Nearctica - Biomes - Eastern Deciduous Forest - Wildflowers

Flowers of Eastern Deciduous Forest 1

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Goldenrods (Asteraceae: Solidago spp.) are an familiar sight of the Eastern Deciduous Forest in the late summer and fall. Solidago is a very large genus. The species on the left is Early Goldenrod, Solidago juncea, a common species of roadsides, rocky banks, and open woods. Goldenrods are usually associated with old fields or roadsides, but species occur in a vast variety of habitats from old fields to deep forests to swamps and marshes. Goldenrods can almost always be identified by the clumped, linear groups of small yellow flowers.

The concept of an individual is very nebulous in goldenrods. Sometimes if you look out over a field of goldenrods and see hundreds of "individuals", you are actually looking at a single individual with hundreds of stems all connected underground by their root system.

Asters (Asteraceae: Aster spp.) are another large genus of composites. This particular species is New England Aster (Aster novvae-angliae). The genus Aster has a large number of species in North America and is very diverse in the Eastern Deciduous Forest. Although New England Aster is purple, other species are pink, white, and all shades in between. Asters can be found in just about every type of habitat in eastern North America from old fields to deep woods. Most species, however, and found in forest openings or meadows or their man-made equivalents, old fields and roadsides.

Eastern Columbine is easily recognized by its red and yellow flowers. The petals of the flower project as long spurs with rounded ends and the leaves are trilobate. A single species of Columbine is found in eastern North America, but a few others are found in the mountains of western North America. Eastern Columbine ranges from Quebec, Ontario, and Nova Scotia in the north southward to Florida and Texas. The species blooms in the spring and early summer. You'll find this species mostly commonly on rocky soils. Wet ravines are a particularly good place to look for it.