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Help us monitor these most wanted plants!

Black-eyed susan
Rudbeckia hirta

The familiar prairie flower blooms in the mid-spring through the fall. The flowers have a brown button-like disk which the yellow petal-like ray flowers surround.

Read more on the species info page.

Common milkweed
Asclepias syriaca

Common milkweed is the host plant for the monarch butterfly life cycle. The milky sap or latex inside this plant, eaten by monarch caterpillars, is what makes the animal toxic to predators. This tall wildflower produces a globe of unique looking soft pink flowers.

Read more on the species info page.

Mountain laurel
Kalmia latifolia

This native shrub can be found throughout the Appalachian region. In the early summer it produces beautiful white flowers tinged with pink. This evergreen shrub is a toxic member of the blueberry family.

Read more on the species info page.

New England aster
Symphyotrichum novae-angliae

These fall asters can be found in forest edge and meadow habitats. They have large purple and yellow flowers and resemble other asters in many other ways.

Read more on the species info page.

Pawpaw
Asimina triloba

This shrub has alternate, pear-shaped leaves that droop downward. Flowers are tiny, dark purple to black in color. Fruits are mango-like and yellowish-green to brown.

Read more on the species info page.

Red columbine
Aquilegia canadensis

Red columbines have red, tubular flowers that hang downwards with upward pointing claw-like spurs. They typically have leaves divided in threes which each have three lobes. Hummingbirds and bees are important pollinators of this species.

Read more on the species info page.

Skunk cabbage
Symplocarpus foetidus

These fist-sized, football-shaped flowers are a vibrant red petal covering a yellow corn cob like spadix inside. The leaves smell very similar to skunk spray. These wetlands plants bloom in late winter to early spring and have a chemical property that melts the snow around them when they're ready to bloom.

Read more on the species info page.

Southern arrowwood
Viburnum dentatum

This shrub has opposite, oval-shaped, toothed leaves, and white flowers. The fruits are clusters of small, blue berries called drupes. It is found in the Eastern US.

Read more on the species info page.

Spadderdock
Nuphar advena

Also known as the yellow pond lily, this plant has large, heart-shaped floating leaves and yellow flowers that bloom in the spring or summer.

Read more on the species info page.

Virginia bluebells
Mertensia virginica

The distinctive bell-shaped flowers are bright sky-blue in color. Look for this striking flower in the moist woodlands of eastern North America.

Read more on the species info page.

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Patuxent Research Refuge

Patuxent Research Refuge images

Patuxent Research Refuge, the nation's only National Wildlife Refuge established to support wildlife research, was created in 1936 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. It has grown from 2,670 acres to 12,841 acres and encompasses land surrounding the Patuxent and Little Patuxent Rivers between Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, MD. Approximately 10,000 acres are forested, contributing to one of the largest blocks of contiguous forested habitat in the mid-Atlantic. Other habitat types include fields, marshes, scrub-shrub communities, and constructed impoundments. Patuxent Research Refuge is divided into three areas: 1) Central Tract, the location of the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center; 2) South Tract, home of the National Wildlife Visitor Center and, 3) North Tract. Both South Tract and North Tract are open to the public and offer hunting, fishing, wildlife observation, photography, trails, and interpretive programs.

Explore more about Patuxent Research Refuge on their website and find out how you can make a difference by supporting the Friends of Patuxent.


Climate Change at this Refuge
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Climate Change at this Refuge
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Project BudburstSM is co-managed by NEON and the Chicago Botanic Garden
© 2013 National Ecological Observatory Network, Inc. All rights reserved.