Indian tobacco

Indian tobacco, Lobelia inflata, is the herbaceous plant shown in the middle of the photo.  The flowers are small and so are hard to see.  The blue flower to the right of the Indian tobacco plants is tall bellflower (Campanula americana) which is a much more common plant here.  Campanula and Lobelia are both in the same plant family, the Campanulaceae.

On the low trail along Wildcat Creek at Clegg Garden.

Photo taken August 6, 2015.

Link to Lobelia inflata:

Link to Lobelia inflata:

Wildcat Creek

A view of Wildcat Creek at Clegg Garden.  Looking downstream.  Photo taken July 27, 2015.  Water has been high throughout the month of July.

The same view of Wildcat Creek a few days later, August 6, 2015.  The creek has been receding and is good for canoeing/kayaking.

Link to Wildcat Creek levels:

Melanthium woodii -- with flowering stalk

This Melanthium woodii is along the south trail that leads to Wildcat Creek.  It has small brown flowers on a stalk that is about 3 or 4 feet high.

Photos taken July 22, 2015.

Previous post on Melanthium woodii in May:

Giant ragweed

A nice specimen of a single stalk of giant ragweed (Ambrosia trifida), over 10 feet tall, standing next to an oak tree at Clegg Garden.  Giant ragweed is a common weed in cornfields but this one found its way into Clegg Garden.

Photos taken July 27, 2015.

Link to Ambrosia trifida:

Giant swallowtail butterfly

This giant swallowtail butterfly (Papilio cresphontes) stopped to spread her wings long enough for me to get some photos.  W.S. Blatchley called this species  "our largest and rarest Papilio". The above photo shows the butterfly resting on the sensitive fern (Onoclea sensibilis) that is near the front of the Clegg Garden grounds.  Onoclea is not a host plant for Papilio, but we do have the host plant prickly ash on the high trail that overlooks Wildcat Creek.  Look there for the distinctive single orange egg and the caterpillars that look like bird poop.
 
Link to previous post on prickly ash at Clegg Garden:

Link to Onoclea sensibilis:

A male giant swallowtail arrived and the two butterflies began mating.  This is in the crabapple tree close to the park entrance.

Photos taken July 27, 2015.

Link to Papilio cresphontes:

Link to Papilio cresphontes:

Resurrection lilies

The curious and beautiful pink flowers you see scattered around the entrance of Clegg Garden are Lycoris squamigera, sometimes called resurrection lilies or naked ladies.  They are a popular garden addition although they are not a native Indiana plant, but rather originated in China or Japan.

Photo taken July 27, 2015.

Link to previous post on Lycoris squamigera:

Link to previous post on Lycoris squamigera:

Link to previous post on Lycoris squamigera:

Nodding wild onion

Along Wildcat Creek, a nodding wild onion (Allium cernuum).

Photos taken July 22, 2015.

I noticed some nodding onions were growing wild along the roadside on the hill approaching Clegg Garden.

Link to Allium cernuum:

Link to Allium cernuum: