September Yellows

     Several kinds of lovely, yellow wildflowers bloom in September along country roadsides where they are easily seen in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.  All these common species of cheery, golden blossoms, plus other kinds, add to the beauties of that pretty, autumn month, and into October.  And all but one species is native to eastern North America.
     The plume-like flower arrangements of goldenrods, each one with many tiny, yellow flowers, are the most common of golden blossoms in September here.  These five-foot-tall plants bloom in many abandoned fields, in association with the deep-purple flowers of New England asters in some fields, along rural roadsides and the edges of certain wet spots in sunny meadows.  The combination of yellow and purple, in abundance, is quite breathtakingly beautiful in sunny, September fields.  Many insects of several kinds, including butterflies, particularly the small pearl crescents, and bees, come to goldenrod and aster flowers to sip nectar, making those lovely blossoms the more intriguing.  Sparrows and finches eat its tiny seeds in winter and plumes of this plant are used in indoor dried arrangements in winter.
     The yellow flowers of five-foot-tall, evening primrose plants each has four showy petals that make those plants stand out along certain country roadsides.  Butterflies and other kinds of insects come to those cheery blossoms on top of slender stalks to sip nectar, adding more interest and beauty to the blooms.    
     Butter and eggs are the only plants in this article that are not native to North America.  Having come from Europe and planted in flower gardens, this species is a member of the snapdragon family, and has snapdragon-shaped flowers to prove it.  Standing about a foot high, butter and eggs form many pretty bouquets of themselves along rural roads.  Their blooms are pale-yellow with an orange dot on each one, which is the colors of butter and eggs.
     Wingstem stands up to six feet high along country roads and in corners of fields, and each plant has a small cluster of yellow flowers on top of its slender stem.  The stems of this vegetation have long strips that project out about a quarter of an inch, like wings, hence its common name.  The yellow petals of this species reflex down from the flowers' centers.  Again, a variety of insects sip nectar from the blossoms of this species.
     Jerusalem artichoke is a type of wild sunflower that is loaded with history.  A blast from the past, it was long ago cultivated by American Indians in eastern North America, along with corn, beans and pumpkins.  Native people cooked and ate the roots of this type of sunflower, as we consume small, white potatoes. 
     Standing up to nine feet high and having several showy flowers per stalk, Jerusalem artichoke is presently quite noticeable and attractive along country roadsides, the edges of corn fields and in hedgerows of trees and shrubbery between fields.  Insects visit its blossoms and mice and small birds ingest its seeds.
     Bur-marigolds and two kinds of sneezeweeds, common and dark-headed, dominate the shores of clear, running brooks in many sunny, Lancaster County cow pastures.  Patches of bur-marigolds, in particular, become so large that they grow over the little waterways they flourish along, completely hiding the musical water from view. 
     Both kinds of sneezeweed flowers have petals that droop from their centers.  And dark-headed sneezeweeds have dark centers, and are the more common of these two lovely species.  Again, a variety of insects land on the flowers of these wild plants to consume their nectar.
     In September, visit local croplands for plants bearing golden flowers.  They certainly do liven and beautify rural roadsides and certain fields during autumn.