We set out a couple of weeks ago to identify some of the many wildflowers growing around our new house. We positively identified eleven different varieties with the help of some local field guides, including the Audubon Field Guide for the Eastern Region, which was helpfully color-coded (all pink flowers grouped together, for example), and the ROM Field Guide to Flowers of Ontario (for the uninitiated, ROM stands for Royal Ontario Museum).
Some of the varieties we were able to identify include:
Jewelweed
Common Yarrow
Goldenrod
We were amazed at how many different varieties of goldenrod exist!
We did, however, find a number of wildflowers we weren’t able to identify. Calling all amateur (or professional) botanists. Would you help us identify these? They were all found growing along the side of a creek in southern Ontario.
Mystery Flower 1
Mystery Flower 2
This one stumped us because it looks like a milkweed, but the leaves are too pointy for any variety of milkweed we could locate, and the leaves are fragrant, like mint. Is it a variety of mint? Problem is, we later found another wildflower with minty-smelling leaves and small clusters of purple flowers around the stem…
Mystery Flower 3
This one really bugs me, because I know I’ve seen them my whole life, and thought I knew the name, but when I tried looking it up, I couldn’t find it under that name, and didn’t seem to be able to find a matching image in any of our reference books. I know it’s really common around here, though.
Mystery Flower 4
Mystery Flower 5
Whether or not we figure out the proper names for all of these, we were really astounded by the variety of wildflowers we found in such a small area, and amazed at the sheer inventiveness of the Creator. We each drew some pictures of a wildflower of our choice and had fun trying to solve the mystery of each of their names.
PDF 
Number 5 looks like Hollow-Joe-Pye-Weed or Eutrochium fistulosum
Number 6 is Birdsfoot Trefoil. I once found frogs smaller than it’s blossom if you can believe that. I have a photo in which I used Birdsfoot Trefoil as a contrast to depict it’s tiny-ness. The frog was about the size of my pinkie nail. I found both, as well as a ton of other wildflowers, at Shahola Falls in Eastern Pennsylvania. Lovely place.
I don’t know what the pink mystery flower is. I have a photo of this one also and am unable to find another photo other than yours.
Love the website. Keep up the good work.
Ever Green and Always,
Melodie
Robbinsville, NJ
Wow, Melodie, Thank you! It’s a shame you don’t have a blog. I’m sure with your knowledge it would be a fascinating one! Thanks for stopping by.
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