CUE Farm Wildflower and Pollinator Guide
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CUE Farm Wildflower and Pollinator Guide 1 Emma Etchason You on the CUE Farm You stand at the farm’s corner, just outside the wooden gate. You are overwhelmed, your eyes are too small and the world, the natural world, too large. There are colors of spring green, sunshine yellow, rusty red, deep purple, glowing orange. It’s harvesting season. The tallest sunflower catches your eye. The slight breeze of a mid-afternoon fall day provokes the flower to sway. It’s waving at you, beckoning you closer. At once you become aware of the monarch butterfly fluttering by the flowering vine that twined itself up the fence. You look down at your feet and it is as if you can feel the earthworms beneath, burrowing through the soil. The world is alive, all around you. And now is your chance. Take it in. Absorb the bright petals of the zinnias, stare into the centers of black-eyed Susans, smell the aroma of the snapdragons and sunflowers. Fall in love with the world, and the beauty surrounding you. 2 Wildflowers • The flowers have four sets of organs: sepals, petals, stamens, and carpels. • The vessel of the seed is called the carpel. • The reproductive elements of angiosperms are the stigma and the style. • The mature ovary is the fruit of the plant. • It is thought that flowers evolved as a mechanism to increase fitness. Showy petals attract 3 pollinators, sweet fruits encourage seed dispersal by animals. Pollinators What is a pollinator? A pollinator is any organism that transfers pollen grains from flower to flower. What types of species are pollinators? A variety of organisms are pollinators including bees, wasps, beetles, birds, bats, butterflies, and moths. How else are plants and pollinators related? Plants have adapted traits to make their flowers more attractive to pollinators, such as having a sweet smell. How are pollinators economically important? Over 150 food crops in the US which require animal pollination in order to produce food and seeds. Over 85% of all plants are animal-pollinated. 4 How is this Guide Organized? Wildflowers Pollinators Dense head Shape Bees and Wasps (Pages 7-9) (Pages 21-28) Regular Shape Butterflies and Moths (Pages 10-14) (Pages 29-34) Spike Shape Beetles (Pages 15-16) (Pages 35-36) Cluster Shape Birds and Bats (Pages 17-20) (Pages 37-70) 5 How To Use This Guide The CUE farm has a wide variety of species. Use this guide for identification and learn more about the wildflower or pollinator! While touring the CUE Farm: Step 1: See a wildflower or pollinator! Step 2: Identify general shape of wildflower or type of pollinator. Step 3: Use red reference column on the right side of each page to narrow search to one category. Step 4: Flip through pages of the specific wildflower shape or pollinator type category and find the species on the farm. Step 5: Match image of the species to the species on the farm. Read identification tips, descriptions, and interesting facts about the species spotted on the farm. Step 6: Use general category images in the “Pollination” section of the guide to cross reference which pollinators pollinate which flowers and vice versa! 6 Black-eyed Susan Interesting Facts: Rudbeckai hirta • Member of the Sunflower family • Flowers from June through October • Found in fields and prairies • Used as a restoration/pioneer plant • Official state flower of Maryland • Has herbal medicine uses Description: • Grows1-2 feet tall Pollination: • Alternate leaf arrangement • Pollinated by bees, wasps, and flies • Stems and leaves covered in short hairs – giving a rough texture • Preferred by Andrena rudbeckiae and Heterosarus rudbeckiae (see • Ray of yellow petals surrounding a the similarities in scientific central brown cone names!) 7 Interesting Facts: Panicled Aster Aster simplex • Member of the Sunflower Family • Flowers from August to October • Found in meadows • Spreads by underground rootstocks to form colonies • Associated with lasting love, patience and good luck • Are often times mistaken for the daisy Description: • Tall stem with a loose arrangement of white flower heads Pollination: • Flower heads are about one inch • Pollinated by bees and butterflies wide • Grown in areas to promote habitat • Leaves larger near the ground, protection of pollinators smaller near the flower 8 Interesting Facts: Zinnia • Member of the Sunflower Family Zinnia elegans • Flowers from June through October • Found in gardens and open fields • Native to Mexico • Zinnia represents friendship • Know as the “poorhouse” flower as zinnias are abundant and easy to grow Description: • Grow 1-3 feet tall Pollination: • Upright, hairy, branching stems • Most commonly pollinated by • Come in many different colors butterflies, bees, and moths including red, orange, yellow, lavender, green, and white • Hummingbirds are also attracted to the bright colors of the zinnias • Opposite leaf arrangement along the stem 9 Ten-pedal Sunflower Helianthus decapetalus Interesting Facts: • Member of the Sunflower Family • Flowers from June to September • Found in open woodlands, meadows, and along rivers • Other common names include the thin leaf sunflower and the forest sunflower Description: • Lower/middle leaves have opposite leaf arrangement Pollination: • Upper leaves have alternate arrangement • Mainly bees, but butterflies, wasps and flies visit the flower • Each flower consists of 8-12 yellow florets around the center. 10 Interesting Facts: Common Sunflower Helianthus annus • Member of the Sunflower family • Flowers from July through November • Found in prairies and rich soils • Native American’s used the plant’s ground seeds for bread flour and oil for cooking and beauty products • Oil is still extracted from the common sunflower to make soap Description: • Rough, erect stem with terminal Pollination: flower heads • Both honey and bumble bees • Overlapping ray florets, with flowers pollinate the flower. ranging from 3-6 inches wide • Effectiveness at pollinating of each • Alternate leaf arrangement bee depends of flower size 11 Interesting Facts: Chicory • Member of the Sunflower Family Cichorium intybus • Flowers from June through October • Found in fields and along the roadside • Came from the Old World • Roots can be roasted and ground as a coffee substitute • Each flower bloom lasts only a Description: day • Blue flower heads with squared ends, about an inch and a half wide Pollination: • Petals have a a fringe appearance • Common pollinators include bees, • Tough, grooved stem flies and beetles • Basal leaves are three to six inches • In winter, American Goldfinches wide feed on the chicory seeds • Stem leaves are smaller and oblong 12 Purple Coneflower Interesting Facts: Echinacea purpurea • Member of the Sunflower Family • Flowers from June to August • Found in prairies, fields, and open woods • The only native prairie plant used for medicinal purposes by medical professionals • Also, extensively used as a fold remedy Description: • Grows to a height of 2-4 feet • Flower heads like sun flowers, with Pollination: disks as large as 3.5 cm in diameter • Most commonly pollinated by • Drooping ray of florets colored purple native butterflies. and lavender • Finches commonly eat the seeds. • Yellow/orange pollen grains 13 Common Yellow Violet Interesting Facts: Viola pubescens • Member of the Violet Family • Flowers April through July • Found in deciduous woodlands, woodland borders, and thickets • The common yellow violet is safe to eat • It’s stems and petals have high amounts of vitamin C Description: • The common yellow violet is an herbaceous perennial • Small rosette of basal leaves Pollination: • Each flowers is ¾ of an inch wide • Common pollinators are carpenter bees, mason bees, cuckoo bees, and • Each flower consists of 5 rounded long-horned bees. petals and 5 green sepals • Root system consists of rhizomes 14 Interesting Facts: Common Ragweed • Member of the Sunflower Family Ambrosia artemisiifolia • Flowers from July through October • Found in cultivated fields, old fields, along roadsides • Causes hay fever • Perennial plants are often used to control ragweed plantings, a crowding out. • Seeds persist into winter, thus Description: serving as an important food source for birds • Annual flowers in elongated clusters spanning several inches near the top of the plant Pollination: • Male reproductive organs, yellow stamens, are organized on the 15-20 • Ragweed depends on wind florets clustered at top of the plant dispersal and thus attracts few pollinators. • Female flowers are small, green, stalkless, and are located at leaf axils in clusters 15 Interesting Facts: Lady’s Thumb Polygonum persicaria • Member of the Buckwheat Family • Flowers from June to October • Found on roadsides, cultivated ground, and moist clearings • Dark green splotches on leaves resemble a lady’s thumbprint • One of the most abundant weeds in the United States and Europe Description: • Grows to 1-2 feet tall • Light green stem with alternate leaf arrangement Pollination: • Dense, cylindrical spike of clustered pink/purple flowers • Most common pollinators include Halictid bees, wasps, and Syrphid • No petals, but 4-6 sepals flies • Lady’s thumb often forms colonies 16 Smooth Aster Interesting Facts: Aster laevis • Member of the Sunflower Family • Flowers from August through October • Found in fields and open woods • The Greek word aster translates to star, describing the flower shape • This plant was smoked by pipe in the past as it was thought to Description: ward off evil spirits • Ray of lavender petals around a yellow center, each