Wildflowers of 2014 - #190 and #191

I did not get out at all during the week last week to look for flowers, but I was able to spend a short time searching on Sunday (27 July 2014) and was able to find two of my absolute favorite wildflowers.  This post is mainly going to consist of pictures because I have written about both species in the past.

Wildflowers of 2014 - #190 Spotted Joe-pye Weed (Eutrochium maculatum)

Both species that I found today were growing in wet soil along the Chippewa River at Mill Pond Park.  The first species is one of the most showy plants of the Late Summer/Fall wildflower season - Spotted Joe-pye Weed (Eutrochium maculatum).  This species can grow up to ten feet tall under favorable conditions and has large flat-topped clusters of small pinkish-purple blooms.  It is found across the northern two-thirds of the United States and lower tier of Canadian provinces.

Spotted Joe-pye Weed (Eutrochium maculatum)

 
This species has been renamed several times.  All of my wildflower books list this species as Eupatorium maculatum.  Last year when I looked up this plant it was listed as Eupatoriadelphus maculatus.  Now the name seems to be settled at Eutrochium maculatum.

Spotted Joe-pye Weed - note whorled leaves

For more information on this species please check out this species profile from July 2013.

Spotted Joe-pye Weed - note pink-purple flowers

Wildflowers of 2014 - #191 Spotted Touch-me-not (Impatiens capensis)

The second flower of the day was growing in the shadow of the Joe-pye Weed.  Spotted Touch-me-not (Impatiens capensis) may grow up to five feet tall, but the ones that I photographed were about two feet tall.  This species can be found across the eastern United States, across Canada, and in the Pacific Northwest.  The tube-shaped flowers of this species are 3/4 to 1 1/4 inches long and attract butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds.  The flowers are orange with reddish-brown spots.  A closely related species Pale Touch-me-not (Impatiens pallida) has pale yellow flowers.

Spotted Touch-me-not (Impatiens capensis)

Spotted Touch-me-not - note tubular flower shape

Spotted Touch-me note - note reddish-brown spots on the orange flower

For more information on Spotted Touch-me-not please look at this post from January 2013.