trailing arbutus

Epigaea repens is an early spring native wildflower with wonderfully fragrant white to light pink flowers that occurs in sandy or rocky woods in very acidic soil.

cup plant

Silphium perfoliatum is a bold and stately native perennial.  It is one of the best plants for wildlife by providing food, cover, and water.

rock polypody fern

Henry David Thoreau described the mats of Polypodium virginianum gracing rocky surfaces in early spring as “fresh and cheerful communities".  The blade of this rock fern has a leathery texture and is deep green on both the upper and underside surfaces.  Usually positioned in rows on either side of the mid-vein are the round, pale brown sori.

greater fringed gentian

Gentianopsis crinita is a native biennial whose blue fringed flowers bloom during late summer through fall.

Harbinger-of-spring

Erigenia bulbosa is a diminutive white flowered native ephemeral whose appearance belies the hearty nature of a plant that dares to bloom at a time when many plants still remain nestled underground.

british soldier lichen

Cladonia cristatella is a brightly colored fruticose lichen.

swamp milkweed

Asclepias incarnata is a native perennial that displays flowers of the prettiest pink throughout summer.  Its flowers are attractive to butterflies.

common milkweed

Asclepias syriaca is a native perennial with succulent leaves and fragrant mauve-colored flowers.  It is a host plant for the Monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus.

butterfly weed

Asclepias tuberosa is a summer blooming native perennial with brightly colored orange flowers that attract insects.  It is a host plant for the Monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus.

chestnut oak

Quercus montana is a native tree belonging to the white oak group with rounded wavy leaf margins of lustrous deep yellow-green coloration and dark grayish-brown, deeply furrowed textured bark.  Maturing in one growing season and ripening in fall, the acorns are a valuable food source for wildlife.

beach pea

Lathyrus japonicus is a native perennial bearing deep-hued purplish-blue flowers that bloom July and August and succulent bluish-grey leaves that not only graces the shores with its beauty, but stabilizes the shifting sands with its deep expansive root system.

seaside sandmat

Chamaesyce polygonifolia is a native annual with reddish(whitish)-colored stems that have a flat spreading habit.

sweet white violet

Viola blanda is a charming spring blooming perennial with 5-petaled white flowers of which the upper two twist-curl backwards and the lowest is purple-veined.