Wildflower

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Five wildflower species occupy less than 1,000 cm in this photo taken on the eastern slope foothills of the Canadian Rocky Mountains in late July. Pink: Alberta wild rose; white: Western yarrow; blue: Bluebells showing both pink (immature) and blue (mature) stages; yellow: Arnica cordifolia (Heart-leaved arnica); and red: Red paintbrush DwSixspecies.jpg
Five wildflower species occupy less than 1,000 cm in this photo taken on the eastern slope foothills of the Canadian Rocky Mountains in late July. Pink: Alberta wild rose; white: Western yarrow; blue: Bluebells showing both pink (immature) and blue (mature) stages; yellow: Arnica cordifolia (Heart-leaved arnica); and red: Red paintbrush
Wildflowers of Western Australia Wildflowers western australia.jpg
Wildflowers of Western Australia
Wildflowers are blooming in April in a field in central Texas near Lake Grapevine. Grassland Spring Jewels, Lake Grapevine, Texas (marcegottlieb wikimedia).png
Wildflowers are blooming in April in a field in central Texas near Lake Grapevine.
Wildflowers in Death Valley National Park Death valley flowers 1.jpg
Wildflowers in Death Valley National Park

A wildflower (or wild flower) is a flower that grows in the wild, the flower of a wild or uncultivated plant or the plant bearing it. Meaning it was not intentionally seeded or planted. The term implies that the plant is neither a hybrid nor a selected cultivar that is any different from the native plant, even if it is growing where it would not naturally be found. The term can refer to the whole plant, even when not in bloom, and not just the flower. [1]

Contents

"Wildflower" is an imprecise term. More exact terms include:

In the United Kingdom, the organization Plantlife International instituted the "County Flowers scheme" in 2002, see County flowers of the United Kingdom for which members of the public nominated and voted for a wildflower emblem for their county. The aim was to spread awareness of the heritage of native species and about the need for conservation, as some of these species are endangered. For example, Somerset has adopted the cheddar pink ( Dianthus gratianopolitanus), London the rosebay willowherb (Chamerion angustifolium) and Denbighshire/Sir Ddinbych in Wales the rare limestone woundwort ( Stachys alpina).

Ohio Wildflowers Wildflowers of Ohio.jpg
Ohio Wildflowers

Examples

See also

Related Research Articles

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<i>Dianthus</i> Genus of flowering plants

Dianthus is a genus of about 340 species of flowering plants in the family Caryophyllaceae, native mainly to Europe and Asia, with a few species in north Africa and in southern Africa, and one species in arctic North America. Common names include carnation, pink and sweet william.

<i>Fritillaria meleagris</i> Species of flowering plants in the family Liliaceae

Fritillaria meleagris is a Eurasian species of flowering plant in the lily family Liliaceae. Its common names include snake's head fritillary, snake's head, chess flower, frog-cup, guinea-hen flower, guinea flower, leper lily, Lazarus bell, chequered lily, chequered daffodil, drooping tulip or, in the British Isles, simply fritillary. The plant is a bulbous perennial native to the flood river plains of Europe where it grows in abundance.

<i>Coreopsis</i> Genus of flowering plants

Coreopsis is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. Common names include calliopsis and tickseed, a name shared with various other plants.

<i>Viola riviniana</i> Species of flowering plant

Viola riviniana, the common dog-violet, is a species of flowering plant in the family Violaceae, native to Eurasia and Africa. It is also called wood violet and dog violet. It inhabits woodland edges, grassland and shady hedge banks. It is found in all soils except those which are acid or very wet.

<i>Hesperis matronalis</i> Species of flowering plant in the cabbage family

Hesperis matronalis is an herbaceous flowering plant species in the 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, sweet rocket, and mother-of-the-evening.

<i>Eriophorum angustifolium</i> Species of flowering plant in the sedge family Cyperaceae

Eriophorum angustifolium, commonly known as common cottongrass or common cottonsedge, is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family, Cyperaceae. Native to North America, North Asia, and Europe, it grows on peat or acidic soils, in open wetland, heath or moorland. It begins to flower in April or May and, after fertilisation in early summer, the small, unremarkable brown and green flowers develop distinctive white bristle-like seed-heads that resemble tufts of cotton; combined with its ecological suitability to bog, these characteristics give rise to the plant's alternative name, bog cotton.

<i>Coreopsis lanceolata</i> Species of flowering plant

Coreopsis lanceolata, commonly known as lanceleaf coreopsis, lanceleaf tickseed, lance-leaved coreopsis, or sand coreopsis, is a North American species of tickseed in the family Asteraceae.

<i>Dianthus armeria</i> Species of flowering plant

Dianthus armeria, the Deptford pink or grass pink, is a species of Dianthus ("pink") native to most of Europe, from Portugal north to southern Scotland and southern Finland, and east to Ukraine and the Caucasus. It is naturalised in North America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plains coreopsis</span> Species of flowering plant

Plains coreopsis, garden tickseed, golden tickseed, or calliopsis, Coreopsis tinctoria, is an annual forb. The plant is common in Canada, northeast Mexico, and much of the United States, especially the Great Plains and Southern states where it is often called "calliopsis". The species is also widely cultivated and naturalized in China.

<i>Stylophorum diphyllum</i> Species of flowering plant in poppy family

Stylophorum diphyllum, commonly called the celandine poppy or wood poppy, is an herbaceous plant in the poppy family (Papaveraceae). It is native to North America, where it is found in the eastern United States and Ontario. Its typical natural habitat is moist forests over calcareous rock, particularly in ravines.

<i>Armeria maritima</i> Flowering plant in the family Plumbaginaceae

Armeria maritima, the thrift, sea thrift or sea pink, is a species of flowering plant in the family Plumbaginaceae. It is a compact evergreen perennial which grows in low clumps and sends up long stems that support globes of bright pink flowers. In some cases purple, white or red flowers also occur. It is a popular garden flower and has been distributed worldwide as a garden and cut flower. It does well in gardens designed as xeriscapes or rock gardens. The Latin specific epithet maritima means pertaining to the sea or coastal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plantlife</span> Wild plant conservation charity

Plantlife is a wild plant conservation charity. As of 2023, it manages 24 nature reserves around the United Kingdom. HM King Charles III is patron of the charity.

<i>Polemonium caeruleum</i> Species of plant

Polemonium caeruleum, known as Jacob's-ladder or Greek valerian, is a hardy perennial flowering plant. The plant produces cup-shaped, blue or white flowers. It is native to temperate regions of Europe. It is the type species of the phlox family, Polemoniaceae.

<i>Phlox subulata</i> Species of flowering plant

Phlox subulata the creeping phlox, moss phlox, moss pink or mountain phlox, is a species of flowering plant in the family Polemoniaceae, native to eastern and central USA, and widely cultivated.

<i>Phlox divaricata</i> Species of flowering plant

Phlox divaricata, the wild blue phlox, woodland phlox, or wild sweet william, is a species of flowering plant in the family Polemoniaceae, native to forests and fields in eastern North America.

<i>Coreopsis grandiflora</i> Species of flowering plant

Coreopsis grandiflora is a North American species of perennial plant in the family Asteraceae. The common name is large-flowered tickseed. It is found in eastern Canada and much of the United States, especially the south-central part of the country. The species is widely cultivated in China and naturalized there.

<i>Cyperus fuscus</i> Species of plant

Cyperus fuscus is a species of sedge known by the common name brown galingale, or brown flatsedge. This plant is native to much of Europe, Asia, and North Africa from England, Portugal and Morocco then towards east to China and Thailand. It is an introduced species in North America, where it is naturalized in widely scattered locations in the United States and Canada.

<i>Viola lactea</i> Species of flowering plants in the family Violaceae

Viola lactea, also known by its common name pale dog violet, is a species of flowering planet of the family Violaceae.

References

  1. Wild flowers can be found in deserts, forests, meadows, and fields. "wildflower" . Retrieved December 5, 2014. Wildflower, noun. Any flowering plant that grows without intentional human aid.
  2. Pauline Pears (2005), HDRA encyclopedia of organic gardening, Dorling Kindersley, ISBN   978-1-4053-0891-5

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