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Bleeding Heartland
It's what plants crave.
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wildflowers 
Wed May 15, 2013 at 22:05:00 PM CDT
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If you've walked in the Iowa woods lately, chances are you've seen some spring beauties in bloom. Over the weekend I saw hundreds of them along the Bill Riley bike trail in Des Moines and in the oak savanna area of the Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge near Prairie City.
Several pictures of this lovely flower are after the jump, along with a couple of mystery wildflowers I need help identifying. If you know what they are, please post a comment in this thread or e-mail desmoinesdem AT yahoo.com.
This is an open thread: all topics welcome.
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Wed May 08, 2013 at 17:30:00 PM CDT
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I'm happy to report that last week's light blanket of snow does not appear to have harmed most of the spring wildflowers in central Iowa. Since the snow melted over the weekend, I've seen blooms and buds on many wildflowers while walking or bicycling in the Des Moines area. You can find a lot of spring beauties along the Clive Greenbelt trail and Sweet William (phlox) along the Sycamore trail, which connects the Inter-Urban trail with the Neal Smith trail by Saylorville. I wonder whether the frost short-circuited the dogtooth violets, though, because so many leaves were out before the snow, yet I've hardly found any blossoms since then.
This week's featured flower is toothwort, a common woodland flower across Iowa and most of North America east of the Rocky Mountains. A few photos are after the jump, along with a bonus shot of wild geranium leaves. If you find those, come back a few weeks later to spot a very pretty woodland flower.
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Wed May 01, 2013 at 22:05:00 PM CDT
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I had planned to relaunch Bleeding Heartland's weekly wildflower posts in late March, but Iowa's native plants are way behind schedule during this year's ridiculously cold spring. Even a week ago, the only wildflowers blooming in my corner of the word were bloodroot and dandelions. Just in the past few days, we've noticed the first spring beauties, Dutchman's breeches, and dogtooth violets. My goal for this year is to focus on species I didn't feature in 2012.
This week's installment is rue anemone, an early spring woodland flower with unusual features. Its leaves start out brown before turning green, its blossoms have no petals, and it blooms for quite a long time. Photos are after the jump.
This is an open thread: all topics welcome.
MAY 2 UPDATE: Much of Iowa is under a winter storm warning today. I'm concerned about how the snow and freezing rain might affect the spring wildflowers. I hope I'll have bluebells to feature in a week or two!
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Wed Mar 20, 2013 at 11:10:00 AM CDT
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As expected, President Barack Obama nominated Thomas Perez this week to run the U.S. Department of Labor. Media Matters posted "myths and facts" about the labor nominee here. Adam Serwer summarized Perez's record and commented that Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa is "chief" among the nominee's "political enemies." Other Senate Republicans who have criticized Perez include David Vitter of Louisiana and Jeff Sessions of Alabama. John Gramlich commented in Roll Call,
Perez succeeded in blocking Republican-backed voting laws in South Carolina and Texas that his division deemed racially discriminatory. He pressed racial profiling charges against Joe Arpaio, the Republican sheriff of Maricopa County, Ariz., who is among the most divisive figures in the national immigration debate. His handling of a legal agreement with the city of St. Paul, Minn., in a lending discrimination case has drawn condemnation from Sen. Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, who has called it a "quid pro quo" and a "shady deal."
Senate criticism of Perez so far has come primarily from Grassley and the Judiciary Committee, which oversees the Justice Department and is seen as one of the more-partisan panels in the chamber. Perez's nomination to the Labor Department will not come before the Judiciary Committee, however. It will come before the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, where Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee is the top Republican.
Republican Senator Roy Blunt of Missouri has put a procedural hold on Gina McCarthy's nomination as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
Spring is just around the corner, so Iowa wildflower Wednesday will return to Bleeding Heartland soon. Meanwhile, enjoy some gorgeous wildflower photos from southern California at La Vida Locavore.
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Wed Oct 17, 2012 at 21:35:00 PM CDT
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Almost all the Iowa wildflowers have finished blooming for the year, so this weekly series will go into hibernation until next spring. After the jump I've enclosed photos of asters, among the last native flowers you may see during an Iowa autumn. The last picture is of a frost aster, so named because it may continue blooming even after the first frost.
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Wed Oct 03, 2012 at 16:20:00 PM CDT
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I'll post a presidential debate discussion thread this evening. Meanwhile, here's a mid-week open thread: all topics welcome.
Today's featured wildflower is cutleaf coneflower, which has floppy yellow flowerheads resembling wingstem but very different stems and leaves. Some photos are after the jump, along with a picture of ripe elderberries, a treat for Iowa wildlife in the late summer and early fall.
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Wed Sep 26, 2012 at 07:55:00 AM CDT
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I scheduled this week's open thread to go up early, because I will be away from my computer observing the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur. All topics are welcome.
After the jump I've posted photos of common sunflower, one of the most eye-catching late summer wildflowers in Iowa. You may have seen it blooming along roadsides. As a bonus, I enclosed pictures of berry clusters from a greenbrier plant, which I'd never seen before this year, to my knowledge.
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Wed Sep 19, 2012 at 22:55:00 PM CDT
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More than a dozen plants in the smartweed family are native to North America, according to the database at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Texas. Some smartweeds are found in aquatic habitats, but the plants featured after the jump are found in fields, gardens, or along city roads and sidewalks.
This is an open thread: all topics welcome.
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Wed Sep 12, 2012 at 19:50:00 PM CDT
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Blazing star used to be "abundant in native prairie landscapes" but "have been reduced to fragmented populations due to conversion of prairie to agricultural fields and urbanization." All of the photographs posted below were taken at a small prairie planting near Gray's Lake in Des Moines.
This is an open thread; all topics welcome.
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Wed Sep 05, 2012 at 20:20:00 PM CDT
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Most people refer to today's featured wildflower as "evening primrose," but the name "common evening primrose" distinguishes Oenothera biennis from dozens of other evening primrose species that are native to North America. Common evening primrose blooms all over Iowa from mid- to late summer, along roadsides and bike trails as well as on prairies. Several photos are after the jump, along with a bonus picture of some berries from the nightshade plant Bleeding Heartland discussed in July.
I'll post a new discussion thread on the Democratic National Convention later this evening. Comments on any other topic are welcome in this open thread.
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Wed Aug 29, 2012 at 22:50:00 PM CDT
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Like goldenrod, featured at this blog a couple of weeks ago, wingstem is one of several yellow wildflowers blooming in woodlands, meadows and along streams throughout Iowa in the late summer. Several pictures of this distinctive plant are after the jump.
This is an open thread: all topics welcome.
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Wed Aug 22, 2012 at 20:15:00 PM CDT
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Full disclosure: today's featured wildflower is on Iowa's noxious weed list under the name "horse nettle." However, Carolina horsenettle is native to most of the United States, including Iowa. A few photos of this flower in bloom are after the jump.
This is an open thread: all topics welcome.
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Wed Aug 15, 2012 at 12:25:00 PM CDT
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Today's featured wildflower is goldenrod, a common sight along roadsides and bike trails throughout Iowa and most of North America. Because goldenrod typically blooms in late summer, hay fever sufferers often attribute allergies caused by ragweed to this pretty plant instead. Photos are after the jump.
This is an open thread: all topics welcome.
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Wed Aug 08, 2012 at 14:25:00 PM CDT
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American bellflower has been blooming in Iowa for almost two months already, but you may still find some flowering in wooded areas or near streams up to the first frost. Several photos of this star-shaped flower are after the jump. Today's bonus native plant is cattail, a common sight in wet ditches or near Iowa ponds and lakes.
This is an open thread: all topics welcome.
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Wed Aug 01, 2012 at 19:32:05 PM CDT
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Few Iowa wildflowers are more "showy" than the trumpet vine. Pictures of this gardener's favorite are after the jump, along with a video of a man performing the late Kate Wolf's lovely song "Trumpet Vine."
I've also included a bonus wildflower that is native to Europe but now widespread in North America: apple mint. UPDATE: Or possibly spearmint (see clarification below).
This is an open thread; all topics welcome.
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Wed Jul 25, 2012 at 11:35:00 AM CDT
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I'm amazed almost every day to see healthy-looking patches of wildflowers blooming despite the ongoing horrible drought in Iowa. Today's featured plant, partridge pea, is a bright yellow presence along roadsides, bike trails, in prairies, or at the edge of woodlands. Several photos are after the jump.
As a bonus, I've included two pictures of sweet peas in bloom. Unlike partridge pea, the sweet pea plant is indigenous to Europe, even though it has gone native throughout the continental U.S.
This is an open thread; all topics welcome.
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Wed Jul 18, 2012 at 19:35:00 PM CDT
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This week's featured wildflower is horsemint, which is blooming like crazy along several Polk County bike trails. Also commonly known as bee balm or wild bergamot, horsemint is in the same family as oswego tea of the July 4 "red, white and blue" wildflower diary. Several photos of horsemint are after the jump.
As a bonus, I included some bunches of ripe wild grapes. I missed out on photographing that woodland plant in flower during the spring.
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Wed Jul 11, 2012 at 21:35:00 PM CDT
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It's hard to imagine the American diet without members of the nightshade family, such as tomatoes and white potatoes. The tobacco plant, from the same family, played an important part in U.S. history too.
Growing up in Iowa, I was familiar with the term "black nightshade" from sinister-sounding voice-overs in herbicide commercials. Millions of people have heard of the poisonous nightshade berries, thanks to this summer's animated feature Brave. But have you ever seen this wildflower in bloom? I hadn't until recently. Follow me after the jump for a few close-up views.
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Wed Jul 04, 2012 at 18:05:00 PM CDT
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Happy 4th of July to the Bleeding Heartland community! I am celebrating the occasion with photos of red, white, and blue Iowa wildflowers. Click "there's more" to view oswego tea, white snakeroot, and blue vervain.
The heat has been oppressive across Iowa lately. This afternoon I felt sorry for everyone in the Windsor Heights July 4 parade, including Representative Tom Latham, Representative Leonard Boswell, State Representative Chris Hagenow, his Democratic challenger Susan Judkins, and Democratic Iowa Senate candidate Desmund Adams.
I hope everyone stays safe and hydrated, and I am thinking of the veterans for whom today is a difficult holiday.
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