Common Name: Canadian columbine, red columbine, wild columbine

Scientific Name: Aquilegia canadensis

Aquilegia: from Latin aquila, "an eagle," referring to the shape of the petals which is said to be like an eagle's claw

canadensis: of or referring to Canada

Status:  Native

Plant:  erect, perennial, 1'-3' tall forb

Flower:  orange to red/yellow, 5-parted, 1 1/4" long, nodding, yellow petals below long, hollow, red spurs and red/orange sepals; inflorescence of several long stalks branching from the stem with solitary flowers; blooms May-July

Leaf: widely-roundish, toothed or lobed, 2-3 times 3-parted, stalked, alternate, basal leaves larger than the stem leaves

Habitat:  full sun to shade; dry; woods, forests, cliffs; in sandy, loamy soil

To see additional image of any of the flowers, click on the image.

Common Name: swamp thistle

Scientific Name: Cirsium muticum Michx.

Cirsium: derived from the Greek kirsion, "a kind of thistle;" also cirsos meaning "a swollen vein" for which thistle was once a remedy

muticum: blunt, without a point

Status:  Native

Plant:  erect, biennial, 2'-7' tall, coarse forb with many branches; stems smooth and not winged; several stout roots

Flower:  head 1 1/2" wide with purple to pink disk flowers, bract (phyllaries) tips white-wooly but not spiny; inflorescence a cluster with many heads; blooms July-Oct.

Fruit: dry seed on fluffy, feathery-divided pappus

Leaf: deeply pinnately-divided with lance-like to oblong segments, softly spiny

Habitat:  wet; woods, meadows, streambanks, swamps