The Brown Knapweed is blooming all over Cape Cod. Many regard it as an invasive wildflower, although it is very pretty. The 1 to 1 1/2″ flowers are pinkish purple with thistle like heads that grow from June through September.
I took this photograph while hiking at Fort Hill in Eastham but you can see them along the sides of the roads and trails.
The Indian Pipe wildflower is a perennial that grows to about 7 inches and is a translucent “ghostly” white, sometimes pale pinkish-white and commonly has black flecks. The leaves are scale-like and flecked with black on the flower stalk . The stem bears a single 3/4″ flower. It gets its nourishment from decayed organic matter and turns black when picked.
I had never seen an Indian Pipe before so it was a big treat to find so many of them in my woodsy yard.
Have you ever seen one? It does look like an Indian smoking pipe, don’t you think?
I have always loved seeing the Swamp Rose-Mallow wildflowers by the beaches in Connecticut and on Cape Cod. We called them “Marshmallows” when we were growing up, even though they come in pink or white. The were abundant around the ponds by the beach.
I saw this Swamp Rose-Mallow growing in the crevice of this rock at Fort Hill. I thought it was so pretty. The flowers are large, 4-7″ and grow near salt marshes and beaches.
I loved the coloring with the soft blues and light pink. What do you think?
This little orange and brown Checkerspot butterfly alighted on a Queen Anne’s Lace wildflower and made for such a pretty photograph on the trail at Fort Hill in Eastham.
There are a lot of butterflies at Fort Hill this time of the year. It’s fun to bring your camera and see how many photographs you can get. Sometimes you will a lot, and sometimes you won’t get any! They certainly are elusive little things!
