Size: large, canopy (75-100 ft.) Foliage: emerges late April, early May; drops - early October; Color: spring - light, lime green; summer - medium green; autumn - golden yellow. Flower: late June-early July after leaves are fully grown; fragrant: sweet arresting scent. Wildlife value: low. Habitat: very shade tolerant, moderately coarse sandy loams to medium loams. Longevity: medium, 150-200 years. 

Species Associates: (northern) American  Beech, American Hophornbeam, Sugar Maple, Northern Red Oak, Yellow Birch, Canada Hemlock. Similar: Black and Sugar Maple. 

Species Associate: Tuliptree, American Hophornbeam, Common Chokecherry, American Linden, Black and Sugar Maple, Carokina  Silverbell, American Beech, White and Northern Red Oaks, rhododendron, serviceberry, dogwood, hickory. Similiar: Large Fothergillia, Vernal Witchhazel.

Species Associates: pure stands, Common Persimmon, American Sweetgum, Flowering Dogwood, American Elm, Eastern Redcedar, White Ash, Common Pawpaw, American Hophornbeam, American Hornbeam, Black Locust, Sourwood, hickories, oaks. Similar: Pagoda Dogwood, foliage texture, autumn color, fruit color, size and branching habit.

Blue Verbena or Simpler’s-joy is a 2-5 ft., stout-stemmed perennial with numerous, pencil-like flower spikes branched upwards like the arms of a candelabra. Each flower spike has a ring of blue-purple flowers; the flowers at the bottom of the spike bloom first, and the ring of flowers appears to advance upward to the tips of the spike. Stiff, pencil-like spikes of numerous small, tubular, blue-violet flowers are at the top of a square, grooved stem and its branches. An attractive perennial, it has flowers on showy candelabra-like spikes. Bumblebees are among the important pollinators.

BENEFIT

Use Wildlife: Attracts bees. 

Use Medicinal: This plant has been used for many years as a medicinal herb for treating convalescents and people suffering from depression, headaches, jaundice, cramps, coughs and fevers. Externally, it has been applied to wounds, ulcers and acne. Swamp vervain can, however, interere with blood pressure medication and hormone therapy, and large doses cause vomiting and diarrhea. (Kershaw) 

Conspicuous Flowers: yes

Attracts: Birds , Butterflies 

Larval Host: Common Buckeye 

Eupatorium perfoliatum. Boneset.Tiny, white flowers are arranged in fuzzy clusters top the 3-6 ft. stems of this perennial. Hairy plant with dense flat-topped clusters of many dull-white flowers. Paired leaves, united basally, are perforated by the erect stems.

BLOOM INFORMATION

Bloom Color: White 

Bloom Time: Jun , Jul , Aug , Sep , Oct 

BENEFIT

Use Medicinal: The dried leaves have been used to make a tonic, boneset tea, thought effective in treating colds, coughs, and constipation. (Niering) 

Conspicuous Flowers: yes

Attracts: Birds , Butterflies 

Nectar Source: yes

Eupatoriadelphus maculatus. Spotted Joe Pye Weed. Atop a sturdy purple or purple-spotted stem, hairy above, is a large pinkish-purplish, flat-topped cluster of fuzzy flower heads. Spotted joe-pye weed can grow from 2-7 ft. or taller in soils that are moist through the season. Narrow, lance-shaped leaves, up to 10 in. long, are whorled along the purple spotted stem. The huge, domed flower head is composed of several branches bearing tiny, pinkish-lavender florets.

BLOOM INFORMATION

Bloom Color: Red , Purple 

Bloom Time: Jul , Aug , Sep 

BENEFIT

Use Wildlife: An important source of honey, attracting pollinators by the score. 

Use Medicinal: Folklore tells that an Indian, Joe Pye, used this plant to cure fevers and that the early American colonists used it to treat an outbreak of typhus. (Niering) 

Conspicuous Flowers: yes

Fragrant Flowers: yes

Attracts: Birds 

Ceanothus americanus. New Jersey-tea is a low, upright, deciduous shrub that grows to only 3 ft. tall. Pubescent leaves give the entire plant a grayish cast. Small white flowers occur in 2 in., branch-tip clusters. A low shrub with tiny white flowers in oval clusters rising from the leaf axils on the new shoots. The base is woody, while the upper portion of the plant is made up of herbaceous, spreading branches. Fall color is insignificant.

BLOOM INFORMATION

Bloom Color: White 

Bloom Time: Mar , Apr 

BENEFIT

Use Ornamental: Ground cover, Rocky hillside, Low growing, Planned landscape 

Use Food: The dried leaves of this nitrogen-fixing shrub make an excellent tea that was very popular during the Revolutionary War period. (Niering) 

Conspicuous Flowers: yes

Attracts: Birds , Butterflies 

Larval Host: Spring Azure, Summer Azure, Mottled Duskywing