I’ve seen a lot of Climbing Nightshade, also known as Bittersweet Nightshade, wildflowers along the trails on Cape Cod. I took this photograph at Fort Hill down by the marsh although you can see them all along the trails.
Climbing Nightshade wildflowers are a climbing vine with 1/2″ violet flowers swept back from a yellow central “beak” in loose clusters. It forms egg-shaped shiny green berries which turn to bright red in late summer.
Important to note: The berries are poisonous!
The Indian Pipe wildflower is another wildflower that I’d never seen until I moved to the Cape. And here it is… in my own backyard. What a treat!
Indian Pipe has no chlorophyll so it is white, not green. It has whitish, scaly stalks that grow to about 4-10″ with nodding waxy 1″ bell-shaped flowers. They grow from July to September. I found these in the woods behind my yard.
Very interesting looking wildflower, don’t you think? Have you ever seen one?
I had never seen a Spotted Wintergreen wildflower until I moved to Cape Cod and found them in the woods in my yard. They are just beautiful. (Click on blog link to see more photographs.)
The Spotted Wintergreen is an erect 4-10″ plant with evergreen leaves and reddish stems. The 1″ flowers are waxy white with 5 petals and pronounced stamens and pistil which you can see in the photographs. They bloom in the woods in July and August.
The interesting thing is that when they are starting to bloom they look like they are drooping (2nd photo). As they get to full bloom they spread out and flip over to face the sun.
So pretty and delicate… have you ever seen a Spotted Wintergreen?
The Milkweed plants, which the Monarchs love to feed on and lay their eggs on, are plentiful here on Cape Cod. Fort Hill is especially prolific this summer. (Click on blog link to see other photos.)
The first photograph is of the Milkweed flower. The 2nd one is of the fields of Milkweed plants at Fort Hill that attract the Monarchs.
The last photograph is of the Milkweed pod, when they have gone by in the fall. The pod will open up and disperse thousands of seeds in the wind and land where a new Milkweed plant will grow next summer.
The hot pink Everlasting Peas are blooming all over Cape Cod. They are especially abundant at Fort Hill where they paint the meadows pink. They are so pretty. (Click on blog link for another photo.)
They bloom from July to September, so you still have plenty of time to see these gorgeous wildflowers!
