- Title
- Our State
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-
- Date
- August 2004
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-
- Place
- ["North Carolina, United States"]
-
Our State
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This time of ycag summer wildflowers put on
a performance unrivaled ui floral
extravagance. And viewing the show is a»
easy as driving along a country road.
Actually, there arc three distinct periods when
North Carolina's herbaceous wild flowers are their
showiest, hirst come springs ephemerak Since the)
mostly grow m the forest, they base to complete
their flowering cycle before the trees leaf out and
block the sun. In nch. undisturbed areas, the
wildflowers can carpet the ground, hut their
fleeting nature makes the blooming period all too
brief. 'Ihe last flowering show begins in September
and coni i nucs until the killing frosts. That's when
the yellow golden rodv purple and
pink asters, and a few other
autumn wildflowers bloom.
Ibis flowering period is so
intense in some areas that,
from a distance, the fields
and open slopes look like
they've been covered with
gokien shag carpering and
then sprinkled with amethyst
crystals for contrast.
While those spring and fall
wild flower blooms are
stunning, the summer
flowering episode is my
favorite, particularly in the
mountain
героя.
Unlike
spring cphemerals. which S
base little competition for
sunlight, summer
wildflowers have to
compete fiercely. They
grow tall and big and
Г
n thick clusters. Beginning around mid-July and
lasting into September, the roadsides become an
exciting hodgepodge of vivid yellows, purples,
and reds.
Keep in mind that we're talking about
herbaceous wildflowers — the ones that die
completely back to the ground after they finish
flowering. Since numerous species of shrubs,
sines, and trees bloom throughout the season, and
since there arc always going to be at least a few
hcrhiccous species in bloom, you’ll find some sort
of wildflowers in bloom at any given time. Rut for
me, the Colorful extravagance of the summer
bloomers is unsurpassed in North Carolina.
Many of the summer wildflowers
arc members of the Aster
family (Aueractae).
Sometimes called the
Composite family due to
the structure of the flowers
— flower heads consisting
of many small flowers
growing together — this
group consists of the true
sunflowers, along with many
similar species such as black-
eyed Susan, coreopsis, oxc-cyc,
cornflower, and large-
flowered lea feu p. Other
summer-blooming members
of this large family arc the
pink and purple thistles,
the deep purple
Sunny black-eyed Susan
(top) and spiny bull thistle
(left) perk up roadsides.
I T A G E
by Kevin Adams
«0
Our Sate
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20W