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Verbascum thapsus // Common Mullein

Origin:  Native to Europe and Asia

Etymology/Cultural Associations:  Genus name may come from the Latin word “barbascum”, meaning “bearded plant.”  Specific epithet honors the ancient village of Thapsus (now in ruins) located near Carthage in modern day Tunisia.  Common name comes from the Latin word “mollis” meaning “soft” (referring to the flannel-textured leaves).

Originally brought to the U. S. in early colonial times primarily because of its extensive history as an herbal remedy for various medicinal conditions. Listed as a noxious weed in Hawaii and Colorado.  Tea brewed from this plant has a soothing effect.

Zone:  3 to 9

Habitat:  Old Field community.  Prefers dry, stony soils, but tolerates a wide range of soil conditions, including poor soils.  Must have good drainage. Found in anthropogenic habitats, cliffs, ledges, meadows and fields, ridges and ledges.

Mature Size:  2-7′ tall with 1.5-2.5′ spread.  Erect, vertical stalk rises from rosette.

Leaves:  Basal leaves occur in a rosette.  Leaves have thick, soft, densely-hairy texture and pale gray-green color.  Leaves grow 6-15” long.  

Flower/Fruit:  Monoecious.  Stem topped in summer by a 20-inch long cylindrical inflorescence of densely-packed, 5-lobed, yellow flowers (1” across). Flowering stems appear winged because the smaller fuzzy alternate oval stem leaves have tapered and prolonged bases that extend down the surface of the stem.

[www.missouribotanicalgarden.org]

Juglans nigra // Black Walnut

Origin:  Native to Eastern United States

Etymology/Cultural Associations:  Genus Juglans comes from the Latin names “jovis” meaning of Jupiter.  “Glans” means acorn.  Common name and species epithet (nigra) refer to the dark bark and nuts.

This native tree has been called our best friend in times of war and peace. Native Americans and early settlers used it for food, dyes, ink, medicine, fence posts, gun stocks and furniture.  They also boiled the sap for syrup and supposedly threw the husks into ponds to poison fish, making them easier to catch.

Juglans nigra is highly prized for both its edible nuts and beautiful, dark wood that is used for various commercial applications like furniture, cabinetry, and gunstocks.  

Zone:  4 to 9

Habitat:  Oak Hickory community.  Prefers moist and organically-rich, well-drained soils in full sunlight.  Intolerant of shade.  Found in anthropogenic habitats, forests, fields, and meadows.  

Mature Size:  75-100′ tall with 75-100′ spread with oval to rounded crown. Sends down deep taproot.  Mature trees have long trunks with absence of lower branches.  

Leaves:  Alternate.  Odd pinnate leaves are glossy and fragrant when crushed. Leaflets grow 6-9″ long and turn an undistinguished yellow in the Fall.

Bark:  Fissured, sharply ridged, dark gray-black bark forms diamond patterns.

Flower/Fruit:  Monoecious.  Yellow-green flowers appear in May-June, male flower in drooping catkins and female flowers in short terminal spikes that give way to edible nuts.  Nuts are encased in smooth, yellow-green husks (2-3″ diameter) that blacken and rot away when ripe in the Fall. 

[www.missouribotanicalgarden.org]

Diospyros virginiana // Common Persimmon

Origin:  Native to Eastern and Midwestern United States

Etymology/Cultural Associations:  Genus Diospyros translates to “Divine Fruit” (dios = divine, pyros = wheat/grain).  Persimmon is the Native American name for the fruit.

Common Persimmon is a member of the Ebony family, which typically has very hard wood, used for golf club heads, billiard cues, and shoe lasts.  

Traditional lore states that if the shape imprinted on the inside of the seed can predict the harshness of the upcoming winter.  If the imprint is shaped like a fork, winter will be mild; if it exhibits more of a spoon-like form, there will be a lot of snow; and if it is shaped like a knife, winter will be bitingly cold.

Zone:  4 to 9

Habitat:  Grows easily in average, dry to medium, well-drained soils in full sun to part shade.  Prefers moist, sandy soils but exhibits some tolerance to drought and other soil types.  Found in anthropogenic habitats, old fields/meadows, and coastal beaches.  

Mature Size:  35-60′ tall with 25-35′ spread.  Rounded oval crown.  Exhibits prolific suckering habit.  Sends down deep taproot.

Leaves:  Alternate.  Simple.  Ovate to elliptic leaves grow 2-6″ long.  Leaves are dark green above and turn yellow in the Fall.  Leaves can be used to brew teas.

Bark: Distinct thick, dark gray bark that is broken into rectangular blocks. Bark makes it easily recognizable in the Winter.

Flower/Fruit:  Dioecious, but some trees have perfect flowers.  Fragrant, white to greenish-yellow flowers bloom in late Spring.  Male flowers appear in clusters and female flowers are solitary.  Edible persimmon fruits are 1-2″ in diameter, and mature in the Fall to an orange/reddish-purple color.  Fruits may persist on the tree into Winter.  Persimmon fruits are common in syrups, jelllies, ice creams, and pies, although they are too soft to withstand shipping.  

[www.missouribotanicalgarden.org]

[www.gobotany.newenglandwild.org]

Hamamelis virginiana // Common Witchhazel

Origin:  Native to Eastern North America

Etymology/Cultural Associations:  Genus derives from Greek hama, meaning at the same time and melon, meaning apple or fruit, because the flower and seedpod occur at the same time.  

Common name comes from the myth/practice of using a forked branch of Common Witchhazel to locate an underground water source.  The dowsing end of the forked branch (”divining rod” or “witching rod”) would bend when underground water was detected.  The practice of water dowsing is contested, as there is no proof as to how it works, but Native Americans did use Witchhazel to find underground sources of water.  Early European settlers observed the process.  “Wych” is from the Anglo-Saxon word for “bend”, so Witchhazel was probably initially called Wicke Hazel by early white settlers. This practice was widely used by American settlers and then exported back to Europe. Dowsing became an established feature of well-digging into the 20th century.

Zone:  3 to 8

Habitat:  Oak Hickory Forest community.  Grows easily in average, medium moisture, well-drained soils in full sun to part shade.  Flowers best in full sun. Prefers moist, acidic, organically rich soils but can tolerate some heavy clay soils.  Found in woodlands, forest margins, and stream banks.

Mature Size:  15-20′ tall with 15-20′ spread.  Forms colonies as a result of suckering habit.

Leaves:   Alternate.  Simple. Oval to obovate, medium to dark green leaves grow up to 6” long. Leaves have dentate to wavy margins and turn quality shades of yellow in the Fall.

Flower/Fruit:  Clusters of fragrant bright yellow flowers, each with four ribbon-shaped petals, appear along branches from October-December. Fertilized flowers will give way to fruit over a long period extending through Winter and into the following growing season.  Fruits are greenish seed capsules that become mature to a woody texture and light brown color.  Seed capsule splits open in fall of the following year, exploding the 1-2 black seeds within to distances up to 30′.

[www.missouribotanicalgarden.org]

[www.gobotany.newenglandwild.org]

[www.wildflower.org]

Vaccinium corymbosum // Highbush Blueberry

Origin:  Native to Eastern North America

Etymology/Cultural Associations:  Species epithet (corymbosum) refers to the flowers and fruits being in a corymb.  Common name references tall growth.

Cultivated by Native Americans, who burned forest undergrowth to create ideal growing conditions for various berries.

Alternate common names include American Blueberry, New Jersey Blueberry, Rabbiteye Blueberry, Swamp Blueberry, Tall Huckleberry, Mayberry, and Whortleberry.

Zone:  5 to 8

Habitat:  Grows best in acidic, organically rich, medium to wet, well-drained soils in full sun to part shade.  Shallow, fibrous roots need constant moisture and good drainage.  Found in moist woods, bogs, swamps and low areas.

Mature Size:  6-12′ tall with 8-12′ spread.  Characteristic tall stature with spreading crown.

Leaves:  Alternate. Simple.  Elliptic or ovate leaves grow 1 to 3½ inches long. Leaves are slightly waxy above with and pubescent beneath.  Leaves exhibit red, orange, and purple Fall foliage.

Flower/Fruit:  White or pink-tinged flowers are small and urn-shaped with 5 petals, blooming from February-June.  Flowers appear in clusters with 8 to 10 per cluster.  Followed by 1/4-1/2″ dark blue berries from April to October. Berries provide important food source for bears and many birds, and are also eaten by humans.

[www.missouribotanicalgarden.org]

[gobotany.newenglandwild.org]

Tilia dasystyla // Caucasian Linden

Origin:  Garden origin

Etymology/Cultural Associations:  Genus Tilia could come from Greek word “ptilon” meaning “wing” in reference to the wing-like bracts to which flowers and seeds are attached.  Common name comes from the Latin name for the linden or lime tree.  The Swedish name for the tree is “Lind,” which is the origin of taxonomist Carl Linnaeus’ family name. 

Zone:  3 to 8

Habitat:  Prefers moist, fertile, well-drained loams, but adapts to a wide range of soil conditions. Good tolerance for urban conditions, unlike Tilia americana.

Mature Size:  40-60′ tall with 20-30′ spread.  Rounded, pyramidal form on younger trees, branches become more pendulous with age.

Leaves:  Alternate.  Simple.  Ovate, dark green leaves grow up to 6″ long. Rounded leaf bases are asymmetrically curved on either side of petiole.  Leaves have serrated edges.  Fall color is an undistinguished pale green to pale yellow.

Flower/Fruit:  Fragrant, pale yellowish-white flowers appear in drooping cymes that attract many bees.  Flowers are attached to distinctive papery wing-like bracts (2-3” long) in May-June and give way to distinct nutlets.

Pinus echinata // Short-leaf Pine

Origin:  Native to Eastern and Southeastern United States

Etymology/Cultural Associations:  Species epithet (echinata) means spiny, referring to pointed pinecone scales.  Wood is an important lumber source in the deep South, where it’s harvested for timber, plywood, and wood pulp.  

Zone:  6 to 9

Habitat:  Easily grown in average, dry to medium, well-drained soils in full sun but can tolerate some light shade.  Prefers sandy loams but can tolerate a wide variety of soils.  Most often occurs in dry, sandy, rocky upland regions.

Mature Size:  50-60′ tall with 20-35′ spread.  Can grow up to 100′ in the wild, with records of 140′ tall Pinus echinata.  Fast-growing pine with pyramidal crown that broadens slightly with maturity.  Develops deep taproot.  

Leaves:  Dark bluish-green needles grow 3-5″ long and appear in bundles of two.  Fascicle sheath is present.  Needles are slender and flexible.

Bark:  Attractive, reddish-brown bark grows in plated scales.  

Flower/Fruit:  Monoecious.  Cylindrical brown cones (1.5-2″ long) appear only after tree reaches about 20 years of age.  Cone scales are prickle-tipped.

[www.missouribotanicalgarden.org]