Wagon Wheels - Verbena canadensis

"Wagon Wheels" - Verbena canadensis

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Final Four Photos courtesy Outback contributor Mike Hall.

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Mike sent these to me to showcase a special capture of a humming bird moth visiting Phlox. What a find. Only problem, these blooms aren't phlox. It's an easy id miss. These Verbena and the Blue (Purple) Phlox now blooming are of similar color and size. Quick differences (beside the leaf) -- The Verbena tends to grow in very visible "wheel" patterns, while the Phlox tends to a circular dome. Beyond that, the Phlox has an open "well" in the center, while the Verbena are a more like a covered pit, with stamen(?) hairs filling up the center of each flower.

It appears however, that both the Phlox and the Verbena are composed of a 5 "lobed" Corolla. The lobes are not the same a petals, in that -- if you look at the flower from the back, all five lobes are part of the same funnel shaped "mono-bloom."

Beach False Foxglove (Purple fragilee)

Agalinis fasciculata

of the Scrophulariaceae (Figwort) family

This appears to be another of those plants that sheds its blooms with a mere touch. I believe each bloom is good for a day then falls off.

Hairy Wild Petunia

I'm a Little Petunia in a Petunia Patch!


Wild Hairy Petunia
Ruellia humilis

Acanthus family (Acanthaceae)

The light lavender or light purple flowers are funnel-shaped, with 5 flaredlobes, and range in length from 1½-2½". There are usually fine purple lines towards the center of the corolla that function as nectar guides to visitinginsects. There is no noticeable floral scent. A flower typically opens duringthe morning and falls off the plant by evening. The overall appearance of HairyWild Petunia resembles cultivated petunias, but they are members of differentplant families. The blooming period occurs from early summer to late summer, and lasts about 2 months. The root system is fibrous. The dark seeds are fairlylarge and fall to the ground not far from the mother plant.

http://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/prairie/plantx/hw_petuniax.htm

Note: As mentioned, I picked up several flowers later in the day to examine them, and they fell right of the stem, leaving the purple trumpet bloom in a single piece (on the ground) and the pistil and stamen parts still sticking from the stem. I put the nectar to my tongue and found it less sweat than honeysuckle, but still a treat.