The Beauty in Nature
Strips of European Flowers Clyde McMillan-Gamber
Flowering plants originally from Europe dominate many country roadsides in southeastern Pennsylvania farmland, as elsewhere in North America. Queen Anne’s lace, chicory, butterand-eggs, bouncing-bet, alfalfa, red clover, two kinds of thistles, common mullein, and teasel are some of the more common European plants blooming profusely and beautifully along many cropland roads in midsummer. They create lovely, natural bouquets that brighten roadsides and provide nectar and pollen for insects and seeds for mice and certain types of small birds. Queen Anne’s lace can be up to 4 feet tall and has flat clusters of tiny, white flowers. This is the ancestor
Queen Anne’s lace.
Chicory.
of domestic carrots and has flowers similar to those on that vegetable. Dried flower clusters curl up in winter and resemble small birds’ nests. Chicory can reach 4 feet and has blue blossoms that generally only bloom in the morning. Yellow-andblack male American goldfinches,
and other kinds of birds, are striking among chicory flowers when eating its seeds. Large, mixed patches of Queen Anne’s lace and chicory seem to reflect blue skies, patched with white cumulus clouds. Butter-and-eggs are so named because of their bright-yellow
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blossoms. This is a kind of snapdragon that has snapdragon-shaped blooms. Butter-and-eggs probably escaped from flower gardens. Bouncing-bet, or soapwort, according to legend, is named for a well-endowed washerwoman. This species has pale-pink blossoms. And, when crushed, its leaves lather into soap, a reason European colonists introduced it to North America. Alfalfa and red clovers, both escapees from hayfields, have lovely flowers. Those of alfalfa are purple and sweet-smelling, while those of red clovers are hot pink. The blossoms of both plants are attractive to a variety of bees, butterflies, and other insects that sip their nectar while pollinating those blooms. please see FLOWERS page 11
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