewhat like an elm leaf, although it looks like any other leaf that is toothed and wider than many other goldenrod species.

Zigzag Goldenrod leaf

Wreath Goldenrod leaf