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Oklahoma Gardening

Wild flower/plant ID

providencesparrow

5 years ago

Need help with a plan ID please! How pretty is this little guy in the middle a field! I haven’t seen this before so curious as to what it is? Do Milkweed varieties ever have purple flowers? Either way I’m just so glad the bees and hummingbirds have some nectar!

Off topic- I saw the coolest thing this weekend. A hummingbird was flying around the edge of my pond. I thought it was a dragonfly at first. Upon closer inspection it was pulling fluff/dander from the cat tails and heading back into the woods with the fluff. I’m super excited that there might(?!) be a nest back there somewhere! I had no idea they would use that fluff for their nests. Has anyone ever seen this? (Thanks for letting me be a nature nerd for a bit there!)

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Comments (3)

Embothrium
5 years ago
Baptisia.
providencesparrow thanked Embothrium
Megan Huntley
5 years ago
Yes, Baptisia. Also known as false indigo. Now that you know what it is, you'll start noticing it more often. That's how it is for me anyway when i learn what something is.

It is native and its tap root goes down as much as 10 ft so it is very drought tolerant in Oklahoma but that also means it's not one you can transplant by digging up. When it forms seeds it makes these really cool pods that are hard, brown and rattle when you shake them. The seeds inside are sticky too! If you're interested, you can start them from seeds but it takes years for the plant to establish so it won't bloom for about 3 years. I love native plants so thank you for letting me nerd out too. :)

I am jealous of your hummingbirds. I've seen them flit through my yard but they don't stay or visit my feeder. However, they often frequent my MIL feeder less than 1/4 mile away.
providencesparrow thanked Megan Huntley
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Can anyone ID this wild plant with purple flower?
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There is a white form also (but I don't grow that). My purple one sometimes sets seeds. It also benefits from a very hard prune every two years and sends up fresh and vigorous canes. Yes Bananafan I dare say we have a lot of unique native plants down here, but I am always interested and awed by the variety of the plants of nth america esp the wildflowers. I very much admire the resilience of keen gardeners there who go thru a winter I can only imagine, here in sub-tropical queensland, which is about as balmy as Floriday, I suppose. Anything you ever fancy in the line of seeds that I can help out with, just mention, I can only try. EXCEPT bananas :-(
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It's at my daughter's house. This is the best she can do with her camera and still keep it in focus. She said the leaves are smooth, not fuzzy. I Hope this helps.
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Well, this is a shrub not a "wildflower" by some definitions. Maybe the ID applications were geared towards identifying herbaceous plants, not woody plants?
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providencesparrow
Original Author
5 years ago
Just wanted to say thanks again for the ID! I’ve found a few more around the area now that I know what to look for. Boy I am gonna have to be careful not to mow these down!

Oh and I hear you with the hummingbird not visiting! My MIL is half a mile away and she has Oreoles! I have never been able to lure them here! I’m so jealous! ;)

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