Hemerocallis fulva

Hemerocallis fulva, the orange day-lily,tawny daylily, tiger daylily, fulvous daylily or ditch lily (also railroad daylily, roadside daylily, outhouse lily, tiger lily, and wash-house lily), is a species of daylily native to Asia. It is very widely grown as an ornamental plant in temperate climates for its showy flowers and ease of cultivation. It is not related to true lilies, but gets its name from the similarity of the flowers and from the fact that each flower lasts only one day.

Orange daylily is native to Asia from the Caucasus east through the Himalaya to China, Japan, and Korea. Orange daylily persists where planted, making them a very good garden plant.


Hemerocallis fulva var. fulva has escaped from cultivation across much of the United States and parts of Canada and has become a weedy or invasive species. It persists also where dumped and spreads more or less rapidly by vegetative increase into woods and fields and along roadsides and ditches, hence the common name ditch lily. It forms dense stands that exclude native vegetation, and is often so common that it is mistaken for a native species.

Daylilies established in natural areas pose a threat to native plants in field, meadows, floodplains, moist woods and forest edges. Once established, daylily multiplies and spreads to form dense patches that displace native plants. The thick tubers make it a challenge to control.

Corn Cockle (Agrostemma githago)

Corn cockle has grown as a weed among grain crops for millennia. It grew around Europe’s first Stone Age inhabited areas, and signs of it have been found in Pompei, which was covered in volcanic ash in ancient times. Corn cockle used to be a very familiar weed in rye fields in the south-western archipelago, and elsewhere in Finland it has sometimes appeared as an abundant alien, especially in fields that have been sown with Russian oats. Corn cockle also became more common in the years following crop failures, because seed then had to be imported.

The whole plant, especially the seeds, contains poisonous compounds, and they can spoil flour if they are not removed: the food tastes bad, and a larger amount can cause nausea and worse – it has been claimed that even five seeds is enough to cause death by paralyzing the respiratory system. Like many annuals corn cockle produces a lot of seed, up to 2,500 from a single plant. 

It likes cultivated soil, and it has overwintered at least partly mixed in with crop seed in grain silos. Over the last century it has been hit hard by changes in farming methods, especially the development of more efficient seed-cleaning, and it almost died out in Finland in the 1960s.
Nowadays corn cockle grows as a casual alien everywhere in Finland except northern Lapland along railways, in harbours, and on dry banks and waste ground. Finding it requires a slice of good luck however, and many eager botanists have never set eyes on it in the wild.

It grows with a stem to 100 cm long with lanceolate leaves. The flowers are up to 5 cm in diameter, usually single at the ends of the stem. The sepals have 5 narrow teeth much longer than the petals. It has 10 stamens. It has slender pink flowers. It is a stiffly erect plant up to 1 metre (3 ft 3 in) tall and covered with fine hairs. Its few branches are each tipped with a single deep pink to purple flower. The flowers are scentless, are 25–50 millimetres (1–2 in) across and are produced in the summer months – May to September in the northern hemisphere, November to March in the southern hemisphere.

Each petal bears two or three discontinuous black lines. The five narrow pointed sepals exceed the petals and are joined at the base to form a rigid tube with 10 ribs. Leaves are pale green, opposite, narrowly lanceolate, held nearly erect against stem and are 45–145 mm (1.8–5.7 in) long. Seeds are produced in a many-seeded capsule. It can be found in fields, roadsides, railway lines, waste places, and other disturbed areas.

Tussilago farfara

Tussilago farfara, commonly known as coltsfoot, is a plant in the groundsel tribe in the daisy family Asteraceae, native to Europe and parts of western and central Asia. It has had uses in traditional medicine. The name "tussilago" is derived from the Latin tussis, meaning cough, and ago, meaning to cast or to act on. 

Coltsfoot is a perennial herbaceous plant that spreads by seeds and rhizomes. Tussilago is often found in colonies of dozens of plants. The flowers, which superficially resemble dandelions, appear in early spring before dandelions appear. The leaves, which resemble a colt's foot in cross section, do not appear usually until after the seeds are set. Thus, the flowers appear on stems with no apparent leaves, and the later appearing leaves then wither and die during the season without seeming to set flowers. The plant is typically 10–30 cm in height. The leaves have angular teeth on their margins.

Tussilago farfara contains tumorigenic pyrrolizidine alkaloids. Senecionine and senkirkine, present in coltsfoot, have the highest mutagenetic activity of any pyrrolozidine alkaloid, tested using Drosophila melanogaster to produce a comparative genotoxicity test. 

There are documented cases of coltsfoot tea causing severe liver problems in an infant, and in another case, an infant developed liver disease and died because the mother drank tea containing coltsfoot during her pregnancy. In response the German government banned the sale of coltsfoot. Clonal plants of colstfoot free of pyrrolizidine alkaloids were then developed in Austria and Germany. This has resulted in the development of the registered variety Tussilago farfara 'Wien' which has no detectable levels of these alkaloids.

Coltsfoot has been used in herbal medicine and has been consumed as a food product with some confectionery products, such as Coltsfoot Rock. Tussilago farfara leaves have been used in the traditional Austrian medicine internally (as tea or syrup) or externally (directly applied) for treatment of disorders of the respiratory tract, skin, locomotor system, viral infections, flu, colds, fever, rheumatism and gout.

Rosa acicularis

Rosa acicularis is a deciduous shrub growing 1–3 m tall. The leaves are pinnate, 7–14 cm long, with three to seven leaflets. The leaflets are ovate, with serrate (toothed) margins. The flowers are pink (rarely white), 3.5–5 cm diameter; the hips are red, pear-shaped to ovoid, 10–15 mm diameter.

The ploidy of this rose species is variable. Botanical authorities have listed it as tetraploid and hexaploid in North America (subsp. sayi), and octoploid in Eurasia (subsp. acicularis). On the northern Great Plains and in northwest Canada, extending to Whitehorse, Yukon its populations are generally tetraploid.

Propagation                                        

Seed. Rose seed often takes two years to germinate. This is because it may need a warm spell of weather after a cold spell in order to mature the embryo and reduce the seedcoat. One possible way to reduce this time is to scarify the seed and then place it for 2 - 3 weeks in damp peat at a temperature of 27 - 32°c (by which time the seed should have imbibed). It is then kept at 3°c for the next 4 months by which time it should be starting to germinate. Alternatively, it is possible that seed harvested 'green' (when it is fully developed but before it has dried on the plant) and sown immediately will germinate in the late winter. This method has not as yet(1988) been fully tested. Seed sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame sometimes germinates in spring though it may take 18 months. Stored seed can be sown as early in the year as possible and stratified for 6 weeks at 5°c. 

It may take 2 years to germinate. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle. Plant out in the summer if the plants are more than 25cm tall, otherwise grow on in a cold frame for the winter and plant out in late spring. Cuttings of half-ripe wood with a heel, July in a shaded frame. Overwinter the plants in the frame and plant out in late spring. High percentage. Cuttings of mature wood of the current seasons growth. Select pencil thick shoots in early autumn that are about 20 - 25cm long and plant them in a sheltered position outdoors or in a cold frame. The cuttings can take 12 months to establish but a high percentage of them normally succeed. Division of suckers in the dormant season. Plant them out direct into their permanent positions.

Cultivation details
Succeeds in most soils, preferring a circumneutral soil and a sunny position. Prefers a slightly acid soil. Grows well in heavy clay soils. Dislikes water-logged soils. Grows well with alliums, parsley, mignonette and lupins. Garlic planted nearby can help protect the plant from disease and insect predation. Grows badly with boxwood. Hybridizes freely with other members of this genus. Produces its fruit abundantly in Britain. This plant is the floral emblem of Alberta. Plants in this genus are notably susceptible to honey fungus.

Thlaspi caerulescens

Thlaspi caerulescens, Alpine Penny-cress and also known as alpine pennygrass, is a flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae. It is found in Scandinavia and Europe.

Thlaspi caerulescens is a low biennial or perennial plant that has small basal rosettes of stalked elliptic–lanceolate leaves with entire margins. The one or more flowering stems have small stalkless, alternate leaves clasping the stem. The inflorescence is a dense raceme which continues to lengthen after flowering. The individual flowers are regular, with white or pinkish petals and are about 5 mm (0.2 in) wide. Each has four sepals, four petals, six stamens (four long and two short) with violet anthers, and a single carpel. The fruit is many-seeded and narrowly spatulate and has a notched tip. This plant flowers in late spring.

In Europe it is found in Finland and Sweden, in all but the most northerly regions. It is also found in the Alps, the Massif Central, the Pyrenees, eastern Norway, southern Germany, and northern England. It is a plant of dry hillside meadows, forest margins, banks, gardens, lawns, pastures, field margins, yards and bare places.

The young leaves and flowers are a good substitute for cress. They are edible raw or cooked and are often mixed with other greens as a flavoring.

Eruca vesicaria

Eruca vesicaria (syn. Brassica vesicaria L.) is a species of Eruca native to the western Mediterranean region, in Morocco, Algeria, Spain and Portugal. It is closely related to Eruca sativa; that species is included in E. vesicaria by some botanists either as a subspecies E. vesicaria subsp. sativa or not distinguished at all; E. vesicaria can be distinguished from E. sativa by its persistent sepals.

It is an annual plant growing to 20–100 cm tall. The leaves are deeply pinnately lobed with four to ten small lateral lobes and a large terminal lobe. The flowers are 2–4 cm diameter, arranged in a corymb, with the typical Brassicaceae flower structure; the petals are creamy white with purple veins, and the stamens yellow; the sepals are persistent after the flower opens. The fruit is a siliqua (pod) 12–25 mm long with an apical beak, and containing several seeds.

Young leaves - raw or cooked. A distinct strongly spicy flavour, the taste is best from fast, well-grown plants. A few leaves added to a salad are acceptable though the flavour is too strong for many tastes. Some people really like these leaves though most are not very keen. 

Older leaves that have become too hot to eat on their own can be pureed and added to soups etc. In the milder areas of Britain it is possible to produce edible leaves all year round from successional sowings, especially if the winter crop is given some protection. Flowers - raw. A similar taste to the leaves, they make a nice garnish on the salad bowl. The seed yields a semi-drying oil which is edible if stored 6 months and is a substitute for rapeseed oil. It contains 32% fat, 27% protein. It is known as 'jamba oil'. A mustard is obtained from the seed, the strong flavour comes from an essential oil that is contained within the oil of the seed. 

The pungency of mustard develops when cold water is added to the ground-up seed - an enzyme (myrosin) acts on a glycoside (sinigrin) to produce a sulphur compound. The reaction takes 10 - 15 minutes. Mixing with hot water or vinegar, or adding salt, inhibits the enzyme and produces a mild bitter mustard.

Hesperis matronalis

Hesperis matronalis is a herbaceous plant species in the mustard family, Brassicaceae. It has numerous common names, including dame's rocket, damask violet, dame's-violet, dames-wort, dame's gilliflower, night-scented gilliflower, queen's gilliflower, rogue's gilliflower, summer lilac, sweet rocket, mother-of-the-evening and winter gilliflower. 

Plants are biennials or short-lived perennials, native to Eurasia and cultivated in many other areas of the world for their attractive, spring-blooming flowers. In some of those areas, it has escaped cultivation and become a weed species. The genus name Hesperis is Greek for evening, and the name was probably given because the scent of the flowers becomes more conspicuous towards evening.

This plant is often mistaken for Phlox. Phlox has five petals, Dame's Rocket has just four. The flowers, which resemble phlox, are deep lavender, and sometimes pink to white. The plant is part of the mustard family, which also  includes radishes, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, and, mustard. 

The plant and flowers are edible, but fairly bitter. The flowers are attractive added to green salads. The young leaves can also be added to your salad greens (for culinary purposes, the leaves should be picked before the plant flowers). The seed can also be sprouted and added to salads. NOTE: It is not the same variety as the herb commonly called Rocket, which is used as a green in salads.

Description
Hesperis matronalis grows 100 cm or taller, with multiple upright, hairy stems. Typically, the first year of growth produces a mound of foliage, and flowering occurs the second year; the plants are normally biennials, but a number of races can be short-lived perennials. The plants have showy blooms in early to mid spring. 

The leaves are alternately arranged on upright stems and lanceolate-shaped; they typically have very short or lack petioles and have toothed margins, but sometimes are entire and are widest at the base. The foliage has short hairs on the top and bottom surfaces that give the leaves a somewhat rough feel. The larger leaves are around 12 cm long and over 4 cm wide. In early spring, a thick mound of low-growing foliage is produced; during flowering the lower parts of the stems are generally unbranched and denuded of foliage and the top of the blooming plant might have a few branches that end in inflorescences.

The plentiful, fragrant flowers are produced in large, showy, terminal racemes that can be 30+ cm tall and elongate as the flowers of the inflorescence bloom. When stems have both flowers and fruits, the weight sometimes causes the stems to bend. Each flower is large (2 cm across), with four petals. Flower coloration varies, with different shades of lavender and purple most common, but white, pink, and even some flowers with mixed colors exist in cultivated forms. 
A few different double-flowered varieties also exist. The four petals are clawed and hairless. The flowers have six stamens in two groups, the four closest to the ovary are longer than the two oppositely positioned. Stigmas are two-lobed. The four sepals are erect and form a mock tube around the claws of the petals and are also colored similarly to the petals.

Some plants may bloom until August, but warm weather greatly shortens the duration on each flower's blooming. Seeds are produced in thin fruits 5–14 cm long pods, containing two rows of seeds separated by a dimple. The fruit are terete and open by way of glabrous valves, constricted between the seeds like a pea pod. Seeds are oblong, 3–4 mm long and 1–1.5 mm wide. 

In North America, Hesperis matronalis is often confused with native Phlox species that also have similar large, showy flower clusters. They can be distinguished from each other by foliage and flower differences: dame's rocket has alternately arranged leaves and four petals per flower, while phloxes have opposite leaves and five petals.

(Streptocarpus) Cape primrose

Streptocarpus are easy to cultivate in a well-lit spot in the house.

Common name:  Cape primrose
Botanical name:  Streptocarpus
Group:  Houseplant
Flowering time:  Spring to autumn
Planting time:  Any season
Height and spread:  30cm (1ft) by 45cm (18in)
Aspect: Bright filtered or indirect light 
Hardiness:  Frost tender

Difficulty Easy: to moderate

Streptocarpus stomandrus

Spring/Summer
Keep in good light but do not expose to hot sun; an east or west facing windowsill is ideal
Plants in the greenhouse or conservatory will need some shade and good ventilation
Water regularly from March onwards. Plants can be watered from above or below, but don’t allow the pot to sit in water
Feed at two weekly intervals. Use a high potash plant feed at half strength from March to September or a specialist streptocarpus food
Remove dead flower stalks at their base

Autmn/Winter

• Move to a south facing windowsill for maximum light, but move further away from the window at night if it gets very cold next to the window
• Keep at normal room temperatures with a minimum of 7-10°C (45-50°F)
• Plants in the glasshouse should be kept at a minimum of 5°C (40°F)
• Stop feeding and only water when the compost is dry, plants may rot if the compost is too wet
• Some leaves may naturally die back and can be removed
• Crystal series plants may continue flowering so keep them in a very well-lit spot and continue feeding with quarter strength plant food
• Potting-on

Streptocarpus 'Dale's Scarlet Macaw'

Plants can be potted-on if necessary in spring, using a specialist houseplant or multi-purpose compost
When re-potting choose a pot only slightly bigger than the current one, about a thumb's width wider in diameter, or one 'pot size' larger if using old-fashioned clay pots. A wide shallow pot or half-pot is more suitable than a deep pot.
After potting-on only resume feeding when the roots have filled the pot (i.e. appear at the base of the pot) 
In dry heated rooms that lack humidity, stand pots on a saucer of grit or expanded clay granules which is kept moist to increase humidity

Streptocarpus propagation 

Propagation

• Leaf cuttings
• Leaf cuttings are taken in spring or early summer choose healthy younger leaves from the centre of the plant
• Cut across the leaf at 2in (5cm) intervals to give several sections; leaves can also be cut in half along the mid-rib
• Fill a seed tray with a mix of equal parts peat free compost and perlite
• Place the basal end in the compost about 1in (2.5cm) deep
• Water well
• Place in good light in a propagator, ideally heated, or cover with a plastic bag
• New plantlets should develop in four to six weeks along the cut edges of the leaf segment
• Once they are well rooted pot on to individual 3.5in (10cm) pots
• Seed
• Sow seed on the surface of a seed tray or pot of fine-textured seed compost
• Do not cover, although to retain moisture cling film maybe used over the pot 
• Keep between 21-24°C (70-75°F) in a greenhouse or on a windowsill, ideally in a heated propagator. Germination can take 10-14 days
• Growth may be very slow at first 
• When seedlings are established and have a true leaf, pot into individual pots
• Feed with a balanced general-purpose liquid feed
• From a late spring sowing plants may flower in 16-20 weeks
• Division
• Clumps of older plants can be pulled apart and divided when they are re-potted in the spring.

Juncus effusus

Soft rush or common rush (Juncus effusus) is a perennial, herbaceous flowering plant species in the family Juncaceae. It is nearly cosmopolitan, considered native in Europe, Asia, Africa, North America, and South America, and naturalized in Australia, Madagascar, and various oceanic islands. It is found growing in wet areas, such as the purple moor-grass and rush pastures and fen-meadow plant associations in the United Kingdom.

t grows in large clumps about 1.5 metres (4 ft 11 in) tall at the water's edge along streams and ditches, but can be invasive anywhere with moist soil. It is commonly found growing in humus-rich areas like marshes, ditches, fens, and beaver dams.

The stems are smooth cylinders with light pith filling. The yellowish inflorescence appears to emerge from one side of the stem about 20 centimetres (8 in) from the top. In fact the stem ends there; the top part is the bract, that continues with only a slight colour-band marking it from the stem. The lower leaves are reduced to a brown sheath at the bottom of the stem.

Soft rush can become invasive because of its unpalatability to livestock. Suggested methods of controlling rushes are

• Ploughing
• Drainage
• High applications of inorganic fertiliser, coupled with taking silage crops. However application of farm yard manure is ineffective
• Topping, i.e. to prevent seed formation and distribution into the soil, followed by autumn or winter flooding for a week or two

Burning is ineffective because the plant remains green through the winter.

Cyperus rotundus

Cyperus rotundus (coco-grass, Java grass, nut grass, purple nut sedge or purple nutsedge, red nut sedge, Khmer kravanh chruk) is a species of sedge (Cyperaceae) native to Africa, southern and central Europe (north to France and Austria), and southern Asia. 

Cyperus rotundus is a perennial plant, that may reach a height of up to 140 cm (55 inches). The names "nut grass" and "nut sedge" – shared with the related species Cyperus esculentus – are derived from its tubers, that somewhat resemble nuts, although botanically they have nothing to do with nuts.
As in other Cyperaceae, the leaves sprout in ranks of three from the base of the plant, around 5–20 cm long. The flower stems have a triangular cross-section. The flower is bisexual and has three stamina and a three-stigma carpel, with the flower head having 3-8 unequal rays. The fruit is a three-angled achene.

The root system of a young plant initially forms white, fleshy rhizomes, up to 25 mm in dimension, in chains. Some rhizomes grow upward in the soil, then form a bulb-like structure from which new shoots and roots grow, and from the new roots, new rhizomes grow. Other rhizomes grow horizontally or downward, and form dark reddish-brown tubers or chains of tubers.

It prefers dry conditions, but will tolerate moist soils, it often grows in wastelands and in crop fields.

C. rotundus was part of a set of starchy tuberous sedges that may have been eaten by Pliocene hominins. It was a staple of Aboriginal populations in Central Australia.
Biomarkers and microscopic evidence of C. rotundus are present in human dental calculus found at the Al Khiday archaeological complex in central Sudan dating from before 6700 BCE to the Meroitic pre-Islamic Kingdom of 300-400 CE. It is suggested that C. rotundus consumption may have contributed to the relatively low frequency of dental caries among the Meroitic population of Al Khiday due to its ability to inhibit Streptococcus mutans.


C. rotundus was employed in ancient Egypt, Mycenean Greece, and elsewhere as an aromatic and to purify water. It was used by ancient Greek physicians Theophrastus, Pliny the Elder, and Dioscorides as both medicine and perfume.

Phacelia tanacetifolia

Phacelia tanacetifolia is a versatile plant that is
used extensively in Europe, both as a cover crop
and as bee forage. It is also being increasingly
used in California – especially in vineyards.
Phacelia is quick to grow and flower and grows
well in dry soil. 

It does a good job of limiting
nitrate leaching when planted in early fall. It
winterkills at about 18°F. In cooler regions, it can
be used as a between cash crops cover crop in the
summer. Phacelia is listed as one of the top 20
honey-producing flowers for honeybees and is also
highly attractive to bumblebees and syrphid
(hover) flies. Phacelia's habit of flowering
abundantly and for a long period can increase
beneficial insect numbers and diversity, because it provides high quality nectar and pollen. It's
also useful as a cut flower with its unusual and attractive blooms, strong stems, and long vaselife.
Because phacelia germinates well at cool temperatures and grows quickly, cut flowers can
be available by mid-spring.

Value to Insects
Phacelia is highly attractive to honeybees, bumblebees, and syrphid flies, and these insects are
valuable pollinators. Syrphid fly larvae are voracious feeders on aphids and young caterpillars.
Phacelia is also reputed to attract other beneficial insects, such as parasitic wasps and minute
pirate bugs. It provides both pollen (for protein – needed for egg production) and nectar (for
carbohydrates – needed for energy).
Insectary plants are those with high volume, quality nectar and/or pollen that are extremely
attractive to beneficial insects. They are planted for the primary purpose of attracting pollinators,
and predators and parasites of pest insects. Phacelia's habit of quick growth and long flowering
make it highly suitable as an insectary plant. It can be succession sown so that it is in flower all
season or it can be sown at a specific time to build up beneficial insect populations in
anticipation of their need to control a crop pest.

One caution – if you have a large area of phacelia planted, time the planting so that phacelia
flowers are not blooming when you need a crop pollinated. Phacelia flowers are so attractive to
pollinators that the flowers would compete successfully for pollinator services against most other

flowering plants. 

Use as a Fall/Winter Cover Crop and/or Mulch
Phacelia may be suitable as a winter-killed cover crop when a heavy crop residue is not needed
in the spring. Research in other regions shows phacelia has the potential to produce abundant
biomass and does a good job at catching excess nitrates before they leach into groundwater.
Phacelia winter-kills at about 18ºF, and the residue breaks down quickly. Its use as a fall/winter
cover crop may be appropriate when it will be followed by a vigorous cash crop (e.g. potatoes) in

early spring. 

Phacelia has proven its usefulness as a food source for pollinators and other beneficial insects. It
has also proven its value as a cover crop in other regions of the world. It is largely untested in
the mid-Atlantic. While clearly not the cover crop for every situation, it may be a good choice in
some situations – especially when there is a desire to attract beneficial insects. We need more
information about this potentially useful plant and on how it performs in this part of the world.
We also need information about phacelia's usefulness as forage. Several publications mentioned
forage as a use, and phacelia has a nitrogen content of 4%, but little else is known about its

suitability as animal feed. 

Lupinus perennis

Lupinus perennis (also wild perennial lupine, wild lupine, sundial lupine, blue lupine, Indian beet, or old maid's bonnets) is a medicinal plant in the Fabaceae family. It is widespread in the eastern part of the USA (from Texas and Florida to Maine) and Minnesota, Canada (southern Ontario, Newfoundland and Labrador), and on the coasts of the Arctic Ocean, where it grows on sand hills and roadsides.

Sundial lupine only produces leaves in the first year of growth. The leaves are palmately compound, with 7–11 leaflets arranged radially or in a rosette. Their stalks are numerous, erect, striated, slightly pubescent. The leaflets are obovate, with a blunted apex or pointed spear, naked from above, sparsely pubescent from below.

Petioles are longer than leaflets; stipules are very small, almost missing.

The inflorescence is long, sparsely flowered, sometimes almost verticilate. Flowers can range from blue to pink, but are most often blue or bluish purple. The calyx is silky, without bractlets; its upper labium with a protuberant basis, is integral or weakly emarginate, the lower one is integral, almost twice longer than upper. Floral bracts are styliform, shorter than the calyx, early falling. The corolla is purple or white, three times longer than the calyx. The vexillum is shorter than the wings. The carina is weakly ciliate. Pods are yellow-grayish-brown, with straight lines, necklace-shaped, short and closely hirsute, easy shattered, with 5–6 seeds. Seed is oval with a light hilum.


Lupinus perennis is used as foodplants by the caterpillars of several lepidoptera. Among these are the frosted elfin (Callophrys irus) and the rare and endangered Karner blue (Lycaeides melissa samuelis), whose caterpillars feed only on the lupine leaves. Leaves that have been fed on by Karner blues have distinctive transparent areas where the larvae have selectively eaten only the green, fleshy parts.

The lupine has been declining in number and range since the Industrial Revolution. It is estimated that it has declined in number by about 90% since 1900. This decline has been deemed one of the primary causes of the Karner blues' endangerment. The main causes of its decline are thought to be habitat loss, habitat fragmentation, and poor management. 

Currently it is threatened in Iowa, Maryland, and New Hampshire; it is endangered in Vermont and is extirpated in Maine. Human development has eliminated a large portion of its viable habitat. Remaining habitat is often fragmented, which is problematic for the lupine because it limits the range over which it can reproduce. Viable lupine habitat is often difficult to maintain because it flourishes after fires and other forms of disturbance. 

One reason this occurs is that lupine seed coats are so tough that only pressure changes due to rapid heating or abrasion are strong enough to allow water to penetrate and start germination. Moreover, fires, feeding by large ungulates, and mowing can improve habitat quality for established lupines by changing soil quality, vegetative structure, leaf litter depth. The exact mechanism for this is currently being investigated. Overall, the primary issue is that not enough habitat is burned or otherwise disturbed frequently enough to support the plant.

Parkinsonia aculeata

Parkinsonia aculeata is a species of perennial flowering tree in the pea family, Fabaceae. Common names include palo verde, Mexican palo verde, Parkinsonia, Jerusalem thorn, jelly bean tree and ratama in Spanish.

Parkinsonia aculeata may be a spiny shrub or a small tree. It grows 2 to 8 m (6.6 to 26.2 ft) high, with a maximum height of 10 metres (33 ft). Palo verde may have single or multiple stems and many branches with pendulous leaves. The leaves and stems are hairless. 
The leaves are alternate and pennate (15 to 20 cm long). The flattened petiole is edged by two rows of 25–30 tiny oval leaflets; the leaflets are soon deciduous in dry weather (and during the winter in some areas) leaving the green petioles and branches to photosynthesize.

The branches grow double or triple sharp spines 7–12 mm (0.28–0.47 in) long at the axils of the leaves. The flowers are yellow- orange and fragrant, 20 mm (0.79 in) in diameter, growing from a long slender stalk in groups of eight to ten. They have five sepals and five petals, four of them clearer and rhomboid ovate, the fifth elongated, with a warmer yellow and purple spots at the base. 

The flowering period is the middle months of spring(March& April or September & October). The flowers are pollinated by bees. The fruit is a seedpod, leathery in appearance, light brown when mature.

P. aculeata is a major invasive species in Australia, parts of tropical Africa, Hawaii, and other Islands in the Pacific Ocean.
It was introduced to Australia as an ornamental tree and for shade around 1900. It is now a serious weed widespread through Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Queensland, covering about 8,000 km2 (3,100 sq mi) of land, and has the potential to spread through most of the semi-arid to subhumid tropical area in Australia.

It forms dense thickets, preventing access for humans, native animals and livestock to waterways. The fruits (seedpods) float, and the plant spreads by dropping pods into water, or pods are washed downstream by seasonal flooding. Without the scarifying received by tumbling in streambeds, the seeds are slow to germinate.

Several control methods are used to reduce the existing population and the spread of P. aculeata in Australia. Three insects have been introduced to Australia for biological control; the parkinsonia bean weevils, Penthobruchus germaini and Mimosestes ulkei, both have larvae that specifically eat the seeds from parkinsonia pods and are proving to be a useful management tool, and the parkinsonia leaf bug, Rhinacloa callicrates, which destroys photosynthetic tissues but has had little overall impact on the plant. Fire is effective for young trees; mechanical removal and herbicides are also used.

Parkinsonia aculeata has a high tolerance to drought, simply attaining shorter stature. In moist and humus-rich environments it becomes a taller, spreading shade tree. This plant prefers a full sun exposure, but can grow on a wide range of dry soils (sand dunes, clay, alkaline and chalky soils,etc.), at an altitude of 0–1,500 metres (0–4,921 ft) above sea level.

Cercis siliquastrum

Cercis siliquastrum, commonly known as the Judas tree or Judas-tree, is a small deciduous tree from Southern Europe and Western Asia which is noted for its prolific display of deep pink flowers in spring.

This species forms a small tree up to 12 metres in height and 10 metres in width.

The deep pink flowers are produced on year-old or older growth, including the trunk in late spring (cauliflory). Also, the flowers display a blossom with five free petals and fused sepals. This shape is specific to the Fabaceae. The leaves appear shortly after the first flowers emerge. 

The flowers are pollinated by bees, attracted by nectar. Pollen from the protuding stamens is deposited on the bee's body and carried to another flower's stigma.

In Israel the tree has a status of a protected plant.
These are cordate with a blunt apex, which occasionally has a shallow notch at the tip. The tree produces long flat pods that hang vertically. The flowers are edible and purportedly have a sweet-acid taste. It can fix Nitrogen
and is noted for attracting wildlife. 

Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, prefers well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. 
Suitable pH: acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in very alkaline soils.

It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers dry or moist soil and can tolerate drought.

Acanthus mollis

Acanthus mollis, commonly known as bear's breeches, sea dock, bearsfoot or oyster plant, is a herbaceous perennial plant with an underground rhizome in the genus Acanthus. It is regarded as an invasive species in some jurisdictions.

This plant is native to the Mediterranean region from Portugal and northwest Africa east to Croatia and it is one of the earliest cultivated species.

Etymology:
The name of the genus derives from the Greek term ἄκανθος, akanthos, the name of the plant in Greek; it was imitated in Corinthian capitals; the word is related to ἄκανθα, akantha meaning "thorn" referring to the thorn-bearing sepals, or any thorny or prickly plant in Greek, while the Latin name of the species, mollis meaning "soft", "smooth", refers to the texture of the leaves.

Description
Acanthus mollis reaches on average 30–80 centimetres (12–31 in) of height, with a maximum of 180 centimetres (71 in), inflorescence included. It has basal clusters of deeply lobed and cut, shiny dark green leaves, soft to the touch, up to 40 centimetres (16 in) long and 25 centimetres (9.8 in) broad, with a long petiole. 

The inflorescence is a cylindrical spike 30–40 centimetres (12–16 in) long and can produce up to 120 flowers. The flowers are tubular, whitish, and lilac or rose in colour. Each flower is up to 5 centimetres (2.0 in) long and it is surrounded by three green or purplish bracts. The central bract is spiny and larger than the other two. The calyx has two lips: the upper is purple on top, rather long and forms a kind of "helmet" on top of the corolla. The corolla is reduced to a white lower lip, trilobed, with purple-pink venation. The four stamens are fused to the corolla and look like tiny brushes. This species flowers in late spring or early summer, from May through August.

Acanthus mollis is entomophilous and it is pollinated only by bees or bumble bees large enough to force their way between the upper sepal and the lower, so that they can reach the nectar at the bottom of the tube. The fruit is an ovoid capsule containing two to four large black seeds. The dispersal of seeds is by the wind (anemochory).

These plants are usually propagated from tubers and tend to form large, localized clumps which can survive for several decades and look statuesque when well-grown, but its suitability as a garden plant is lessened on account of its invasive nature (new plants are produced readily both from seed and portions of root) and its susceptibility to powdery mildew and attacks from snails.

Trachelospermum jasminoides

Trachelospermum jasminoides is a species of flowering plant in the family Apocynaceae, native to eastern and southeastern Asia (Japan, Korea, southern China and Vietnam). Common names include confederate jasmine, star jasmine, confederate jessamine,  and Chinese star jessamine.

Trachelospermum jasminoides is an evergreen woody liana growing to 10 feet (3.0 m) high. The leaves are opposite, oval to lanceolate, 2–10 cm long and 1-4.5 cm broad, with an entire margin and an acuminate apex.

The fragrant flowers are white, 1–2 cm diameter, with a tube-like corolla opening out into five petal-like lobes. The fruit is a slender follicle 10–25 cm long and 3–10 mm broad, containing numerous seeds.

A valuable perfume oil is extracted from the steam distilled or tinctured flowers and used in high end perfumery. In a dilute form, tinctured flowers are much used in Chinese, Vietnamese and Thai incenses. A bast fibre is produced from the stems.

Trachelospermum jasminoides is commonly grown as an ornamental plant and houseplant. In gardens, public landscapes, and parks it is used as a climbing vine, a groundcover, and a fragrant potted plant on terraces and patios. It will flower in full sun, partial shade, or total shade, and requires well-drained soil (if constantly kept damp it may succumb to fungal infection), moderate water, moderate fertilizer, and a climbing structure (whether a trellis or another plant is secondary). Propagation is most commonly done with cuttings/ clones.

It is widely planted in California and also particularly in the Southeastern United States, where its hardiness, confined to USDA Zones 8-10, the area of the former Confederate States of America, gives it the name Confederate jasmine. It gets another of its common names, trader's compass, from an old Uzbekistan saying that it pointed traders in the right direction, provided they were of good character. It is also called star jasmine in Europe and Chinese jasmine or Chinese ivy in Asia.

acobaea maritima

Jacobaea maritima (silver ragwort) (formerly known as Senecio cineraria) is a perennial plant species in the genus Jacobaea in the family Asteraceae, native to the Mediterranean region. It was formerly placed in the genus Senecio, and is still widely referred to as Senecio cineraria; see the list of synonyms (right) for other names.
It is widely cultivated as an ornamental plant for its white, felt-like tomentose leaves; in horticultural use, it is also sometimes called dusty miller, a name shared with several other plants that also have silvery tomentose leaves; the two most often to share the name are Centaurea cineraria and Lychnis coronaria.

Silver Ragwort is a very white-wooly, heat and drought tolerant evergreen subshrub growing to 0.5–1 m (1.6–3.3 ft) tall. The stems are stiff and woody at the base, densely branched, and covered in long, matted grey-white to white hairs. The leaves are pinnate or pinnatifid, 5–15 centimetres (2.0–5.9 in) long and 3–7 centimetres (1.2–2.8 in) broad, stiff, with oblong and obtuse segments, and like the stems, covered with long, thinly to thickly matted with grey-white to white hairs; the lower leaves are petiolate and more deeply lobed, the upper leaves sessile and less lobed.

The tomentum is thickest on the underside of the leaves, and can become worn off on the upper side, leaving the top surface glabrous with age. The flowers are yellow, daisy-like in dense capitula 12–15 millimetres (0.47–0.59 in) diameter, with central disc florets surrounded by a ring of 10–13 ray florets, and enclosed in a common whorl of bracts at the base of the capitulum. The seeds are cylindrical achenes.