Garden Variety Roadside Weeds

In our travels around the country, my wife and I have been amazed by the usual stuff; the craggy peaks of the Rockies, the utter horizontal-ness of Kansas, the ancient towering Redwoods of northern California, the honey and syrup sunrises over the Gulf of Mexico. But more than that, the usual stuff, we marvel at the range of wildflowers that have turned up all over the country. In Mississippi that means roadsides littered with garden-variety flowers.

Many flowers typical of northern gardens, our own included (once-upon-a-time), flourish along back roads and highways down here. The most abundant of such flowers are varieties of Coreopsis and Blanket Flower, both members of the Composite, or Aster Family (Asteraceae). Of these, Eared Coreopsis (Coreopsis auriculata) seems the most common.

Eared Coreopsis is a perennial that grows to about 32" tall. It produces bright yellow flower heads that are up to 2" in diameter. Garden cultivars include Nana, Schnittgold and Superba.

A similar species, Sand or Lance-leaved Coreopsis (C. lanceolata), typical of tallgrass prairies, can also be found along roadsides here. Garden cultivars of this include Baby Gold, Baby Sue and Double Sunburst.

A couple taller species, Atlantic or Tall Coreopsis (C. tripteris) and Whorled Tickseed (C. major), are also common roadside, ahem, weeds in Mississippi. Both might easily be misidentified as sunflowers.

Whorled Tickseed is named for its sessile leaves, which grow in whorls around the stem. It is a perennial, with a long slender rhizome. It grows up to 3' tall, and its flower heads are about 2" in diameter.

Atlantic Coreopsis is the big boy of the family, reaching 8' in height. Its flower heads, like the others, are about 2" across.

Yet another species, Garden Coreopsis (C. tinctoria), or Calliopsis, is a western wildflower that is becoming widespread in the east. Its 2" flower heads are usually bright yellow with dark red centers. Sometimes, however, the flower heads are entirely dark red, or dark red with a yellow edge. Mahogany Midget and Tiger Flower are 2 garden cultivars of Calliopsis.

Blanket Flower (Gaillardia pulchella), like Calliopsis, is also variable. The flower heads have deep red to purplish-pink centers, with bright yellow, pale yellow or white tips. Occasionally these flower heads can be entirely deep red, or entirely yellow. Cultivars of these include Portola Giants and Red Plumes.

Because of our traveling, my and wife and I haven't had much opportunity to indulge our passion for gardening. But down here, on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, some of our garden thrives along the road, as garden variety roadside weeds.

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