Among Rhode Island Wild Flowers and Native Plants

 

This month’s mystery plant is an annual
with hollow, fleshy stems and
many small yellow flowers.
The flowers have five regular parts
and are about 2/8-3/8” wide.
The petals are yellow and spreading
while the sepals are bent downwards.
The leaves are alternate and 3- lobed
with the lobes being further divided.
The entire plant is about 4-20” tall.
This plant grows in wet places and in Rhode Island it can be found mostly
along tidal river shores.

It blooms from
May to September and
is Rare in RI.

It has periodical
small population explosions
where 100 or more plants
may be found along
a small section of a river shoreline
as was the case in 2003.

A further clue to the
identificationof this plant;

The second part of the Latin name
(specific epithet) of this plant
when translated into English
refers to the habitat where
this plant grows,
i.e. “vile” or “cursed”.

 

Stop back next month to find out
what this mystery plant is.

Click here
for last month's mystery plant.

Mystery Plants from
past months, click, here

E-mail your guess to us and,
if you're right, we'll list
your name below.

Congratulations to the following
for correctly identifying
last month's mystery plant.

Anne Wagner