Leon

Lewis flax or blue flax, its in the flax family and named after Meriwether Lewis (Lewis and Clark) since he was the first westerner to pick a specimen. Its a drought resistant and hardy plant, used in gardens and decorations. Native Americans used the stems for weaving.

Canada anemone, its in the buttercup family. Its indigenous to North America. It produces great ground cover in moist, sunny to partly shaded area like meadows, edges of woodlands, and stream banks (where I found these) they bloom in late spring early summer (when I found these guys) and are great pollinators. Unfortunately its toxic to eat and its sap will irritate the skin.

Some young bucks

Bird-footed Trefoil a low growing perennial plant that's in the pea family. Named that because the flowers look like birds feet. Its also known as "eggs and bacon" or "butter and eggs" due to the color of its flowers. Its good at keeping erosion at bay, and food for foraging livestock, but toxic to humans if ingested in large quantities. Its a great nitrogen producer to keep the soil rich in nutrients, but can get out of control and overtake other plants. Its also a great source of pollin for bees and other insects, and makes great food for many species of caterpillars

Bindweed, while pertty to look at its actually an aggressive invasive vine in the Morning glory family. Their roots can go as deep as 20ft making it very difficult to control, they twist and climb on other plants smothering, and killing them. While its safe to touch, if the milky sap gets on your skin, it can cause mild to severe skin irritation, so use proper PPE when handling this plant. Its also toxic to eat and if ingested in large amounts could cause "gastrointestinal distress"

Do you have your towl?

Hoary alyssum, an invasive species from the mustard family, unfortunately its toxic to horses, and can be hard to manage, it can be useful in certain certain circumstances, like its a hardy cover for poor, dry or gravely soil, and is a good pollinator for bees and butterflies. It dosnt have any herble uses, historically it was used to treat rabies (unsuccessfully of course) and was sometimes used for mild discomforts like coughs but was probably just a placebo and dosnt work. Its also known as madwort or heal-bite in some places, its found all over Eurasia and Europe and is invasive to north America.

White clover, the lucky clover 🍀 finding a 4 leaf clover is considered good luck, they are in the legume family and are sometimes used to replace grass on lawns, they put nitrogen back into the soil, provide food for livestock and also a great pollinator, the flowers can be used to make tea and you can cook the leaves to make them edible. (We got a little pineapple weed sneaking in for the 2nd picture)

Yellow sweet clover its part of the legume family, the flowers, when mowed or crushed produce a sweet vanilla like smell. As a legum it put nitrogen into the soil and is a good cover crop for depleted soil, though it can be invasive and degrading to native grases by shading them out. Its a great pollinator and very beneficial to bees and other pollinators. While livestock can eat it, it can develop a toxic mold that can cause a fatal bleeding disorder called sweetclover poisoning

Motherwort, its in the mint family originally from Europe and Asia but is found in North America. Traditionally the flowers, stems and leaves were made into a tea or a tincture to help with heart problems (palpitations, high blood pressure) and to help with menstrual cramps and anxiety. Though unfortunately its quite bitter so they usually added honey or other sweet things to combat the bitterness.

This is pineapple weed, supposedly when crushed the flower heads are supposed to smell like pineapples, the heads and leaves are edible and the heads can be used to make a chamomile-like tea. It has a sweet fruit like taste. It use to be used as a medicine to help calm down upset stomachs and aid in digestion

A plant called begger's lice, they have barbs that stick to your clothes, and its considered a noxious weed, but the flowers are pertty