Wildflowers Of The Field And Meadow (1964)

most Everyone likes flowers and no matter where we live we can find wildflowers that add Beauty and color to our landscape these are morning glories morning glories are among the many kinds of wildflowers that grow in fields and meadows they seem to thrive in the warm sunshine and open areas another Wildflower of the field in Meadow is the Bluebell if we look closer we can see how the delicate bell-shaped Blossom gives this flower its name Bluebell there are many different kinds of field and Meadow wildflowers the best way to enjoy them is to study them right where they grow when you look for these flowering plants it's more fun to take a wildflower book along with you such books give us helpful clues for recognizing these plants thinking about wildflowers how to recognize them and the different families to which they belong can help us enjoy their beauty now let's take a look at the dandelion one of the most common wildflowers of the fields and meadows the bright yellow button-shaped dandelion Blossom is really a cluster of many flowers each of these is a separate Little Flower blossoms that have tiny flowers grouped together in one head are called composite flowers the dandelion belongs to the composite family the field Daisy is also a composite flower the blossom of the common field Daisy is made up of tiny flowers in a cluster daisies in full bloom on a sunny day are a breathtaking sight but Farmers consider the daisy a weed because it sometimes invades the fields and crowds out crop plants one of the largest of the Composites that grow in fields and meadows is the sunflower the blossom of the sturdy sunflower may be several inches across and produces many seeds the plant itself May grow quite High the sunflower is the state flower of Kansas Asters are also members of the composite family by late summer many uncultivated fields are bright with this flower like the sunflower each head is really made up of many flowers even more spectacular in color is the Goldenrod Goldenrod also has composite flowers and is well named the stems of the Golden Rod are Rod like and support the many tiny golden flowers here's a field in Meadow wildflower that does not belong to the composite family this is the wild Lupine and it is a member of the Pea family if we examine one of the delicate blossoms on the Lupine we notice that it is shaped somewhat like a butterfly you may have seen blossoms similar to this on a common Sweet Pea grown in gardens the Sweet Pea Blossom also has a butterfly shape butterfly-shaped blossoms are characteristic of the Pea family lupines and other wildflowers belonging to the Pea family have compound leaves each leaf on the Lupine plant is made up of several smaller leaves or leaflets in a star-like pattern beautiful Lupine plants of many species are plentiful in the field of bigger weed the small flowers of the beggarweed are magenta Violet of wand-like stems bigger weeds are also called sticktites because they produce flat fuzzy seed pods which stick tight to clothing here's a wildflower that's both useful and beautiful clover which varies in color from red to White this very common Wildflower enriches the soil and is cultivated and fed to livestock this showy Wildflower a member of the mint family is also found in fields and meadows it's the Oswego bee bomb sometimes called Oswego Tea Oswego Indians are said to have made tea from its leaves the bee bomb is a most colorful member of the mid family the leaves of all plants belonging to the mint family grow on the stems in twos opposite each other the self-heal or heal all is another plant belonging to the mint family its name indicates it was once used medicinally for minor ailments morning glories and other members of this family thrive in good soil under a great variety of conditions the thin stems twine about other plants for support and bear bell-shaped pleated blossoms some morning glories are white some are blue or purple and some are red or pink these flowers are called bouncing bets and are members of the family called the pinks the blossoms of the bouncing bed are pink and white and grow in clusters bouncing bets can be found along embankments and roadsides a common Wildflower which grows in open fields and meadows in the summer is Queen Anne's Lace sometimes called wild carrot this Wildflower has flat topped dough white flower clusters whose patterns resemble lace cluster has a single dark purple flower in the center Queen Anne's Lace is a beautiful flower but it is considered a pest because it sometimes grows in cultivated fields in some low-lying fields and meadows where the soil is moist we can find wildflowers of other families these fragrant delicate wildflowers are violets which grow well in most places violets are low leafy plants rarely growing more than a few inches high we're all familiar with the color violet which is typical of these flowers with their five dainty petals The Violet has been adopted as the state flower of Illinois New Jersey Rhode Island and Wisconsin some wildflowers of the field and Meadow grow well in wet places if we look in low marshy places we may find buttercups like many wildflowers buttercups take their name from their appearance a dainty cup like butter colored blossom some wildflowers are named after the places where they're found the marsh Marigold which resembles the buttercup and the marshmallow whose blossoms grow in a variety of colors are both found in moist marshy areas in some marshes in the early spring we can find willows willows are fuzzy little flowers these flowers are actually the flowers of various shrubs of the willow family near the willows we may find this flower that grows in marshes and at the edge of streams the broad-leafed arrowhead the delicate white blossoms grow among beautiful glossy pointed leaves that are shaped like Indian arrowheads the shape of leaves we've learned is one clue in helping us identify wildflowers compound leaves in a star pattern are characteristic of lupines and other members of the Pea family blossoms are another clue in identifications lupines and other members of the P family have butterfly shaped blossoms some field and Meadow flowers such as sunflowers are classified as members of the composite family because the blossom is made up of many very small flowers grouped together in one head so blossoms help us identify the family to which a wildflower belongs another clue to identification is habitat where the flower grows it's really fun to learn about wildflowers and how to identify them when you find and study wildflowers be sure to leave them for others to study and enjoy [Music]