A bouquet of three flowers

Evening primrose, cardinal flower, and wingstem.

I could have made my imaginary bouquet out of any three of the more than a dozen blooming plants I saw as I walked the creek and meadow after a month away, but these were the first three on my list to identify and research further.

As it turns out, evening primrose, cardinal flower, and wingstem, all are native to this place, meaning that they are adapted to the soil and weather conditions, and they provide nourishment and habitation for native bugs and birds with whom they are co-evolved, a natural defense against extinction. Native Wildlife Federation’s Native Plant Finder lists native plants by zip code and also the moths and butterflies that use each to host their caterpillar larvae. I obtained further information for each plant from their individual Wikipedia pages, and also from the North Carolina State University Cooperative Extension Service’s website.

Evening primrose, a lovely yellow-flowered biennial, has many flower buds up and down its long stems. Typically, it is closed during the daytime and opens at dusk. The primrose is fertilized by night flying moths and bumbles and honeybees attracted by its mild lemon scent. The ones in my meadow still had some of their buds open when I saw them in the morning, though the few I picked to put in a vase closed quickly afterwards

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The primrose moth plus 16 other kinds of moths lay their eggs on its flowers and the resulting caterpillars feed on the plant. Birds such as goldfinch, Northern bobwhite, and mourning dove eat its seeds. Though I myself am not (yet) confident enough to forage, this plant is edible; the roots can be eaten raw or cooked like potatoes. Leaves can be used in a salad or cooked like spinach. Its flower buds are considered a delicacy. It has been used in traditional medicine. Anishinaabe people make a tea out of the whole plant and use it as a dietary aid and to reduce fatigue. Primrose oil is now produced commercially and sold as a (non-FDA approved) dietary supplement.

The second flower in this bouquet, cardinal flower, surprised me as a shock of red, standing out against so much green in the woods across the creek. Though I have a seen it in other places, I had never seen it in my woods. I double-checked my phone app, PlantNet, to make sure I was identifying it correctly. This bright crimson perennial grows in wet places, such as on river banks and in shaded forests, exactly where I found it. It is pollinated, not surprisingly, by ruby-throated hummingbirds attracted to its hue.

Cardinal flower is host to six species of caterpillar larvae, including pink washed looper moth and red-banded leafroller moth, whose names I mention for the sheer appreciation of all those words strung together. This plant can be propagated by seeds or by dividing it and moving the younger plants growing in a ring around the older ones to a new location. Though there are some medicinal uses for it if applied topically, it is toxic if ingested—its bright red color, a warning.

Wingstem, also known as crown beard, is the third and final flower I offer in this bouquet. Sometimes it is called yellow ironweed (the purple one I know for its use as a natural dye). Wingstem also loves to grow in fertile, moist, low lying areas near creeks and bottom land woods. Its tubular disk florets in the center of every flower head attract long-tongued insects, bumble bees and butterflies, but not short-tongued ones such as wasps and flies (who knew?).

Wingstem spreads underground via rhizomes, which are underground plant stems that send out roots and shoots from its nodes, creating a new plant. Its seeds are attractive to birds for food, but their foliage is of little interest to deer and other mammals. So, the rabbit that eats my coreopsis is not interested. It is a larval host plant to the gold moth and the silvery checkerspot and 17 other species of moths and butterflies. For many of them, this is the only plant where they will leave their larvae.

One information source describes wingstem as “weedy.” Another reports that it sometimes spread aggressively, as do many plants that spread via rhizomes (like my multiflora rose!). Thus far, it is only in two places in my field, and I like the way it looks, and now I know a number of moth and butterfly species depend on it for the survival of their offspring, so I think I will keep it and see how it goes.

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There is an amazing amount of life out here in this woods*creek*meadow. I am in love with so much that has been here all along that I am only now paying close attention to. I always loved being out of doors, walking through woods and meadows and long creeks and rivers, but for the most part, I wasn’t “seeing the trees for the forest,” so to speak. I knew some specific plants and had a general idea of seasonal and ecosystem variations, but now I want to know the plants as individuals and in relationship to one another and the land. This desire has been growing slowly, but has increased exponentially since learning about the importance of native plants, and particularly oaks. As I began to learn the many species of oaks native and present in this particular woods*creek*meadow, I wanted to know all of the rest of it.

As I learn more, I begin seeing and understanding more of the world beyond the woods*creek*meadow. I see the evening primrose at the beginning of the Big East Fork Trail along the Pigeon River in the Pisgah National Forest, before the deep shade of the rhododendron-dominated forest becomes too much for them. As I drive through other parts of Haywood County, I see yellow fields after yellow fields of wingstem. I understand their being described as invasive, but I also think of the many species of insects who have a habitat for reproduction because they are there. As I appreciate these ecosystems better, I feel I can be a better advocate and caretaker to all of it.

Sometimes I worry I will never learn enough. In saner moments, I know enough is exactly what I am learning. There is no end goal or objective I need to reach, just to keep learning. It is the real time adventure of it that I am here for. I am grateful to be in the presence of and a part of this place, this natural world, a way to honor and extend my ancestors’ care of this land.

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