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Erigeron pulchellus. This daisy-like flower with pale violet rays grows in limy, dry soils, tolerates drought and is low maintenance. It is often overlooked for the home garden because it requires soils that are limy, growing in deep ravines where calcareous fossil-bearing soils are exposed. In the Williamsburg Botanical Garden, Robin’s Plantain thrives in the…

Distinctive with leathery, evergreen leaves in a dense rosette, this plant looks like its desert relatives. On edges of the stiff, sharply pointed leaves are fraying, twisted whitish threads, which are not usually found on other species of Yucca. During the growing season each plant will produce a spreading cluster of drooping cream-colored flowers on a 6-foot…

Looking like a miniature dandelion, but growing only one foot tall, this annual plant appears in lawns and roadsides in spring. The stems are leafless, or leafy only near the base, and contain a milky sap. Most of the leaves are clustered around the base, long and narrow, often wider near the tip, somewhat hairy…

The lacy white flowers of Shadbush are the first to break winter dormancy, signaling the arrival of spring. Early colonists noticed the tree blooming when the shad are running, hence one of its common names. The plant is also known as “serviceberry” since the local ministers could visit winter-bound homes as the roads became passable,…

There is a lot to like about River Birch, especially in the winter when its cream to peach-colored inner shredding bark is so visible without the summer leaves.  This medium-sized tree tolerates compacted clay (within reason), summer heat and drought, but grows best in average to humus-rich acidic soil in full sun or partial shade.…

Two trees with similar leaves can be easily distinguished in the winter condition. Black Locust is a medium-sized tree with compound leaves, each leaf divided into 6-20 egg-shaped leaflets. The bark on old trunks is dark and deeply ridged; paired thorns are found on stout twigs. The flowers are fragrant, white and clustered, and fruits…

Spotted Spurge is a familiar creeping annual with more or less prostrate stems, often forming circular mats. The reddish stems are filled with sticky, milky latex. Leaves are opposite, oblong, mostly under 1/2 inch long, with toothed edges. Dark green in color, each leaf often has a central purple spot. From the leaf axils, what…

The John Clayton Chapter of the Virginia Native Plant Society is now considering candidates for scholarships for the Summer 2015 sessions of Nature Camp at Vesuvius, Virginia in the George Washington National Forest. Nature Camp is a coeducational, academic camp that emphasizes education in natural history and environmental studies. It is intended for those seeking…

This modest annual is also known as Shortstalk Copperleaf since the leaves are on very short petioles and the alternate leaves often turn reddish in the fall. Stems are simple or branching from base, to 2 feet tall, pubescent. Blooming from June through November, tiny flowers are clustered in the leaf axils, surrounded by bracts…

Unlike many members of the Aster Family, the heads of Fireweed lack the distinctive ray petals. They have a cylinder shape with a swollen base, topped with white disk flowers. They are most conspicuous the fall as they fill with copious masses of fine, soft hairs attached to the young fruits. The oblong leaves are…