Tag Archives: Fort Hill

Beautiful Everlasting Pea Wildflowers At Fort Hill On Cape Cod

The hot pink Everlasting Pea Wildflowers at Fort Hill are gorgeous and growing abundantly in the fields. They look like blankets of pink  in the distance.

The Everlasting Pea is pink, and sometimes purple, with irregular-shaped flowers. The flowers are about 1″ on a sprawling plant that grows 3-4 feet on roadsides and meadows.

Have you ever seen an Everlasting Pea? Pretty, don’t you think?

Pretty Blue Chicory Wildflowers At Fort Hill On Cape Cod

Bright blue Chicory wildflowers are blooming all over Fort Hill on Cape Cod. Their intense blue color makes them easy to spot on the sides of the trails or in the fields.

Chicory grows on a stiff stalk and has numerous 1 and 1/2″ stemless flower heads with fringed petals.  These bloom for only one day  from June to October.

The part of the Chicory that always catches my eye are the exquisite stamens and pistils in the center. They look like little blue rods with a lasso at the top. Just beautiful!

What do you think?

 

Purple Climbing Nightshade Wildflower At Fort Hill On Cape Cod

The Climbing Nightshade wildflowers, also known as Bittersweet Nightshade,  are just beautiful at Fort Hill in Eastham on Cape Cod. You can see them on the trail near the Cutting Rock or on the trail leading up to the overlook parking lot.

Climbing Nightshade wildflowers are a climbing vine with purple shooting star-shaped flowers of about 1/2″ which grow in clusters at the ends of long stems. Their petals are swept back from a yellow central “beak.”

One of my friends just commented that these plants are extremely toxic. I did some research on the internet and learned:

“The foliage is toxic to many people and should be handled with care. The fruit is said to also be toxic, particularly to children.”

Be careful and not touch this wildflower!

Thanks, Mike, for the “heads up!”

American Copper Butterfly At Fort Hill On Cape Cod

I almost missed this  little American Copper butterfly at Fort Hill on Cape Cod. He was pretty camouflaged until he opened his wings for a second and I saw the beautiful orange color and black spots.

American Copper butterflies are small, only about 1″ with orange forewings and about 8 black dots and a black outer edge. When their wings are closed up, they look light grey with fine black dots and blend in very nicely .

Have you ever seen an American Copper butterfly?

The American Copper is one of Massachusetts more common butterflies. During the height of its flight periods it can be found in almost all areas of the state.

Pretty Yellow Mouse-Ear Hawkweed Wildflowers On Cape Cod

These yellow Mouse-Ear wildflowers are growing everywhere here on Cape Cod. They are really pretty and seem to grow like fields of flowers.

I saw many of them on the trails at Fort Hill in Eastham on Cape Cod. I loved this macro where you can see the center of the flower.

What do you think?

Mouse-Ear Hawkweed is the only one of the Hawkweeds which a mere amateur has any chance of identifying it. Hawkweed is used in sunscreen lotions.