Mother Nature's Gold

"I cannot endure to waste anything as precious as autumn sunshine by staying in the house. So I spend almost all the daylight hours in the open air."
- Nathaniel Hawthorne

Bitterweed in field along Refuge Road

Last week we blogged about sunflowers. Several other plants in fields along the roadsides on the way to Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge as well as at the Refuge are also gleaming gold! Wildflower "gold" that is...And this year, according to the Lady Bird's Native Plant Database, some of the "gold" we are seeing is Helenium amarum, commonly called Yellow Sneezeweed, Bitterweed, Yellow bitterweed, Yellowdicks, Slender-leaved sneezeweed, Fine-leaved sneezeweed, and/or Yellow dog-fennel. A member of the aster family, "The genus is thought to have been named by Linnaeus for Helen of Troy. The legend is that the flowers sprung up from the ground where her tears fell."  The plant is an annual and is valuable to Native Bees and tolerant of dry conditions and varied soil types.

Bitterweed 

Soon more gold will be provided by another member of the aster family is Gutierrezia sarothrae, with common names that include Broom snakeweed, Kindlingweed, Matchbrush, Texas snakeweed, Broomweed, Turpentine weed. Growing from 1 – 3’ tall, it is a small shrub-like plant covered in tiny yellow flowers. By bloom time the lower leaves have dropped off, giving it a delicate appearance.

Broomweed, by Dick Malnory

Broomweed is native throughout much of the western U.S. and blooms from August – November. It reproduces by seed and provides nectar for bees and butterflies and seed for birds. Dried plants can be tied together to fashion a “broom”.
Another yellow autumn wildflower, one that is considered a “bad actor” by many, is Goldenrod, Solidago canadensis L., also called Canada goldenrod, Canadian goldenrod, Tall goldenrod, or Giant goldenrod. Goldenrod is blamed for causing allergic reactions each fall, but according to NPIN, the reactions are caused mainly by pollen from the ragweed plant that blooms at the same time.

Goldenrod, by Dick Malnory

Finally, there is also a burst of gold in the Butterfly Garden at Hagerman - Maximilian sunflower, a cheery yellow wildflower blooms that from August to October and provides food as a range plant, and seed and cover for wildlife. Helianthus maximiliani Schrad., called Maximilian sunflower, Max sunflower and Michaelmas-daisy, was named after the German explorer and naturalist, Prince Maximilian, according to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center native plant database. Maximilian explored the Great Plains of the U.S. in 1832. In 2016, during the early stages of the fall Monarch migration, the Monarch butterflies swarmed this plant in the garden at the Refuge. We are hoping for a repeat this year!

Maximilian Sunflowers in the Garden 

Speaking of butterflies, mark your calendar for Saturday, October 14, Butterfly Day at Hagerman NWR.   You can find the schedule of events and activities on the Friends Butterfly Garden web page.


NOTE - several versions of this post have appeared previously.