Mouse-Ear Hawkweed windflowers are growing all over Cape Cod. They are a dandelion-like flower with 1-4 heads. The flowers are small, just 1/2 ‘ to 1″ while the plant grows from 3-30 inches from May through September.
Pretty, don’t you think?
Category Archives: Cape Cod Wildflowers
Sweet Pepperbush Wildflowers Are Blooming On Cape Cod
Sweet Pepperbush is a tall, leafy shrub which grows near coastal wetlands or swamps, which is why I’ve seen it on the Red Maple Swamp Trail at Fort Hill and the Spring Loop Trail at the Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary. It is powerfully scented, so you can’t miss it!
The white flowers are 1/3″ with 5 petals and 10 long stamens on 8″ upright spikes. You can see a close-up of the spikes and a photograph of the entire shrub in the 2 blog photographs.
They are really pretty. Have you ever seen a Sweet Pepperbush?
Pretty Purple Spotted Knapweed On Cape Cod
Spotted Knapweed wildflowers, a member of the Aster Family, are growing profusely here on Cape Cod. Even though they are a pretty and unique wildflower, they are considered invasive in some states.
Spotted Knapweed has a 1″ thistle-like head with forked outer rays and black-tipped bracts. Their many-branched stems are hairy and wiry. They grow in July and August along fields and roadsides. I took this photograph along one of the trail at Fort Hill.
Have you ever seen a Spotted Knapweed?
Wild Blueberries On The Red Maple Swamp Trail At Fort Hill On Cape Cod
Pretty Pink Water-Willow Wildflowers On Cape Cod
If you go hiking near a fresh water spring or marsh such as The Spring Trail at the Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary or the marshes on Red Maple Swamp Trail at Fort Hill, the chances of seeing a Water-Willow are very good. They like to grow in shallow water in July and August.
Water-Willow wildflowers are an aquatic shrub with magenta flowers whose 5 petals grow in whorls where the leaves join the stem. They are native to this area. The flowers are small, only 1/2″ to 1″ while the plant grows from 3-9 feet. You can see in the 2nd photograph how the flowers grow almost where the leaves join the stems.
This is such a delicate little flower…so pretty. Have you ever seen a Water-Willow?