26 July 2026

Late July is the perfect time for late summer wildflowers. Fortunately the excessive heat and wildfire smoke earlier this month did not suppress them. Be on the lookout for:

• Swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata)
• Orange jewelweed (Impatiens capensis)
• Purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) Just a single stem of flowers at Aspinwall’s Allegheny RiverTrail, probably brought down the river. Native to Eurasia, northern Africa and eastern Australia, this plant is invasive in North America but it is beautiful.
• Indian tobacco (Lobelia inflata)
• Wingstem (Verbesina alternifolia)
• Apple mint (Mentha suaveolens)
• Wild Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa) This is also called bee balm, though that’s the name I use for the scarlet bee balm flower.