The MN wildflower blog

There are 10 species of thistles in Minnesota. Do you know your natives?

Check out the Minnesota Thistles photo album on Facebook.

Do you own a field guide? What do you think of it?

This survey is being conducted partly to determine whether a new field guide specifically for Minnesota wildflowers is worth publishing. I think it is, how about you?

I recently received a copy of a new book published by the Minnesota Historical Society Press, called Wildflowers of the Boundary Waters: Hiking Through the Seasons, by Betty vos Hemstad. It’s not intended as a field guide, though it does give sufficient information to identify most of the plants in it. It is more of a picture book, with full-color photos of the 120 species covered within its pages, showing each species, as seen while hiking, in various stages of its life cycle. Each has a 2-page spread. The accompanying text, written in a conversational manner, provides some history, folk uses, and/or commentary rather than taxonomy. (more…)

I’ve had several people send me photos of this flower asking for help with an ID. Since it is a cultivated plant, it isn’t likely to be in field guides, or on most other wildflower web sites. That doesn’t mean you won’t find it in the wild, though. (more…)

I’ve seen 2 or 3 of these plants at Long Lake Regional Park (LLRP). I first noticed blooms this year in mid-May, but it could have started flowering a couple weeks earlier than that. I first noticed the plant at the end of July 2006; it was still in full bloom at that time. (more…)

I’ve seen this plant at both Long Lake Regional Park (LLRP) and Wild River State Park (WRSP). I noticed the first blooms at LLRP on June 12. (more…)