Of this weeks flower families, quite a number of the commoner examples you may happen across are not North American natives, but are certainly well naturalised.
Family Boraginaceae - Forget-me-not/Borage
Annual or perennial herbs, often with rough, stiff hairs. Flowers grow in an array that begins coiled up like a fiddlehead and then uncurls and straightens as the flowers open. Most species are pollinated by bees of various species.
You cannot be unaware of Lungwort (Pulmonaria officinalis) Wood Forget-Me-Not (Myosotis sylvatica), an introduced species that grows in the wild and likes to establish themselves in gardens too. Also the non-native and splendidly named bright blue spikes of Common Viper’s Bugloss (Echium vulgare) are hard to miss. It has attractive flowers, but the stems are covered with sharp spines that become lodged in the skin like cactus spines.
Amongst other species there is the Blue Borage (Borago officinalis), a spreading and non-native annual flower often encouraged in gardens. It has a long history and is described as follows by John Gerard in his “Herball” where it would seem to be a good thing to have near you:
“Those of our time do use the flowers in salads to exhilerate and make the mind glad. There be also many things made of these used everywhere for the comfort of the heart, for the driving away of sorrow and increasing the joy of the mind. The leaves and flowers of Borage put into wine make men and women glad and merry and drive away all sadness, dullness and melancholy, as Dioscorides and Pliny affirm. Syrup made of the flowers of Borage comfort the heart, purge melancholy and quiet the frantic and lunatic person. The leaves eaten raw engender good blood, especially in those that have been lately sick”.
Family Oxalidaceae - Wood Sorrels
There are three species of this family present in the area, all of them in the genus Oxalis or Wood Sorrels. Many of the 570 or so species have “lemon”‑flavored leaves, due to a high concentration of oxalic acid. Unusually many members of this family apart is their production of “cleistogamous” flowers. This means that plants can produce closed, self‑pollinating flowers that never open and in some species they develop alongside more typical open blossoms. The benefit of this is that cleistogamous flowers guarantee seed set even when pollinators are scarce or environmental conditions are unfavorable. This dual flowering strategy – open, insect‑visited flowers plus guaranteed self‑fertilizing ones – is rare among herbaceous plants and gives a better chance for reproduction.
The most frequently encountered species is Upright Yellow Woodsorrel (Oxalis stricta) which is found in woodlands, meadows, and in disturbed areas as both a perennial and annual. Its habit is erect when young, and later becomes decumbent as it lies down, and branches regularly. It requires well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor locations.
Also present are two related species - Slender Yellow Woodsorrel (Oxalis dillenii) and Creeping Woodsorrel (Oxalis corniculata)
Family Brassicaceae - Cabbages/Cruciferae
Who doesn’t know the cabbage family? Forgetting about the many varieties that might be growing in your garden, there are a considerable number of relatives out there in the wild. I have identified some 17 members of the family amongst which the following are ones you may fairly easily see.
These plants are commonly encountered beside roads, on wasteland and in areas that have been disturbed. Some are native, other introduced. For example, Annual Wall-Rocket (Diplotaxis muralis), Field Peppergrass (Lepidium campestre), Bitter Wintercress (Barbarea vulgaris), Wormseed Wallflower (Erysimum cheiranthoides), and Dame’s Rocket (Hesperis matronalis) .
A species that is causing a great nuisance is the introduced Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata). It was brought here in the past because of its garlic flavour and is often used in salads etc. However, it effectively has no controlling pests on this continent. Its small, white flowers produce tens of thousands of tiny, dust-like seeds which can remain viable in the soil for years and its roots secrete allotoxins into the soil which inhibit the growth of many plants - in other words it outcompetes desirable native plants. It is easy to see in the spring when the flower appear and easy to pull out by hand - please do so wherever you encounter it. Get to it before it sets seed.
Brassicaceae are almost exclusively pollinated by insects. The Cabbage White Butterfly (Pieris rapae) and other butterflies of the family Pieridae are some of the best-known exploiters of Brassicaceae species. The cabbage looper moth is also becoming increasingly problematic for crucifers due to its resistance to commonly used pest control methods. When a Brassica leaf is damaged—by an herbivore, a pathogen, or a kitchen knife—an enzyme, myrosinase, in the cells, comes into contact with glucosinolates which the enzyme converts into a variety of pungent compounds such as “mustard oils, wasabi’s allyl isothiocyanate, and the spicy bite of horseradish”. These compounds are irritating and discourage insects and grazing animals from eating the plant - humans find the taste appealing.
Family Grossulariaceae - Currants
The best known member of this family is the excellent fruit species of Blackcurrant (Ribes nigrum). In the wild you might look for Prickly Gooseberry (Ribes cynosbati) and perhaps Swamp Currant (Ribes lacustre).
Most currant species are self‑incompatible. A single plant requires pollen from a genetically different individual to set fruit. This is achieved by a biochemical “recognition” mechanism in the pistil that blocks pollen tubes from the same genotype. This mechanism forces outcrossing, and hence the plants maintain high genetic variation, which aids adaption to pests, diseases, and changing climates.
I enjoyed this post so much! Thank you for all of the pictures and work you put into it! :-)
I've always had a fondness for Vipers' Bugloss and every year enjoy seeing it spring up on Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh! Garlic Mustard is much loved here by our Orange Tip butterflies, sorry it's such a problem for you over there!