Plants of Pheasant Branch Conservancy

Corrections and suggestions encouraged! Email pbcflora@gmail.com

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Bird's foot trefoil (Lotus corniculata) [Bean family (Fabaceae)]
Bird
Bird

Flower color:yellow
Bloom period:June to August
::Non-native::invasive -- consider control
Notes:
Flora of Wisconsin
Illinois wildflowers
Burdock (Arctium minus) [Aster family (Asteraceae)]
Burdock
Burdock
Burdock

Flower color:pink
Bloom period:July to October
::Non-native::invasive -- consider control
Notes:
Flora of Wisconsin
Illinois wildflowers
Birds can become so entangled in the burs that they die when unable to escape.
Burdock is monocarpic, meaning it flowers once and then dies (often in its second year).
The second picture is of a carpet of burdock seedlings; fortunately most of these will die off as they compete with each other for resources.
Queen Anne's lace (Daucus carota) [Carrot family (Apiaceae)]
Aliases: wild carrot
Queen Anne
Queen Anne

Flower color:white
Bloom period:late June to early September
::Non-native::invasive -- consider control
Notes:
Flora of Wisconsin
Illinois wildflowers
Biennial
Sweet clover, white (Melilotus alba) [Bean family (Fabaceae)]
Sweet clover, white
Sweet clover, white
Sweet clover, white
Sweet clover, white

Flower color:white
Bloom period:mid June to July
Wetland indicator:FACU
::Non-native::invasive -- consider control
Notes:
Flora of Wisconsin
Illinois wildflowers
Biennial or annual; typically larger than yellow sweet clover and blooms a few weeks later, but otherwise very similar.
In the third photo, all of the patchy white areas on the hillside are white sweet clover.
Sweet clover, yellow (Melilotus officinalis) [Bean family (Fabaceae)]
Sweet clover, yellow

Flower color:yellow
Bloom period:late May to early August
Wetland indicator:FACU
::Non-native::invasive -- consider control
:::: Restricted in Wisconsin ::::
Notes:
Flora of Wisconsin
Illinois wildflowers
Biennial or annual.
White sweet clover is very similar but slightly larger with white flowers and bloom date a couple of weeks later.
Thistle, plumeless (Carduus acanthoides) [Aster family (Asteraceae)]
Aliases: Welted thistle
Thistle, plumeless
Thistle, plumeless
Thistle, plumeless
Thistle, plumeless
Thistle, plumeless

Flower color:pink
Bloom period:July to October
::Non-native::invasive -- consider control
:::: Restricted in Wisconsin ::::
Notes:
Flora of Wisconsin
Minnesota wildflowers
Biennial. This thistle has grown up thick along one of the trails (among other places) - it may be non-native, but the day I walked by the patch was buzzing with many butterflies and bees working on the flowers, and apparently goldfinches are fond of the seed.