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toxicojendron radicans

@toxicoradica.northsky.social
10K followers 361 following 10K posts

🌻🌼🌺🌷🌸🏵️💮🌹 wildflowers of middle tennessee ecoregion 71 (f, g, h, i) 👉🏻☘️💯👍🏻 jen nashville she/her 🏳️‍⚧️ amateur eschatophenologist

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toxicojendron radicans @toxicoradica.northsky.social · 29/09/2026
🌸 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.
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toxicojendron radicans @toxicoradica.northsky.social · 28/09/2026
🌼 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.
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Reposted by toxicojendron radicans
Resist 🕎🍉 @antizionistjew.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
New Google Maps satelite photos, you can literally see it with your own eyes now! But it's not a genocide... 🤡🤡
Flattened area
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toxicojendron radicans @toxicoradica.northsky.social · 25/09/2026
🌼 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.
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toxicojendron radicans @toxicoradica.northsky.social · 24/09/2026
🌸 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.
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toxicojendron radicans @toxicoradica.northsky.social · 22/09/2026
🌼 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.
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toxicojendron radicans @toxicoradica.northsky.social · 20/09/2026
💮 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.
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toxicojendron radicans @toxicoradica.northsky.social · 18/09/2026
💮 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.
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toxicojendron radicans @toxicoradica.northsky.social · 14/09/2026
🌸 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.
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toxicojendron radicans @toxicoradica.northsky.social · 11/09/2026
🌸 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.
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toxicojendron radicans @toxicoradica.northsky.social · 10/09/2026
🌸 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.
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toxicojendron radicans @toxicoradica.northsky.social · 08/09/2026
🌸 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.
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toxicojendron radicans @toxicoradica.northsky.social · 06/09/2026
🌸 leafy elephant's-foot 🌿 Elephantopus carolinianus #nativeplants #ecoregion71
seen from the side, a cluster of small composite flowers, subtended by three leaf bracts at the top of a green stem. only one flowerhead is blooming, but the remains of faded flowers still clutters the cluster. the blooming flowerhead has just three disk florets, no rays. however, the white, tubular corollas of these disks are highly asymmetric: they have five deep lobes all on the same side of the floret, shaped almost like a hand. the metaphorical butts of the palms of these three hands meet, with the fingers radiating outwards. taken as a whole & at a glance, the entire flowerhead looks like a single flower with thin petals instead of three adjacent florets of unusual shape. each disk has a tall column formed of white fused stamens which grows around a white style, all well exserted from the tubular portion of the corolla. the styles terminate in two minutely curly stigmas.seen from above, looking into the face of a small composite flower with four asymmetric disk florets but no rays. each floret has a tubular corolla out of which grows a thin fused stamen tube surrounding a slightly taller bifurcated style, all white. the corollas also have five long, thin spreading lobes all arranged on one side of the floret. the lobeless side of the corolla faces inwards; the long lobes spread outwards. the color of the disks is nearly white, but with hints of purple at the tips of the lobes. this is the only blooming flowerhead in a cluster growing atop a set of three green leaf bracts. leafy elephant's-foot growing on the forest floor among lush groundcover including poison ivy. a gray fallen tree branch with patches of deep green moss runs across the upper right. egg-shaped to lance-shaped green leaves grow alternate on the elephant's-foot's occasionally branching green stem. at the top of each branch there is a cluster of small flowerheads, only one of which blooms at a time. the flowerheads are light purple & from a distance resemble a single flower with many thin petals.
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toxicojendron radicans @toxicoradica.northsky.social · 05/09/2026
🌻 beaked hawkweed 🌿 Hieracium gronovii #nativeplants #ecoregion71
a close look into the face of a small composite flower with several series of ray florets but no disk florets. the flat tips of the rays' yellow, strap-like corollas have five little teeth. each floret has a yellow style that splits into two curly stigmas. same flower, seen from the side. the base of the flower is a narrow cylinder lined with green involucral bracts with acutely pointed reddish tips and a sparse coat of short hairs. the flowerhead's yellow rays do not lay flat, but angle forwards about π/4 radians. they have five teeny teeth at their tips. curly-tipped yellow styles can be seen through gaps between the rays. the flowerhead's reddish stem bears a thin coat of short hairs. beaked hawkweed growing on a hill in a forest. the ground is covered in brown tree leaves from last year as well as quite few fallen branches with many gray and green patches of lichen. the hawkweed has a basal rosette of egg-shaped green leaves that are widest beyond the middle. there's only one leaf on its stem, fairly close to the ground. the stalk is around knee-high and develops into a sparse panicle of bright yellow flowers reminiscent of dandelions.
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toxicojendron radicans @toxicoradica.northsky.social · 03/09/2026
🌸 tennessee coneflower 🌿 Echinacea tennesseensis fifteen years ago today, tennessee coneflower was delisted from the usa's endangered species list after decades of effort to protect its habitat. only found in the limestone cedar glades of the nashville basin. #nativeplants #ecoregion71
looking face-on at a large composite flower with a dozen oblong, light pink ray florets with 2 points & a notch between at their tips, surrounding a cone of dozens of narrow, dark red disk florets. the disks at the periphery of the cone are done blooming, while those in the very center are still green & haven't started. between those extremes, some disks are capped with little 5-pointed tufts of pale yellow pollen; the floret's five stamens are fused into a tube around the style & as the anthers dry, they shrink, which first pushes pollen out the top of the stamen tube then eventually allows the style's two curly stigmas to hang free. some of the disks are at this stage, their stigmas coated in pollen looking like moth antennae. a close-up look at the cone of a tennessee coneflower. the peripheral disk florets are the lowest, with each successive series of florets set slightly higher. the green buds in the center more or less share a level right now, but as they mature the height of the cone will increase towards the center. this photo reveals easily overlooked details about the disk florets. each one sits within a V-shaped, spike-like chaffy bract that stands taller than the floret itself. this is especially evident in some of the green buds on the right, adjacent to the innermost row of red, blooming disks. the chaffy bracts of the immature disks are green like the bud, but their tips are red; bract and bud alike redden as they mature. around have a dozen disks near the transition between bud and bloom show their pollen-tipped stamen tubes. further out, the stamens have diminished and the dark red bifurcated styles are the most prominent feature besides the shield-like chaffy bracts. the cone is surrounded by hot pink ray florets. tennessee coneflower growing between gray fieldstones in a gravel-strewn limestone cedar glade. there are two flowerheads in bloom; the nearer has light pink rays, while the farther is a deeper pink. at the center of each flowerhead is a cone of dark red disk florets. rather than the cone facing the sky as with many other species of coneflower, the stems of these ones nod over partially so the flowerheads face more to the side. they have a rosette of hairy, green, elliptic leaves at their base and a handful of similar leaves on their hairy reddish green stems. for being an arid stony plain, this glade has a fair amount of green vegetation courtesy of recent rains. gumweed, agave, grass, and tennessee coneflower.
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toxicojendron radicans @toxicoradica.northsky.social · 02/09/2026
🌻 tall tickseed 🌿 Anacis tripteris formerly of genus Coreopsis #nativeplants #ecoregion71
looking right in the face of a moderately large composite flower with 7 bright yellow, elliptic, petal-like ray florets surrounding around a dozen blooming, reddish purple, 5-lobed tubular disk florets in a ring around the periphery of the disk. the center of the disk is short and gray, and i dont really know what's going on there. anyways in the middle of each of the blooming disk florets there is a column of brown fused stamens with a little cap of bright yellow pollen at the top. actually if you loom really close, a disk on the left has matured a little more & its stamen tube has shrunk down to reveal the reddish purple bifurcated style that was hiding within. a few small black ants are crawling around the flowerhead. two tall tickseed flowerheads, one at the end of each of a pair of slim & smooth green stems which branched apart. they have bright yellow, elliptic rays and reddish purple disks. the flowerhead to the left is the same as seen in the previous photo; its stamen tubes have mostly not yet dried out & shrunk enough to uncover the styles within. on the flowerhead to the right, it seems like some of the rays and disks alike have fallen off the receptacle. the base of the disk florets' tubular corollas are yellow then turn deep reddish in the top half. their bifurcated styles are exposed: the styles are yellow below, but turn red where they split into two curly stigmas. tall tickseed growing along a dirt path in a shady forest. rather than standing tall, its long main stem at first rises, bends over, then curves back up. it has only a few flowerheads, two blooming with bright yellow rays and reddish purple disks. it would probably be happier if it had better access to sunlight! opposite trifoliate leaves run up its smooth green stem, the leaflets green and lance-shaped. after the stem's final upwards turn, however, the leaves are no longer compound.
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toxicojendron radicans @toxicoradica.northsky.social · 01/09/2026
🌸 beechdrops 🌿 Epifagus virginiana obligate parasite epi "upon" fagus "beech" #nativeplants #ecoregion71
a tall raceme with around half a dozen white and purple flowers blooming. the flowering stalk is a pale brownish color with purple streaks; the flowers grow alternate, facing all directions around. each flower is set in a cup-shaped white calyx with five purple lobes that run up the side of the corolla. the tubular, slightly downward-arching corollas are mostly white but have purple streaks along the midline of their four lobes; the top lobe has a particularly thick streak. there are flowerbuds above the blooming flowers on the raceme, and expired flowers below. the background is blurry old fallen tree leaves from last year. a close-up on a portion of a raceme of 4-lobed, tubular, white and purple flowers. the stalk off which the flowers grow is off-white with purplish vertical streaks. the flowers grow on very short, nearly nonexistent, flowerstems & have white cup-shaped calyces each with five purple lobes. their corollas are white but streaked with purple along the creased midline of its four lobes, especially on the top lobe. four stamens are tucked inside each flower, but they are hard to see even in the few flowers that are facing us; however, the white style with its yellow stigma is easy to see as it tends to stick out just beyond the end of the corolla. beechdrops growing on a forest floor littered with tan and gray fallen tree leaves from last autumn along with a few sticks. in the background there are trees of small to moderate width with green leaves, a few bushes, but really not much growing on the floor. there are a pair of beechdrops growing next to each other in a patch of moss in the foreground. each has a mess of brown, tan, and pale ascending branches. all the stems are lined with alternate flowers. no part of the plants are green; they completely lack chlorophyll. low on the stems, the flowers have a similar appearance to flowerbuds; they are self-pollinating closed flowers. only a few flowers high on the stems are open flowers that might cross-pollinate. the open flowers angle upwards from their calyces but have gently downward-arching tubular corollas, colored white and purple.
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Reposted by toxicojendron radicans
Nature’s Edge @edge-nature.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme is #BirdsUpClose — Any bird at close range, allowing you to see their lovely fine details. A Black-chinned Hummingbird demonstrating how salvia plants use hummingbirds to transfer pollen by brushing it on their forehead from the anthers of the flower. 🌿🪶
A hummingbird reaching into a red tubular flower with its long beak and tongue. As it reaches into the flower, the anthers that produce pollen are brushing pollen onto the forehead of the hummingbird, turning the forehead yellow.
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toxicojendron radicans @toxicoradica.northsky.social · 30/08/2026
🌸 mouse bean 🌿 Amphicarpaea bracteata #nativeplants #ecoregion71
a cluster of legume-type flowers, three visible and one obscured (and a fifth half out of frame on the left) at the end of a horizontal stem running in from the left. they have deep tubular white calyces which end in pointed lobes. the petals emerge from the calyx wrapped into a tube. the upper petal (the banner) peels away from the rest, its lateral edges rolled up. most of the banner is white but it turns purple by the tip. two white wing petals are held straight forward below the banner, and the two white keel petals are positioned similarly beneath them. the same cluster of four flowers but rolled over onto the underside of a flipped up light green leaflet with a pattern of branching veins raised from its surface. the flowers have tubular white calyces with pointed lobes, light purple banner petals with rolled back lateral edges, white wing petals, and white keel petals. the wings form an upper hood over the keels, which true to their name resemble the keel of a boat, curving upwards at the tip and keeping tightly together. mouse bean twining through neighboring plants low to the ground. this vine has trifoliate green leaves. the two lateral leaflets are egg-shaped but asymmetric--the side of the leaflet nearest the terminal leaflet is thinner than the far side--though they do mirror each other. the terminal leaflet
has a markedly longer leafstem than the other two, is symmetrical, widest below the middle & narrows to an acute tip. a raceme of flowers grows from the axil of a leaf near the middle of the photo. the flowers are white and light purple, growing out of tubular white calyces.
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toxicojendron radicans @toxicoradica.northsky.social · 29/08/2026
🌻 smooth oak-leech 🌿 Aureolaria flava the most common common name for this genus "false foxglove" is also the most common common name for genus Agalinis, which is in the same family (Orobanchaceae) 😤 both genera are hemiparasitic. this species prefers white oaks #nativeplants #ecoregion71
a short portion of a lengthy raceme of blooming yellow flowers growing in opposite pairs with green leaf-like bracts at their base, crossing from bottom left to upper right & leaning on a broken stem bearing empty calyces rising from center bottom, with another stem cutting across the bottom left corner bearing round yellow flowerbuds. the buds are a more intense yellow than the softer, lighter blooming flowers. the blooming flowers have tubular corollas which end in five short, rounded, spreading lobes. four stamens with large tan anthers hide within the tube, joined by a long, curving yellow-green style. an empty green calyx in front of the most central blooming flower retains its style, which stands in an S-shape. more of the same scene but from further back and a slightly different angle. on the bottom left there is a cluster of bright yellow flowerbuds crowned by five-lobed green calyces. from behind those buds another stem ascends to the upper right. low on that raceme there are pairs of large trumpet-shaped, blooming yellow flowers; further up the flowers become younger until they give way to large tubular buds, then tiny egg-shaped buds. all the flowers and buds are subtended by green leaf-like bracts, and are anchored by a green calyx with five pointed spreading lobes. the blooming flowers' long, wide, tubular corollas split into five relatively squat, rounded lobes. inside the corolla tube there are four stamens with large tan anthers and a curving light green style. the background is a blur of green foliage punctuated by upright tree trunks. a tangle of smooth oak-leech growing in a forest with many bushes and young trees. the oak-leeches have long, branching stems, mostly ascending but sometimes arching, terminate in long racemes lined with pairs of large, yellow, trumpet-shaped flowers. the tallest stems reach head-height. low on the stems, below the flowers, there are opposite green lance-shaped leaves. some of the leaves have smooth margins, others are have undulations especially by the base of the leaf, and those nearest the bottom have deep pinnate lobes (though many of these are hidden from view by higher leaves, some manage to peek through).
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toxicojendron radicans @toxicoradica.northsky.social · 28/08/2026
🌼 stiff cowbane 🌿 Oxypolis rigidior this plant and genus has several common names all of which are shared with plants in other genera or families, or which simply modify the common names of other plants 😤 cowbane, dropwort, pig-potato, hog-fennel #nativeplants #ecoregion71
seen from the side, a terminal compound umbel with around a dozen umbellets each with a dozen or two tiny flowers. the main stem and many little branches are all smooth and green, except at the branch nodes which are white. overall, the compound umbel has a dome-like shape. the tiny flowers have white petals, many of which curl in towards the center. in the middle of each flower is a broad, green pistil. there seem to be a variable number of stamens on the flowers, ranging from zero to five. the stamens have thin white filaments with short, thick white anthers. a close-up from above looking at some of the tiny flowers, mostly but not all on the same umbellet. the flowers have broad green pistil in the center with a slightly elevated, nipple-like peak in the very middle. five white petals surround the pistil; they start curled inwards and roll out over time but retain a tendency to curve or bow inwards from their apex. they also start life with five stamens, short white filaments with chunky white anthers, but they seem to lose stamens over time. a couple of the flowers here have lil flies on em. stiff cowbane growing on a damp creekbank in a moist forest. it rained earlier. short green herbs are scattered around the forest floor above a sea of aging tree leaf litter and some moldering fallen branches. the cowbane is taller than any of its neighbors, nearly waist-high. low on its smooth green stem grow alternate odd-pinnate compound leaves. the upper stem is leafless but terminates in a dome-shaped compound umbel with many dozens of tiny white flowers.
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toxicojendron radicans @toxicoradica.northsky.social · 27/08/2026
🌻 hairy sunflower 🌿 Helianthus hirsutus #nativeplants #ecoregion71
looking directly into the face of a large composite flower with eight bright yellow, elliptic, petal-like ray florets surrounding dozens of small disk florets. almost all of the disks are blooming, bar a few in the very center. around a dozen disks scattered in a rough ring around the center are in the stage where their styles have not yet erupted from the top of the tube of fused stamens they grow up through; the pollen they displace is pushed up and out of the stamen tube, creating a bright yellow dot. in a larger, more peripheral ring, another dozen or so disks have matured past that stage and their bright yellow styles have fully emerged, splitting into two curling stigmas that appear like a line seen from this angle. the sunflower's stem and leaves can be seen through the gaps between the rays. a light green budding flowerhead is is growing up between two rays on the upper right. at the moment all that is visible on the young bud are several series of light green phyllaries that are in the process of spreading.the same flowerhead as in the previous photo, but seen from above-- however, the flowerhead faces sideways. anyways we're looking at the side of the flowerhead, on the plane formed by its spreading bright yellow rays. one budding flowerhead is on the left, another on the right; the blooming flowerhead is in the center facing the top of the photo. their reddish stems and dark green leaves are all covered in short, rough hairs. the blooming flowerhead has four series of spreading phyllaries which also bear short, rough hairs. the rays aren't easy to see here as we are looking across them, but this is a great perspective for looking at the disks. they have tubular corollas that terminate in pointed, upright lobes. some of the disk florets especially about halfway in have bright yellow styles that split into two recurving stigmas. closer to the center, the disks have tall brown tubes formed of fused stamens, with a little pile of bright yellow pollen on top. as the anthers dry and shrink, the style within becomes exposed. a hairy sunflower growing in patchy grass over gravel, next to a small bush in a limestone cedar glade. its red main stem is lined with alternate, dark green, lance-shaped leaves on very short leafstems (they nearly appear sessile). the stem doesn't branch until the very top, where two small stalks grow from leaf axils. the main stem and the two branches terminate in a flowerhead; on the two branches these are buds, but the one on the main stem is blooming. it has eight large, bright yellow, elliptic, petal-like ray florets surrounding a disk of dozens of bright yellow, tubular disk florets. a narrowleaf gumweed with its own bright yellow flowerhead is growing to the right of the sunflower. between the two, the color of the sunflower has a bit more orange to it.
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toxicojendron radicans @toxicoradica.northsky.social · 25/08/2026
🌸 glade onion 🌿 Allium sp. maybe Allium cernuum, maybe a narrowly endemic undescribed species #nativeplants #ecoregion71
seen from above and to the side, two smooth reddish purple stems rise together from the bottom left then, nearly at their apex, bend downwards. each then explodes into an umbel of around a dozen flowers or buds on slender reddish purple flowerstems. the blooming flowers have six tepals in two series; the outer three angle outwards, while the inner three are more straight. they are all bright pink at the base but fade towards the tip, generally egg-shaped but cupping inwards. the stamens have long white filaments with anthers that are initially puffy and bright yellow, but in time crinkle up and shrink into a little tan mote. the style is white, very similar in appearance to a stamen minus anther, but often are a bit shorter. the same two stalks capped with nodding umbels of pink flowers, this time seen from in front but below. the sightly taller stalk on the left has mostly blooming flowers; the shorter stalk on the right mostly egg-shaped buds, light green but turning pink as they approach maturity. from the angle the difference between the outer and inner tepals can be better appreciated: the outer three tepals are more spread, while the inner three are held forward. in the center of the flower there is a green ovary with a white style surrounded by stamens with white filaments and yellow to tan anthers. blurry in the background there is an expanse of grass, yellow blooms of a gumweed (you'll have to take my word for it), a fallen tree, some upright trees, and an overcast but still bright sky. a pair of glade onions growing in a limestone cedar glade, in a sea of short green grass and darkening, drying, st.-john's-wort. the onions have a few grass-like green leaves at the base, and long, smooth flowering stalks that start green but turn reddish purple with height. at the top, less than knee-high, the stems nod over and terminate in umbels of around a dozen pink flowers.
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toxicojendron radicans @toxicoradica.northsky.social · 25/08/2026
🌻 partridge pea 🌿 Chamaecrista fasciculata #nativeplants #ecoregion71
a partridge pea flower facing forward. it has five bright yellow round petals that narrow drastically at the base, where they have small patches of red. the petals are inequal in size and posture: three petals on top run forward nearly laying flat, overlapping at their sides & forming a roof over the rest of the flower; the bottom petal is largest & hangs straight down; the fifth petal is low but off to the right, cupping up and in front of the stamens. i call this one the shy petal because it reminds me of someone holding their hand in front of their mouth to hide a smile. there is a cluster of thick maroon stamens dusted yellow from pollen standing in the center of the flower. a long yellow style hooks around them to the lower left. two blooming partridge pea flowers growing from leaf axils. the parts of the leaves that are visible reveal them to be alternate, even-pinnate compound leafs with small oval green leaflets with branching veins. the flowers have five bright yellow petals, three forming a roof over the stamens, one cupped around and in front of the stamens, and the fifth & largest hanging down below the stamens. the flower on the left has a left-handed shy petal; the flower on the right is right-handed. both flowers have a cluster of thick maroon stamens in the center, and a long, hooked, yellow style. a knee-high partridge pea growing among tall grass and bush-clover in a savanna. its light green stem seems to zigzag slightly between its alternate leaves. the leaves are even-pinnate and compound, with small green oval leaflets and a spike-like stipule at the base of its leafstem. flowers grow from leaf axils, sometimes with several flowers sharing an axil (though only one of them will boom at a time). most of the flowers on this plant are still long, pointed, yellow-green buds, but two on the right have bloomed. can't see much about them here other than that they each have five bright yellow petals.
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toxicojendron radicans @toxicoradica.northsky.social · 24/08/2026
🌻 cutleaf rosinweed 🌿 Silphium pinnatifidum #nativeplants #ecoregion71
looking right into the face of a large composite flower with nearly two dozen bright yellow ray florets surrounding a disk of o probably five or so dozen disk florets. the rays are elliptic in shape, with two parallel creases running from the base to an acute tip with three tiny little nubs; at the base, they have a long, bifurcated yellow fertile style. (rosinweeds, opposite of sunflowers, have fertile rays but sterile disks). a couple of the outer rings of disk florets are blooming, while the inner rings are still buds. some disruption, perhaps wind or critter, has knocked some of the disks off the receptacle. a handful of the fallen florets are caught on the rays, which gives an unusual opportunity to see them from the side rather than just from the top. they are trumpet-shaped, with long tubular corollas that flare out into five small spreading lobes at the tip. the disks are bright yellow, and the tubes are somewhat translucent. their five stamens are fused such that the anthera form a long brown tube, half of which can be partially seen through the side of the corolla, the rest of which is exserted out the mouth of the floret. a brownish yellow, undivided, sterile style sticks out through the top of the stamen tube. the same flowerhead, seen from the side. it sits at the top of a nodding, stout, smooth green stem. three rows of smooth green phyllaries wrap around the base of the flowerhead below the bright yellow rays. a few of the disks can be seen from the side in gaps between the rays. cutleaf rosinweeds growing among gravel, fieldstones, and patchy grass at the edge of a limestone cedar glade. this clump is fairly fresh: the leaves basal rosettes are still curly and undeveloped. though larger than a hand, they still have a lot of growing to do; later on they will have deep pinnate lobes. tall, mostly leafless stems rise from the rosettes, though i must note these are also short and will get much taller. the tallest one right now is not even head-high. most of the stems terminate in flowerbuds, but one is blooming. it has a bright yellow disk surrounded by many bright yellow rays, much like a sunflower. in the background there are other yellow flowers blooming, namely narrowleaf gumweed and brown-eyed susan.
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toxicojendron radicans @toxicoradica.northsky.social · 23/08/2026
🌼 axil-flower 🌿 Mecardonia acuminata its flowers grow from leaf axils 💁🏼‍♀️ #nativeplants #ecoregion71
a photo of a flower growing among grass. on the right there is a thin, green, ridged stem with narrow, linear to lance-shaped, opposite leaves. a long, slender green flowerstem grows out of a leaf axil, extended mostly straight to the left but rising slightly. at its tip is a tubular flower facing to the left. the flower has a light green calyx with five long, linear lobes that run the entire length of the tubular portion of the corolla they encase, the calyx lobes coming to bluntly acute tips just before the corolla divides into five squarish lobes. the corolla is white but there are a few very faint pink lines running along its tube.a close-up looking into the face of a small, white flower with a tubular corolla that terminates in five squarish lobes: two on top, two lateral, and one on the bottom with edges bent upwards. there are faint pink lines running out of the tube, fading away partway through the lobes. the upper interior surface of the corolla tube is covered in small pale yellow hairs. axilflower growing in dense short grass, below knee height. the axilflower has a thin stem with small opposite leaves. flowerstems grow from leaf axils, often stretching out sideways twice as far as their leaf's full length. the slender flowerstems end with a tubular flower that looks a little larger than the stem ought to be able to hold. each flower has light green calyx lobes nearly as long as its white corolla. at the tip, the corolla has a moderate upward tilt & splits into five stubby, spreading lobes.
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toxicojendron radicans @toxicoradica.northsky.social · 22/08/2026
🌻 fewleaf sunflower 🌿 Helianthus occidentalis its stem has few leaves 💁🏼‍♀️ #nativeplants #ecoregion71
looking directly into the face of a composite flower with nearly a dozen and a half long, bright yellow ray florets and dozens of bright yellow disk florets; the outermost several rows of florets in the disk are blooming, while those at the center are still greenish buds. the tubular corollas of the blooming disks have five spreading triangular lobes & in the center, a tube of fused stamens with brown anthers around a bright yellow style that splits into two curly stigmas. at the bottom right, another flowerhead is starting to bloom. the flowerhead from the previous photo & its budding lil buddy below & to the right, but seen from the side this time. the stems that hold these sunflowers aloft are not smooth, but they're not particularly hairy either, the hairs are short, sparse, and lie close to the stem. at the base of each flowerhead there are four rows of long, tapering green phyllaries that conform to the shape ofnthe flowerhead for the most part, rather than spreading out or bending down. the bright yellow rays on the near flowerhead cup upwards, and the disk is completely obscured. the small, undeveloped rays of the budding flowerhead still touch tips together over the middle of the disk.a clump of fewleaf sunflowers growing in gravel near a treeline at a limestone cedar glade. the sunflowers actually have plentiful green leaves, but they predominately grow in lush basal rosettes. from the center of the rosettes grow tall stems nearly devoid of leaves; on the tallest stem (growing chest high), in the middle of the photo, there are only two nodes with a pair of small, opposite leaves, and well as a higher few nodes with solitary leaves but branches rising from the leaf axils. these small branches, along with the main stem, terminate in flowerheads, but only the highest one, on the main stem, is blooming. the blooming flowerhead has around a dozen and a half bright yellow elliptic rays and a ring of bright yellow disks surrounding greenish-yellow buds at the center.
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toxicojendron radicans @toxicoradica.northsky.social · 21/08/2026
🌸 blood milkwort 🌿 Senega sanguinea #nativeplants #ecoregion71
seen from the side, a spike-like raceme of tiny flowers at the top of a thin green stem. the base of the raceme is empty, only little bracts left on the otherwise bare main stem after the seedpods and faded flowers have fallen away. about halfway up the raceme there are a few faded flowers that have developed little seed capsules bearing brown seeds. above that there are around half a dozen closely packed rows of petal-like sepals, colored white with pink towards their tips, raised & pressing inward to form a column hiding the developing fruits within. the pink color is more vivid higher up the raceme. at the top, the tiny yellow petals of a blooming flower can be seen over the tops of the petal-like sepals below it. at the very top is a short stack of light green flowerbuds. looking down from above at a spike-like raceme of tiny flowers. at the very top of the raceme there are miniscule light green flowerbuds. just below, there are three flowers blooming, each with three yellow petals. the upper two petals overlap, while the lower one is curved and crested and complicated and it's all very small and hard to see what's going on in there. an older flower on the upper left has turned red. each flower has two relatively large petaloid sepals at its base that cup around the flower. these large sepals are white at the bottom and pink on top. blood milkwort growing in a grassy field. it is much taller than clover growing beneath it, but much shorter than the grass. definitely over ankle-high though. it has a smooth, ridged, green stem with linear green leaves. the stem puts out two branches towards the top; all three subsequent stems terminate in a raceme of many little flowers that shield themselves from the outside world with a pair of relatively large petaloid sepals, colored white at their base but turning pink at the tips. the older sepals lower on the stalk blanch; the uppermost sepals are most vivid. a few flowers bloom at a time, within the bowl at the top of their raceme formed by the ascending sepals below. their yellow petals are barely visible. many dozens of short, thin bracts are left on the stalk below the column of flowers where older flowers have faded, gone to fruit, then dropped their seeds.
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toxicojendron radicans @toxicoradica.northsky.social · 20/08/2026
🌻 narrowleaf gumweed 🌿 Grindelia lanceolata #nativeplants #ecoregion71
looking directly into the face of a blooming composite flower with nearly two dozen bright yellow elliptic ray florets and dozens of bright yellow tubular 5-lobed disk florets which start blooming from the outer rows of the disk & work their way inwards. the outer row of disks has faded and several rows adjacent rows are now open. bright yellow pollen is scattered across the flowerhead. the rays are pistillate (female) while the disks are perfect (possess both stamens and pistils). the stamens of the disk florets are fused to form a tube through which the style protrudes. at the center of the disk, all the florets are just buds. the same flowerhead as in the previous photo, seen from the side. at the bottom of the pic is a vertical, smooth green stem with alternate green leaves. the leaves are linear to lance-shaped, and the sunlight catches one of them to illuminate the many resinous glands that dot the leaves' surfaces. the stem terminates in a flowerhead whose base is lined with around have a dozen series of spiky-looking thick but narrow phyllaries that curve upwards. the top row of these bracts angle outwards at their tips as well. the bright yellow rays beam out of the top of the flowerhead about 30° above horizontal; none of the disks are visible.narrowleaf gumweed growing among natural gravel and fieldstones in a limestone cedar glade, next to a tennessee coneflower which has yet to bloom. patches of grass eke out a living in the background. there are a number of gumweeds growing here, of various size and condition. the largest is towards the lower left & has a broken & brown main stem off which several green, flourishing branches grow. the reddish green stems bear alternate linear to lance-shaped green leaves & terminate in flowerheads with rows of spiky-looking green phyllaries, bright yellow rays, and a bright yellow disk.
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toxicojendron radicans @toxicoradica.northsky.social · 19/08/2026
🌼 southern slender ladies'-tresses 🌿 Spiranthes lacera var. gracilis #nativeplants #ecoregion71
a flowerspike of over two dozen tiny white and green orchid flowers arranged in a dense single file, spiraling counterclockwise up a slender green stem, making three full turns. each flower has a green base which houses the ovary, a white floral tube composed of three petals and one sepal, and two white lateral sepals. inside the mouth of the tube, there is a patch of green on the bottom petal. the tip of the bottom petal hangs down & is ruffled along its edges. above, the two top petals and top sepal turn upward a little at the tip. a close-up of a short length of a ladies'-tresses flowerspike with nearly a dozen visible orchid flowers, mostly facing to one side or the other; just one flower facing forwards. each flower has a green base, three sepals, and three petals. two petals and one overlapping sepal (all white) on the top of the flower form a not-quite-halfpipe hood over the bottom petal, and turn up slightly at the tip. the large bottom petal forms the bottom half of a floral tube, complementing the petals and sepal above. it is mostly white, especially around the edges, but green in the middle, inside the tube. where visible on flowers facing to the side, the outer surface of the bottom petal is also green. towards the front, the bottom petal curves down and has a frilly margin. two thin, white lateral sepals flank the tube & are held mostly forward but sometimes spreading outwards or down a little. a southern slender ladies'-tresses orchid growing in knee-high grass in a little prairie patch with a treeline in the near distance. the orchid is about the same height as the grass. its flowering stalk is leafless, and the rosette of leaves that once grew at its base has wilted away. the upper third of the smooth green stalk is a spiraling spike of tiny white and green flowers, a single helix that makes two turns around its axis before the blooming flowers give way to flowerbuds.
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toxicojendron radicans @toxicoradica.northsky.social · 18/08/2026
🌻 maryland senna 🌿 Senna marilandica #nativeplants #ecoregion71
looking into the face of a flower with five bright yellow petals, three in a row on the top and two on the bottom; they are widest near their rounded tips but narrow drastically to a thin base. the flower's five light yellowish green sepals are mostly hidden behind the petals. the flower has ten stamens separated into three groups. the upper row of three are short and flattened, showing mostly their yellow filaments that are chocolate brown just around the edges. the middle group of four sit in two rows of two in the center of the flower; they have short yellow filaments and long, thick, chocolate brown anthers with a crease running down the side. the final group of three stamens hang down on long yellow filaments. the lateral two have thick chocolate brown anthers like those in the middle group, but those here on the bottom have an upward curve to them. the middle stamen on the bottom is similar but smaller to those flanking it. a light green style hooks down from the center of the flower and sits in the middle of the bottom row of stamens between the middle stamen and the lateral stamen on the right. photo from a bit further back and from a different angle, with the flower facing mostly to the lower right. there are two other blooming flowers in the background, facing away. the flowers have five light yellowish green sepals of unequal size, as well as five bright yellow obovate petals (which are only really evident on the flower on the right). in the center of that flower there are ten unequal stamens and on light green style: an upper row of three reduced stamens; two rows of two stamens in the middle with short yellow filaments and long chocolate brown anthers; and a bottom row with long, hanging yellow filaments, large brown filaments on outside two stamens, and a smaller anther on the middle stamen. the style sits next to the smaller middle stamen. lower in the photo, there are developing seedpods from earlier flowers. in the middle of the photo, just below the flower on the right, there is a short, truncated leafstem; it looks like there may be leafbuds at its tip? anyway, at the base of the stem on the top side there is a little round extra-floral nectary which often attracts ants. all the leafstems have those little nectar glands at their base. maryland senna growing in short grass in a patch of shade provided by a thin cluster of trees at the edge of a grassland. low on the plant's unbranching main stem there are alternate compound leaves, even-pinnate with green, oval leaflets. a close loom will reveal small round glands, extra-floral nectaries, along the top side of each leafstem near its base. image compression may wind up making these impossible to see i suppose. higher up, there are long, curving green seedpods with rectangular segments. at the very top, there are a few bright yellow flowers.
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toxicojendron radicans @toxicoradica.northsky.social · 17/08/2026
🌸 kentucky aster 🌿 Symphyotrichum kentuckiense reliably one of the earliest-blooming asters i see around here #nativeplants #ecoregion71
looking into the face of a composite flower with two to three dozen linear ray florets with rounded tips and a similar number of tiny disk florets in the center. each of the rays have long, strap-like corollas, light purple at the tip but turning white getting closer in towards the base, where a thin, bifurcated (but sterile) style emerges from the mouth of the floret. the disks are bright yellow in their tubular corollas as well as their stamen tubes, styles, and pollen. around the very outside edge of the disk where the florets started blooming, a hint of reddish orange is detectable at the base of the florets where they are just starting to turn a bit wilty. below this flowerhead everything blurry, but we can see this & other green stems lined with green leaves running down to a reddish green main stem running from right to left over a void of gray. a photo from further back with more of the plant in view. a weakly ascending, hairless, reddish main stem barely rises from the lower right to the middle of the photo. it bears a dozen or so linear green leaves out of whose axils spring green stems of varying length, lined with their own smaller linear green leaves or bracts, all of which barely spread away from their stem but rather bending in close. there are several wilted flowerheads, a handful of budding flowerheads, and four in bloom. the base of each blooming flowerhead is lined with long, linear, green involucral bracts that reach up to the spreading rays, even bending over and running out pressed up against the underside of the rays some. the several dozen rays are thin, purple at the tip but white at the base. the disks are bright yellow. the background is slightly better resolved here than in the previous photo; the gray is an expanse of rock, bordered by short grass. kentucky aster growing in a limestone cedar glade. reddish stems anchored in a patch of short grass arch out sideways over an exposed sheet of limestone bedrock. green branches with thin green leaves rise from the slanted main stems, terminating with flowerheads of light purple to white rays with bright yellow disks. the patch of grass grows where thin soil, windblown detritus, and flood debris have accumulated in cracks and shallows in the rock. in the distance there is a treeline dominated by eastern redcedar.
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toxicojendron radicans @toxicoradica.northsky.social · 16/08/2026
new @ it's @toxicoradica.northsky.social now 👩🏼‍🔧
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toxicojendron radicans @toxicoradica.northsky.social · 16/08/2026
🌼 green milkweed 🌿 Asclepias viridiflora #nativeplants #ecoregion71
a close-up look at a dense umbel of several dozen milkweed flowers. each of the flowers has five light green petals, deflexed such that they point backwards & enclose the flowerstem. above the petals there is a corona formed by five narrow hoods, greenish at their base, white for most their length, with a purplish patch by their rounded tips. within the corona there is a gynostegium, a column composed of modified & fused pistil and stamens. it is mostly light green, but has white frills at its apex. a less close photo, with the umbel from the previous photo at the end of a light green stem looking frosty on account of a dense coat of many fine hairs, with a pair of small leaves at the base of the umbel. the green leaves are also covered in frosty hairs. the several dozen tightly packed milkweed flowers in this umbel form a spherical sector with an aperture a little less than a hemisphere. each flower has five light green petals peeled all the way back to lie against the flowerstem. the light green gynostegium in the center of the flower is set with a corona of five narrow, ivory-colored hoods with a patch of purple near their tips. there is a second umbel a short distance down the stem, facing the opposite direction. the two leaves by its base are much larger than those by the terminal umbel. a short distance below the second umbel there is another pair of leaves, no further flowers.green milkweed growing in a field of knee-high grass. its stem is sorta weakly erect but the angle of its lean is closer to horizontal than vertical. i doubt it would be very much taller than the grass is it were stood upright. most of the stem is obscured by grass; the upper portions curve back and forth in a peculiar fashion. there are pairs of green, opposite leaves growing up the stem, becoming smaller further up. the ultimate and penultimate pairs are accompanied by dense umbels of cylindrical light green flowers.
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toxicojendron radicans @toxicoradica.northsky.social · 14/08/2026
🌻 downy sunflower 🌿 Helianthus mollis #nativeplants #ecoregion71
a close look right into the face of a composite flower with over a dozen bright yellow elliptic ray florets surrounding numerous tightly packed bright yellow disk florets. the outer rows of disks are blooming; the inner rows have yet to open so this inner area is visually dominated by red-tipped green, spike-like chaffy bracts. the blooming disks have tubular corollas with five spreading lobes forming a star shape. in the center, they have a brown tube formed by fused stamens, through which grows a bright yellow style that splits into two stigmas which each curl into a loop. on some of the disks, the style has not yet worked its way through the stamen tube, but its emergence is anticipated by bright yellow pollen being pushed out the top of the tube. behind the rays, the tips of a few hairy green phyllaries can be seen.a downy sunflower flowerhead seen from the side. its green stem turns slightly sideways just below its terminal composite flower and is densely covered in white hairs, as are the several rows of phyllaries at the base of the flowerhead. the elliptic bright yellow ray florets which radiate from the edges of the flowerhead's disk do not lie on a plane, but are angled forward by around π/8 radians. in the gaps between the rays, the tips of some of the disk florets can be glimpsed, particularly their brown stamen tubes and curly bright yellow styles. behind this flowerhead there is another, facing mostly away, which in its advanced age has shed its sterile rays, leaving behind the fertile disks. downy sunflowers growing in a patch of prairie with a treeline in the near distance. some of the sunflowers have tall stems, approaching head height. others lie over, bent from low on their stem, keeping them near the ground. low of their stems, the sunflowers have opposite green leaves somewhere between egg-shaped and lance-shaped. the leaves have a hoary appearance due to their dense coat of fine hairs, their namesake. the first axial branches off the main stem occur around halfway up at best & sometimes there are several more higher up. each stem terminates in a flowerhead, whether budding blooming expired. the stems have a tendency to nod over a bit right at the top such that the flowerhead angles near sideways. the flowerheads have bright yellow rays and disks.
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toxicojendron radicans @toxicoradica.northsky.social · 13/08/2026
🌼 little ladies'-tresses 🌿 Spiranthes tuberosa my first time running across this species. the genus is a favorite of mine 😌 #nativeplants #ecoregion71
a close-up photo showing a small segment of two spikes of tiny blooming orchid flowers. on each flowerspike the little white flowers form a single-file spiral running up the stalk; the dozen or so flowers in this photo face all directions around the stalk. each flower has three white sepals and three white petals. one sepal on the top of the flower covers the gap between two upper petals, together forming a hood-like covering over the mouth of the flower; all three turn up together at the tip. the bottom petal is larger than the upper two and complements the upper hood structure to form a tube. towards the tip, the bottom petal turns down and develops a frilly margin. two lateral sepals are held mostly forward but spreading slightly, one on each side of the tube formed by the other sepal & petals. each flower had a slight downward cast & has a green bract at its base.a little ladies'-tresses flowerspike from the lowest flower to the top. low on the stalk the flowers have faded, petals and sepals wilting and turning brown while the green ovary at the base swells. the flowers spiral up the stalk counterclockwise in a single file. the upper quarter of the spike is in bloom, pure white sepals and petals arranged into a gaping tube flanked by outstretched arms. two little ladies'-tresses growing on forest hillside among sedge and moss, illuminated in a fleck of light filtered through out-of-sight trees overhead. their leafless, slender green stalks terminate in spikes of tiny, spiraling, white flowering that glow in the bright sunlight. several of the miniscule flowers could fit on your fingertip.
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toxicojendron radicans @toxicoradica.northsky.social · 13/08/2026
its seed tick season fyi please hold me in your thoughts and or prayers
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toxicojendron radicans @toxicoradica.northsky.social · 12/08/2026
🌻 elmleaf goldenrod 🌿 Solidago ulmifolia #nativeplants #ecoregion71
seen from above, a raceme of small composite flowers with around five bright yellow ray florets and around five bright yellow disk florets. the main axis of the raceme arches horizontally (though this cannot be seen from this angle); all of the flowerheads stand erect on the top side of the stem.  each flowerhead, so they are all more or less facing us. the petal-like corollas of the rays are oval to elliptic in shape. the tubular corollas of the disks have five small, pointed lobes. some of the disks have yellow styles that split into two little lobes right by the tip. two legs of a hiding spider can be seen between two of the flowerheads & a small black fly (?) is sitting on a flower in the top right. the same arching but mostly horizontal raceme of bright yellow composite flowers as in the previous photo, but seen from the side. the spider is stilling trying to hide but is easier to see here. the bright yellow, bifurcated styles, often the tallest part of the flowers, are also easier to see here. below the bright yellow disks and rays, the flowerheads are lined with small phyllaries that are more yellow-green furthernup, but more green closer to the base of the head. each flowerhead stands on a short, slender green flowerstem, lined up in a row along the top edge of the raceme's stem, with a little bract at the base of each flowerstem.a clump of elmleaf goldenrod growing next to a tree on a hill in a forest, seen from an uphill vantage. the bare ground is littered with sticks and chert gravel. there are some bushes and small trees in the background, as well as larger, better established trees. the goldenrod's main stems are unbranching. they bear alternate lance-shaped green leaves with small teeth along the margins. the leaves get less dense and smaller further up the stem. near the top, some leaf axils sprout flower racemes angling up & outwards. the stem terminates in a pyramidal panicle of small bright yellow flowers.
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toxicojendron radicans @toxicoradica.northsky.social · 11/08/2026
🌼 upland boneset 🌿 Eupatorium sessilifolium #nativeplants #ecoregion71
close-up of around a dozen and a half composite flowers in a panicle. each flowerhead has looks like 5 disk florets maybe give or take, but no ray florets. the disks start white but turn light yellow-tan in time; two of the heads have white florets, the rest are off-white. each disk has a tubular corolla with five short spreading to recurving lobes. there is a brown tube of fused stamens in the center, through which grows a white style that splits into two long, string-like stigmas the bend and curve erratically, sticking well out beyond the tip of the corolla. light green phyllaries densely covered in short hairs line the sides of the narrow flowerheads. the stems of the panicle are similarly light green & covered in dense short hairs.a terminal panicle of over two dozen small, white to off-white diskoid flowerheads (no ray florets, just disks). each flowerhead has around 5 disk florets, each with a long bifurcated style strongly exserted from its mouth, though the styles often bend sideways rather then stick straight out. the panicle grows on a hairy light green stem which enters the right side of the photo angled slightly down past horizontal aiming towards the left. the boneset's long, lance-shaped, sessile, opposite green leaves diminish quickly in size towards the stem's apex. upland boneset growing on a forest hillside, the trees out of sight but evidenced by their fallen sticks and leaves on the forest floor. the hill is largely covered in sedge and moss. the boneset is rooted towards the right side of the photo but leans well over to the left such that its stem at the base of the panicle of small off-white flowers at its top is nearly horizontal. below, the stem is smooth and lined with pairs of opposite, lance-shaped leaves, widest by their base and considerably longer than wide. they grow sessile on the stem & their margins have small shallow teeth. the flowerheads in the terminal panicle lack rays, but are graced with long, unkept styles that stick out well beyond the mouth of the florets.
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toxicojendron radicans @toxicoradica.northsky.social · 10/08/2026
🌻 rough rosinweed 🌿 Silphium asperrimum there's disagreement about what plant this name applies to and where it even grows. i'm running with: hairy stem, alternate rough leaves, hairy phyllaries, no basal leaves at flowering, east of the mississippi #nativeplants #ecoregion71
two composite flowers, seen face on, right next to each other in a fairly dense panicle where the other flowerheads (all of which are behind these two) are still budding. the flowerhead on the left has four ray florets, while the one on the right has just three. the strap-like corollas are bright yellow & elliptic, with a bright yellow fertile style that divides into two slightly bowing stigmas; their are no discernable stamens. the flowerhead on the left has five disk florets, while the one on the right has just three. the tubular corollas of the disk florets are slightly more orange than the rays. they have five minuscule lobes at their tip that appear to have small hairs. in the center of each disk there is a brown tube formed from five fused stamens, with a long yellow sterile style growing through the middle & waving around far out front; unlike the fertile styles on the rays, these styles do not split in two. slightly spreading hairy green phyllaries are stacked in series at the base of the flowerheads. a somewhat closer look at the flowerhead on the left from the previous photo, more from the side. it has four bright yellow rays with bifurcated fertile styles and five golden yellow disks with long, undivided sterile styles exserted through a brown stamen tube just within the mouth of the floret. the base of the flowerhead is egg-shaped, lined with fuzzily hairy light green phyllaries with short, slightly darker green tips that spread out to the sides. another blooming flowerhead sits just below, and numerous still-developing flowerheads are clustered close around on short, hairy green flowerstems. rough rosinweed growing in bare dirt and chert gravel on a hillside in a forest. there's some poison ivy in the background along with other little neighbors. the rosinweed's stem leans over severely but would probably be waist-high if it stood up. large, lance-shaped green leaves grow alternate on the stem, which only branches near the top. these few short branches terminate in clusters of flowerheads, most of which are just buds. those blooming bear only a few rays and disks, but those present are bright yellow.
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toxicojendron radicans @toxicoradica.northsky.social · 09/08/2026
💮 sweet joe-pye weed 🌿 Eutrochium purpureum #nativeplants #ecoregion71
a close-up photo of a small part of a panicle of diskoid composite flowers- just disk florets, no ray florets. each flowerhead has around half a dozen disks, with tubular white corollas that end in five pointed lobes. in the middle of each floret is a purple to brown tube of fused stamens with a long, bifurcated white style poking far out the top, about as long beyond the corolla as the whole length of the flowerhead before. the base of each flowerhead is lined with long, rounded, smooth white phyllaries, save for at the very bottom where the flowerstem meets a single row of short, hairy, green bracts. the top of a sweet joe-pye weed, seen from the side. at the very top is a dome-shaped terminal panicle of dozens of narrow, white flowerheads with long styles sticking way out past the ends of their corollas. there are only disk florets, no rays, in these flowerheads. a short ways below the terminal panicle on the plant's smooth green main stem there is a purple node with a whorl of three smaller panicles, each subtended by barely visible little leafs. at an interval down the stem from that whorl is another, only two panicles though, but subtended by slightly larger leaves. at the bottom of the frame is yet another whorl, but here there are three still larger (though still small) leaves out of whose axils grow the start of three new panicles. in the background there are scattered tree trunks and a forest floor mostly covered in low-growing green vegetation. sweet joe-pye weed growing on a forested hillside strewn with small sticks, rocks, and scattered fallen tree leaves. short green groundcover like virginia creeper and poison ivy fill out the background. this joe-pye weed is a fairly short example, barely above waist-high. low on its stem there are whorls of large green leaves, above three times longer than its widest point, generally egg-shaped but tapering at both base and tip. leaf-miners have gone to town on some of the leaves, which now featured blanched patches. some viny legume, maybe mouse beans, has climbed up the stem as well. at the top of the stem there is a whorl of three diminished leaves with panicles growing from their axils; above that leaf node there is only the terminal panicle. all the panicles bear dozens of small and narrow white flowers or buds. the flowerheads lack ray florets, but have long stringy white styles that extend well beyond the mouth of their floret's corolla.
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toxicojendron radicans @toxicoradica.northsky.social · 07/08/2026
🌷 cranefly orchid 🌿 Tipularia discolor one day i will hit the character limit on the alt text. 631 characters short might be a personal best though not sure #nativeplants #ecoregion71
a very-close-up look at the flower of a cranefly orchid. the flower is asymmetrica, with three sepals and three petals in an unusual configuration. the elliptic, purplish sepals occur at the 1 o'clock, 3 o'clock, and 8 o'clock positions, though the later is twisted and difficult to see, hiding behind one of the two lateral petals which are very similar to the sepals in color and appearance, though smaller. the other lateral petal occurs at the 2 o'clock position. the third petal occurs at the 5 o'clock position and is unique. it divides into three lobes; the two lateral lobes are short and pale green, while the center lobe is longer, purple, with a spoon-like pale green cup at the tip. now please bear with me it is very difficult to get decent pictures of this with a cellphone camera and this is p much the best one i've ever got bc it was in sunlight instead of the usual deep dark forest shade. but there is another structure here, a reproductive column, that i wish to elaborate upon. in the center of the flower is a hole, the access to the long nectar spur behind the flower which is not visible here. at the 11 o'clock position there is a light green structure cupping inwards towards the hole. at the tip of this structure is the pollinaria which distributes sacs of pollen. the cupped section below it functions as a stigma, receiving sacs of pollen.this photo shows a portion of the middle of a cranefly orchid's flowering stalk, which terminates with a raceme with several dozen flowers. the reddish-purplish main stem bears flowers in all directions around it on slender purplish flowerstems. the flowers have three mostly pale greenish sorta purplish elliptic sepals, two lateral petals similar to but slightly smaller than the sepals, and one unique petal with two small lateral lobes and a much longer central lobe. a hood-like reproductive column sticks out in front of the flower's mouth, which is actually the access to a long nectar spur at the back of the flower, longer even than the flowerstem. blurry trees in the background.the scapes of nine cranefly orchids rising from the forest floor, strewn with old fallen tree leaves, branches and sticks. the top half of each of the leafless stems is a raceme of dozens of asymmetrical orchid flowers with a long nectar spur at their backs. the flowering stalks blend in pretty well considering they are mostly reddish-purplish. tree trunks rise in the background.
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toxicojendron radicans @toxicoradica.northsky.social · 06/08/2026
🌼 flowering spurge 🌿 Euphorbia corollata #nativeplants #ecoregion71
seen from the side & a bit above: the top of a flowering spurge, an unbranched main stem lined with ascending, sessile, elliptic green leaves, terminating in an umbel-like panicle of white 'flowers' with yellow-green centers. these apparent 'flowers' are properly called cyathia and are in fact a collection of tiny flowers. each cyathium contains mostly staminate (male) flowers but with a few pistillate (female) flowers as well. the cyathia on this plant have not yet yielded any blooming pistillate flowers, but a few cyathia have blooming staminate flowers, yellow anthers on white filaments. each cyathium has a prominent involucre with five green kidney-shaped nectar glands surrounding the cluster of tiny flowers in the center; outside the nectar glands, there are five white petal-like bracts. gray fieldstones and gravel with sparse patches of short green are blurry in the background. a view looking down from above into the same panicle as seen in the previous photo. in the center is the point at which the spurge's main stem splits into five equally spaced branches (2π/5 radians). each branch at this split is subtended by an elliptic, green, leaf-like bract. each branch divides into two or three smaller branches, each of which splits again. as with the initial split, at the base of each branch there is a small green bract, and they get smaller a each subsequent division. each of the smallest branches, numbering in the dozens, terminates in a cyathia with five white petal-like bracts with green kidney-shaped nectar glands at their base, surrounding a cluster of tiny flowers, most of which are not yet blooming. a few cyathia do bear staminate flowers with yellow anthers on white filaments however.flowering spurge growing among gravel and fieldstones in a limestone cedar glade. sparse patches of grass and prairie-clover grow between the rocks. the spurge has a single unbranching stem lined with ascending, sessile, elliptic green leaves. the leaves are sufficiently dense that, given their lack of leafstems and tendency to angle upwards instead of spreading out to the side, there are few places where the stem is visible for most of its height. at the top of the stem, around knee-high, the stem splits into five branches, each of which subdivide several times, ultimately producing a panicle of dozens of white and green pseudo-flowers.
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toxicojendron radicans @toxicoradica.northsky.social · 05/08/2026
🌼 frostweed 🌿 Verbesina virginica #nativeplants #ecoregion71
a small portion of a terminal panicle of composite flowers, most of which are buds though several flowerheads in the center are fully blooming. they have around four or so small white ray florets irregularly spaced around the perimeter of the flowerhead. fewer than a dozen disk florets occupy the center of the flowerhead. they have five short, pointed, spreading lobes, and in the middle a tube formed by five fused stamens with dark maybe purplish or brown anthers, through which a white bifurcated style grows. the stems off which these flowerheads grow at light green and densely covered in small hairs. an orange assassin bug is chilling on the stem in the middle of the photo. it's got stripey black and orange legs & antennae, and little bristles running down its side.a closer look at the blooming flowerheads from the last photo, more from the side this time. the sides of each of these small flowerheads is lined with fuzzy light green phyllaries. they have around four rays, which are white and oval, with a notch at their apex. there are up to a dozen disks, small white tubular corollas with five spreading, pointed lobes. in the center of each disk floret there is a dark purple column with white vertical stripes, formed by the floret's five stamens fusing together to form a hollow tube through which the style grows. the style  is white and splits into two recurving stigmas after emerging from the tip of the stamen tube. the assassin bug, orange with black stripes on its antennae and legs, is partially hidden behind a stem but is in better focus here than in the previous photo.two frostweeds growing in a patch of savanna with mostly shorter grass and forbs, as well as some young sumacs in the back left. there is a more substantial line of trees in the near distance. the frostweeds are tall, standing head-high. their winged stems bear alternate leaves up their full height. they terminate in a panicle of small white composite flowers.
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toxicojendron radicans @toxicoradica.northsky.social · 04/08/2026
🌼 flameleaf sumac 🌿 Rhus copallinum #nativeplants #ecoregion71
a dense panicle of hundreds of small pale greenish flowers at the tip of a tree branch. the main axis of the panicle is taller than the ascending branches that grow alternate off it. many of the flowers here are still buds, but many of them are blooming as well. the blooming flowers have five little, light green petals that recurve backwards. these sumacs are dioecious; all of the flowers on this tree are staminate (male). they have five stamens with white filaments and bright yellow anthers. on some of the flowers the stamena have lost their anthers, however. parts of some of the tree's alternate, pinnate compound leaves can be seen below the panicle. the glossy green leaflets are lance-shaped but asymmetric across the vein that runs from stem to tip. their main axis is reddish green. some bright red leaflets are mostly hidden behind the panicle, but some of them shows through. in the background there is an expanse of grassland before a treeline in the distance. the sky above is mostly cloudy. a close-up of a small portion of the terminal, pyramidal panicle in the previous photo. near the base of this branch off the panicle's main axis, there are small subbranches off which up to half a dozen little flowers grow. nearer the tip of the branch, the flowers grow off it directly. some of the numerous flowers here are still buds; they are egg-shaped, wrapped up within their five pale green sepals with rounded tips. the blooming flowers have petals of a similar color which recurve back strongly such that their pointed tips face straight back or even curl in further, hiding the sepals. each flower has five stamens with white filaments and bright yellow anthers; some stamens have dropped their anthers. a young sumac tree growing in a savanna in a limestone cedar glade. its thin gray trunk branches several times, and seems to be a bit heavier on the right side when it comes to the distribution of those branches. its glossy green, odd-pinnate compound leaves grow alternate off its few branches. a handful of the lance-shaped leaflets scattered across the tree are turning yellow or even bright scarlet red. relatively large pyramidal panicles of hundreds of tiny pale green flowers grow at the tips of the tree's branches. short grass extends into the middle distance until interrupted by a treeline dominated by redcedars. other small sumacs grow nearby, and within the grasst plain there are a few scattered other faraway trees such as oaks. the sky is mostly cloudy but a big patch of blue sky snuck into this particular photo.
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toxicojendron radicans @toxicoradica.northsky.social · 03/08/2026
🌻 woodland sunflower 🌿 Helianthus divaricatus #nativeplants #ecoregion71
looking directly into the face of an asymmetrical sunflower flowerhead (atypical- this one is just growing weird). there are nine bright yellow ray florets, four close together along the lower quarter of the flowerhead and the other five well spaced apart across top half. the lower rays are smaller than those above; the ray sticking up from the top of the flowerhead has a big chunk eaten out of it. all of the rays curl back towards their tips & have two parallel creases running from base to tip. there are dozens of disk florets in the center of the flower, the outer couple rows blooming while those in the center are still budding and green. the blooming disks have tubular, bright yellow corollas with five small, pointed lobes. their five stamens have brown anthers fused together into a tube through which a yellow, bifurcated style grows. seen from the side, the terminal flowerhead of a woodland sunflower at the top of a sparsely hairy, mostly smooth green stem. the uppermost pair of opposite leaves is in frame, long green leaves covered in rough sandpapery hairs. several rows of green phyllaries grow at the base of the flowerhead, not very much wider at their tips than the disk above them. the bright yellow ray petals curl backwards, especially those on the left which are markedly longer, larger, than those on the right. the disk florets are well captured here: they have tubular, pale yellow-green calyces reminiscent of corn husks. their bright yellow tubular corollas poke out above the top of the calyces & divide into triangular lobes that stand mostly upright instead of spreading to the sides. on the outermost row, particularly on the left, you can see the curling, twin, bright yellow stigmas at the top of the florets. there are also six slightly younger florets standing tall with their fused columns of brown anthers, little piles of bright yellow pollen on top getting pushed out of the tube by the growing styles. a patch of woodland sunflowers growing at the edge of a small woods where it meets grassland. there are many individuals in this clump, but only a few are blooming: one towards the front, a couple more way in the back. there are a few exhausted & wilting flowerheads in view. the blooming flowerheads have long, bright yellow rays and a bright yellow disk. their unbranching stems mostly lean to the right, away from the trees, and are lined with pairs of opposite sessile leaves, lance-shaped but fairly long, green and covered in rough hairs.
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toxicojendron radicans @toxicoradica.northsky.social · 02/08/2026
🌼 whorled milkweed 🌿 Asclepias verticillata #nativeplants #ecoregion71
an umbel of around a dozen and a half blooming milkweed flowers. each flower has five pale green petals, strongly reflexed backwards. they curve such that their tips point outwards though at the base they are practically flush with the flowerstem. above the petals there is a short green column, atop which sits the flower's gynostegium, a cylindrical structure of pistil and stamens fused together, light green below and white on top. it is surrounded by a corona composed of five white hoods whose hollows face inwards. in the center of each hood there is a thin white horn that curves up and in, such that the points of the five horns nearly touch above the top of the gynostegium. a view from slightly further away, showing the whole top of the milkweed. its stem leans heavily to the left, unbranched until near the top. the green stem is interrupted at short intervals by leaf nodes bearing whorls of several linear green leaves. the few branches that occur near the top of the stem terminate in umbels of light green and white flowers or buds; the lower umbels are blooming, while those nearer the top are still buds. the flowers have five strongly reflexed pale green petals and five white corona hoods surrounding the central reproductive column. whorled milkweed, difficult to see against the background of short grass. the milkweed's stem, which would be a little above knee-high if it were erect, instead leans dramatically towards the upper left. linear green leaves occur in whorls around the plant's green stem, thicker lower down where leaf nodes occur more frequently & thinning somewhat nearer the top of the stem. the stem doesn't branch until near the top, where it splits several times into branches that terminate in umbels of blooming white and green flowers (for those lower on the stem) or flowerbuds (for those nearer the top of the plant).
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toxicojendron radicans @toxicoradica.northsky.social · 01/08/2026
🌼 lax hornpod 🌿 Mitreola petiolata middle tn is on the northern edge of this tropical species' range. its closest relative in the state is woodland pinkroot, Spigelia marilandica #nativeplants #ecoregion71
close up looking down upon the top of around a dozen scorpioid cymes of white flowers and buds growing at the top of a lax hornpod. each cyme curls back on itself initially; the flowers at the bottom bloom first, and as the blooms ascend the cyme, it lengthens and straightens out. the flowers are small, short tubes at the base that split into five lobes that come to an acute but blunt tip. only one flower is blooming at a time on each cyme. the mouth of the flower is fringed with inward-pointed hairs, hiding whatever may be inside. a look from the side at the branching terminal inflorescence, around a dozen scorpioid cymes tightly packed with developing buds at their curling tips, but straightened out at the bottom where the flowers have already bloomed. only one flower (at most) is fully spread open on any given cyme. the small white flowers have short tubular corollas with five spreading lobes, and tiny white hairs forming a fringe around the center. lax hornpod towering above the short grass it grows among. its red stem rises around knee-high and bears opposite, ovate, light green leaves. there are small inflorescences growing from the axils of upper leaves, as well as a larger, branching, terminal inflorescence with around a dozen scorpioid cymes, each of which has at most one open flower. as the bloom rises up each cyme, it lengthens and straightens. the small white flowers have five spreading lobes and tiny white hairs lining the center. above the blooming flower, the buds grow increasingly small, and the cymes curls downwards.
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toxicojendron radicans @toxicoradica.northsky.social · 31/07/2026
🌻 orange coneflower 🌿 Rudbeckia fulgida i think. maybe var. fulgida. maybe R. tenax, if it exists. love stumbling into a taxonomic minefield. anyways pretty flower #nativeplants #ecoregion71
a solitary composite flower at the top of its stem, face-on. it has twelve elliptical rays, each with a notch at their tip and two parallel creases running lengthwise. the base of the rays are orange-yellow, but lose some of the orange tint around halfway out. the cone in the center of the flower bear numerous small dark brown disk florets along with pointy-looking chaffy bracts of the same color. the disks bloom starting on the outside rows and progress inwards; here, the inner 2/3s or so hasn't had their turn yet. there are around a dozen disks distributed around the cone in approximately the same row that are showing bright yellow pollen at their tips as their styles push their way through the florets' stamen tubes. the orange coneflower flowerhead seen from the side. the flowerhead sits atop a ridged green stem with sparse hairs. its orange-yellow ray florets are relaxed, hanging below horizontal. one of the head's green phyllaries is visible below a ray on the right. the disk florets in the center of the flowerhead form a mound which is liable to heighten in the center as the disks there mature. we can see the sides of some of the disks; their corollas are light colored lower down but turn dark brown higher up. they have acute triangular lobes. some of the disks are actively blooming, with a stout column composed of fused stamens in their center, the same dark brown color as the tips of the corollas and the chaffy bracts. some of these florets are tipped with bright yellow pollen.orange coneflower growing in tall grass in a patch of prairie, with a treeline in the near distance. numerous other coneflowers are visible in the background. the coneflower's hairy green stem branches a number of times & bears modestly rough-hairy lance-shaped sessile green leaves lower on the stem. the upper stems are largely leafless. each stem terminates in a composite flower with orange-yellow rays and a cone of dark brown disks.
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