Rail-trail Wildflower Reference Book

Marjorie Barrett

Photographs by the author v v v v Marjorie Barrett

June 2009

The flowers in this reference may be seen from either of the two rail-trails of Kittatinny Valley State Park. They are the Paulinskill Valley Trail and the Sussex Branch Trail.

This Rail-Trail Wildflower Reference Book is meant to be a quick identification resource for trail users. A Peterson or Newcomb guide to wildflowers contains more detailed information.

Skunk Cabbage Arum Family

(Symplocarpus foetidus)

Skunk Cabbage blooms in very early spring in swamps. The 2-5 inch hood (spathe) is mottled and varies from green to purple-brown. Inside is a heavy rounded cluster (spadix) on which is borne the flowers. The large egg-shaped leaves appear after the plant blooms. They grow 1 to 3 feet high and have a fetid odor when crushed.

Native species.

Wild Ginger Birthwort Family

(Asarum canadense)

Wild Ginger has a purple-brown flower that grows at ground level at the base of two large heart-shaped leaves. The cup-shaped flower is about 1 inch wide with 3 pointed calyx lobes. The leaf stalks are hairy. It grows 6-12 inches high in rich woods and blooms in the spring.

Native species.

Round-lobed Hepatica Buttercup Family

(Hepatica americana)

Round-lobed Hepatica has blue, pink or white flowers with 6-10 petal-like sepals. There are 3 bracts below each flower. The leaves, which appear after the flowers, have 3 rounded lobes on hairy stalks. It blooms early in the spring.

Native species.

Spring Beauty Purslane Family

(Claytonia virginica)

Spring Beauty is a low plant of moist woods. The pink or white flowers are veined with darker pink and form a loose raceme. The stem bears only a single pair of narrow leaves. It grows 6 to 12 inches high and blooms in the spring.

Native species.

Common Blue Violet Violet Family (Viola sororia)

Common Blue Violet is found in meadows and damp woods. The lower petal is longer and smooth. The two side petals are bearded. The flowers are only slightly taller than the leaves. It grows 3-8 inches high and blooms in the spring. There are many different color variations and garden escapes in this genus.

Field Pansy Violet Family (Viola bicolor)

Field Pansy has small, spoon-shaped leaves that taper to the base. The small flowers are bluish-white to cream-colored. It grows 3-8 inches in fields, on stream banks or along roadsides. It blooms in the spring.

Mertensia Forget-me-not Family (Mertensia virginica)

Mertensia, or Virginia Cowslip, has nodding, trumpet-like blue flowers that are pink in bud. The oval leaves are strongly veined. It grows 1 to 2 feet high in river woods. It blooms in the spring.

Native species.

Wild Geranium Geranium Family

(Geranium maculatum)

Wild Geranium is a plant with rose-purple flowers a little more than 1 inch wide. The hairy leaves are deeply cleft into 5 parts. It is also called Cranesbill because of the beaked seed pod. It blooms in woods in spring and early summer.

Native species.

Gill-over-the-ground Mint Family

(Glechoma hederacea)

Gill-over-the-ground is a creeping, ivy-like plant with roundish, scalloped leaves, often purplish. The blue or violet flowers grow in whorls in leaf axils. It is found in moist waste places. It blooms in spring and early summer. It is also called Ground Ivy.

Blue Flag Iris Family

(Iris versicolor)

Blue Flag is a graceful plant with long narrow leaves that sheath the stem. The blue flowers, about 4 inches wide, have yellow veining. It grows 2-3 feet high in marshes and wet meadows. It blooms in late spring and early summer.

Native species.

Fringed Polygala Milkwort Family

(Polygala paucifolia)

Fringed Polygala is a low dainty flower with two flaring

rose-purple wings. The petals are united into a tube that is fringed at the tip. Flowers are few, growing in the leaf axils. It grows 3-6 inches high in moist woods, blooming in late spring and early summer. It is also called Gaywings or Maywings.

Native species.

Columbine Buttercup Family

(Aquilegia canadensis)

Wild Columbine has a scarlet flower with a yellow center and long, protruding stamens. It grows in rocky woods and ledges. It blooms in spring and early summer.

Native Species

Jack-in-the-pulpit Arum Family

(Arisaema atrorubens)

Jack-in-the-pulpit has a long-stalked leaf with three parts. A striped flaplike spathe (the pulpit) arches downward over a club-shaped spadix (the Jack). The fruit is a dense cluster of bright red berries. It grows 1-3 feet high in moist woods and blooms in spring and early summer. It is also called Indian Turnip.

Native species.

True Forget-me-not Borage Family

(Myosotis scorpioides)

True Forget-me-not has small 5-petaled flowers that are sky-blue with a yellow eye. The stems are lightly hairy, sprawling or weakly erect. It grows 6-24 inches in wet places like springs andstreamsides. It blooms late spring to fall.

Dame’s Rocket Mustard Family

(Hesperis matronalis)

Dame’s Rocket is a large, showy pink, purple or white flower growing 2-3 feet high. It is a fragrant garden escape that resembles a phlox, but each flower has only 4 petals instead of 5. It blooms in spring and summer.

Curled Dock Buckwheat Family (Rumex crispus)

Curled Dock has heart-shaped seed wings. The flowers grow in branched racemes. The leaf margins are strongly wavy. It grows 1-4 feet high in fields and waste ground. It blooms in late spring and summer.

Daisy FleabaneComposite Family

(Erigeron annuus)

Daisy Fleabane has white or pink-tinged flower heads that measure 1/2-3/4 inches wide. Each head has 50-100 rays. It grows 1-5 feet high in fields and waste places. It blooms from spring to fall.

Native species

Red CloverPea Family

(Trifolium pratense)

Red Clover has purple or magenta flowers in stalkless heads. The oval leaflets usually have a blotchy white 'V'. It grows 6-24 inches high in fields and meadows. It blooms from spring to fall.

Common Milkweed Milkweed Family

(Asclepias syriaca)

Common Milkweed has brownish-pink or greenish-purple flowers growing in umbels. The fragrant petals bend downward. The leaves are short-stalked, oblong and grayish-downy beneath. The caterpillar of the MonarchButterfly feeds on the leaves. The pods have a warty surface with fluffy seeds when ripe. It grows 3-5 feet tall in fields and roadsides and blooms in summer.

Native species.

Crown Vetch Pea Family

(Coronilla varia)

Crown Vetch has bicolored pink and white flowers that grow in a cloverlike cluster (umbel). The stems are creeping with leaves divided into many small paired leaflets. It grows on roadsides and blooms in summer. It is sometimes called Axseed.

Selfheal Mint Family

(Prunella vulgaris)

Selfheal, or Heal-all, is a low, creeping plant with slightly toothed or toothless leaves. The hooded flowers are violet with the lower lip fringed. The flowers are crowded in a square or oblong head. It is very common in lawns, fields and roadsides. It blooms from late spring to fall.

Wild BergamotMint Family

(Monarda fistulosa)

Wild Bergamot has lilac or pink flowers with protruding stamens. It grows 2-3 feet high in dry fields and edges of woods. It is the official flower of Sussex County. It blooms in summer and fall.

Native species

Asiatic DayflowerSpiderwort Family

(Commelina communis)

Asiatic Dayflower has blue flowers up to 1 inch wide, with two large blue petals above and one very small white petal below. It grows singly or in small clusters. It is a weak-stemmed plant 6-15 inches long. It grows in moist, shaded places, blooming in summer and fall.

Blue VervainVervain Family

(Verbena hastata)

Blue Vervain has small, violet-blue spiked flowers. The spikes are usually numerous. The leaves are lance-shaped and coarsely toothed. It grows 2-6 feet high in moist thickets, shores and meadows. Itblooms in summer and fall.

Native species.

Deptford Pink Pink Family

(Dianthus armeria)

Deptford Pink has eye-catching deep pink flowers with white dots. The petals are gently toothed. The entire flower is only 1/2 inch wide. It is found in fields and along roadsides. It blooms summer and fall.

ChicoryComposite Family

(Cichorium intybus)

Chicory flowers have blue rays that are toothed at the tips. The one-inch flower heads grow stalkless along the branches. The plant is 1-4 feet high and is found on roadsides, in fields and in waste places. It blooms in summer and fall.

Cardinal Flower Lobelia Family

(Lobelia cardinalis)

Cardinal Flower has bright scarlet flowers with two lobes on the upper lip and three lobes on the lower lip. It grows 2-3 feet high. It is quite a striking plant found along stream banks and in damp meadows. It blooms in late summer and fall.

Native species.

Spotted Joe-Pye-Weed Composite Family

(Eupatorium maculatum)

Spotted Joe-Pye-Weedhas a deep purple or purple-spotted stem. The leaves are in whorls of 4 or 5, tapering to the base,with a single main vein. The pink flowers grow in a large branching cluster. It grows 2-7 feet tall in wet thickets and damp meadows. It blooms in summer and fall.

Native species.

Pennsylvania Smartweed Buckwheat Family

(Polygonum pensylvanicum)

Pennsylvania Smartweed has a tight, spikelike cluster of tiny rose-pink or white flowers. The reddish joints have papery sheaths without fringes. The leaves are shiny. It grows 1-4 feet high in damp soil on roadsides and in fields.It blooms in summer and fall.

Native species.

Closed Gentian Gentian Family

(Gentiana clausa)

Closed Gentian has blue-violet flowers that stay closed at the tip. The leaves are slender-pointed. It grows 1-2 feet high in moist woods and meadows. It blooms in late summer and fall. It is sometimes called Bottle Gentian.

Native species.

Partridgeberry Bedstraw Family

(Mitchella repens)

Partridgeberry is a trailing plant with small, paired, roundish evergreen leaves that are often veined with white. It has white or pinkish 4-petaled flowers in pairs at the ends of creeping stems. The fruit is a single, scarlet edible berry. It grows in woods and blooms in late spring and early summer.

Native species.

The creation of the Rail-Trail Wildflower Reference Books was made possible with a grant from National Recreational Trails and matching funds from the Paulinskill Valley Trail Committee. The author extends her thanks to Lynn Groves Lussier, the Resource Interpretive Specialist, Natural Resources, Kittatinny Valley State Park, for her constructive comments.

References

Peterson, Roger Tory and McKenny, Margaret. 1968. A Field Guide to Wildflowers of Northeastern and North-central North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston.

Newcomb, Lawrence and Morrison, Gordon. 1977. Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide. Little, Brown and Company, Boston.