When you eat an apple or a watermelon you throw the seeds away. However, with wild flowers the seeds are generally the source of interest. If you think of the wild flower seed pod as “fruit” you will be able to make an important connection. That is, regardless if you start with apple blossoms, a blackberry flower or a wild flower blossom all need to be pollinated in order to obtain any fruit. Further, it is vital to understand that unlike standard vegetable garden seeds, that you plant directly from the seed pack, most wild flower seeds need some special treatment before planting for it to germinate and grow.
Two wild flowers are shown below for this discussion. The Cardinal Flower and the Blue Flag Iris. Note that the Cardinal Flower seeds are about the size of a grain of sand; whereas, the Blue Flag Iris seed is about the size of a garden pea. [ A Roosevelt Dime is included in the photo for size comparisons]. Both of these flowers grow in the same environment; moist, even in water, and in fertile soil. However, Blue Flag Iris seeds need to be exposed to long winter-like conditions and buried underground to germinate. On the other hand, Cardinal Flower seeds need light to germinate. For example, if the seed is covered with a leaf, it will not germinate. Further, unlike most wild flowers, this wild flower can obtain reasonable germination without winter-like exposure. It is worthwhile to know that these two flowers were grown inside as seedlings using seeds collected from my garden before planting outside.
Some additional information about these two flowers follows. It is also important to understand and recognize the scientific names for these two flowers. Most folks who work with native flowers comprehend the importance of its scientific name because the given name can change with regional location or marketing reasons. However, its scientific name never changes. For example. Swamp Milkweed Asclepias incarnata is now being sold by many plant nurseries as Rose Milkweed because it sounds more appealing.
Cardinal Flower- Lobelia cardinalis Lobelia is the Scientific group name and cardinalis is a description of a specific flower subgroup family. Folklore indicates the flower got it name when a British botanist showed this plant to Queen Elizabeth 1 who immediately started laughing because it reminded her of the scarlet stockings the English Church Cardinals wore at that time. If you look closely at the photo of this flower you will see that the flower is at the top and the seed pods are at the bottom. This is unique, because the petals begin forming at the bottom and work themselves up over a long growing season. This flower is propagated by hummingbirds because their long beaks can reach inside the deep flower petal to obtain nectar. During an almost one month growing season you can see hummingbirds feeding on these flowers several times a day. The Cardinal flower is on the New York State Protective Native Plant List. Unfortunately, the reason it is on this list is because it is such a pretty flower people want to pick it.
Blue Flag Iris- Iris versicolor is a native spring- flowering perennial that grows in wetlands and shallow water. The one-to-two-foot flowers are blue to purple with white veins. The name iris comes from the Greek word meaning variously colored. The plant is propagated by rhizomes, underground root like plants, and opened seed pods that distribute seeds by wind. It attracts bees and hummingbirds. The non-native Yellow Flag Iris -Iris pseudacorus is considered to be invasive because its fast- growing rhizomes take over other aquatic plants. However, it is still grown under close garden control.
Some additional information about these two flowers follows. It is also important to understand and recognize the scientific names for these two flowers. Most folks who work with native flowers comprehend the importance of its scientific name because the given name can change with regional location or marketing reasons. However, its scientific name never changes. For example. Swamp Milkweed Asclepias incarnata is now being sold by many plant nurseries as Rose Milkweed because it sounds more appealing.
Cardinal Flower- Lobelia cardinalis Lobelia is the Scientific group name and cardinalis is a description of a specific flower subgroup family. Folklore indicates the flower got it name when a British botanist showed this plant to Queen Elizabeth 1 who immediately started laughing because it reminded her of the scarlet stockings the English Church Cardinals wore at that time. If you look closely at the photo of this flower you will see that the flower is at the top and the seed pods are at the bottom. This is unique, because the petals begin forming at the bottom and work themselves up over a long growing season. This flower is propagated by hummingbirds because their long beaks can reach inside the deep flower petal to obtain nectar. During an almost one month growing season you can see hummingbirds feeding on these flowers several times a day. The Cardinal flower is on the New York State Protective Native Plant List. Unfortunately, the reason it is on this list is because it is such a pretty flower people want to pick it.
Blue Flag Iris- Iris versicolor is a native spring- flowering perennial that grows in wetlands and shallow water. The one-to-two-foot flowers are blue to purple with white veins. The name iris comes from the Greek word meaning variously colored. The plant is propagated by rhizomes, underground root like plants, and opened seed pods that distribute seeds by wind. It attracts bees and hummingbirds. The non-native Yellow Flag Iris -Iris pseudacorus is considered to be invasive because its fast- growing rhizomes take over other aquatic plants. However, it is still grown under close garden control.
By Roger Dahlin
Baldwinsville, New York
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