Startling Orange

Where wildflowers are concerned, I've always found the orange ones to be truly startling. Sure, those scarlet stars in a green cosmos are startling. And a hillside covered in lupine and Owl's Clover is certainly startling. But a patch of Butterflyweed? Startling. And Orange Hawkweed, tiny bursts of setting-sun orange, perched upon a slender fuzzy stem? Startling. These are really orange wildflowers, and they are clearly committed to being orange. They are not bashful about it in the least. And who can blame them?

During my first few weeks in Mississippi I've been startled twice, first by Orange Milkwort (Polygala lutea), in the Milkwort Family (Polygalaceae), and more recently by Few-flowered Milkweed (Asclepias lanceolata), in the Milkweed Family (Asclepiadaceae). What's more, both were new species for me (and if being startled by bright orange wildflowers isn't good enough - which it is - something new always fluffs my pillows).

Orange Milkwort is a biennial that grows in the pine barrens and wet sandy soil of our coastal plain from Louisiana to Florida, and north to Long Island. The head-like clusters of flowers, which suggest the Pea Family - fooled me, at first - perch at the end of simple or branched stems. The clusters are perhaps 3/4" wide and 1" long, while the individual flowers are only about 1/4" long. There are 5 sepals to each small flower, the lateral pair larger, forming petal-like wings. The 3 petals are united, forming a tube.

The flower-bearing stems have lanceolate leaves up to 1 3/4" long. The basal leaves are broader, forming a rosette. The similar P. cymosa is taller, while P. nana is shorter.

I found my few 'specimens' mixed in with Pitcher Plants, Sundew and White-topped Sedge, among other things. It was quite a display of wildflowers, and in spite of being outnumbered and out-sized, the Orange Milkwort stole the show. They were, ahem, startling.

The Few-flowered Milkweed that startled me stood at the back of a roadside patch of purple verbena and yellow coreopsis. Like the Orange Milkwort, it stole the show. And it was a new member of my much beloved Milkweed Family, so I was giddy with botanical glee. (Strangely, no one pulled over to enquire as to my well-being 'cause I was doing one fierce, high-stepping jig among those flowers.)

This unbranched, smooth-stemmed milkweed grows up to 4' tall, has as many as 6 pairs of opposite, lanceolate leaves, and 2 to 4 umbels of colorful, startling flowers. The corollas are orange-red while the hoods are bright orange-yellow to scarlet. It grows in brackish swamps, marshes, and savannas in the coastal plain from Texas to Florida and north to New Jersey. It's kind of simple, as milkweeds go, which probably accentuated its startling beauty.

Go To Page: 1 2

Articles in this Topic    Discussions in this Topic