Blazing Star

This beautiful flower features a blossoming spike that is roughly half of its entire height, and it can grow up to five feet tall! The blossoms themselves are purple, with long lighter-purple stamens that are quite a bit longer than the flower, giving the plant a tangled, almost fuzzy appearance. And these unique-looking flowers bloom from the top down!

Reference the Quest Map to help guide you to this flower.

Button Bush

This unique flower looks a little like a golf ball with delicate spines all over it (or some say a pin cushion!), but it’s actually a sphere of tightly clustered white blossoms. The buttonbush grows in wetlands and other low-lying areas, and its seeds are a favorite for ducks and shorebirds. In bloom, it attracts butterflies, and because bees also enjoy it, it’s also called a honey-bell!

Reference the Quest Map to help guide you to this flower.

False Boneset

These plants have branching stems that reach ever upward, culminating in clusters of white flowers. After the flowers bloom, long white “hair” (achenes) replaces them, and some find it more attractive than the flowers, although the pollinators that love this plant would likely disagree! Oh, and as the name suggests, there is a “true” bonestem that this plant resembles: the key difference is in the leaves. The leaves on the false boneset are more slender and serrated.

Reference the Quest Map to help guide you to this flower.

Goldenrod

Several species of goldenrod bloom in Indiana, in a variety of soils. Some have hairy stems, and some have smooth, but all share the small bright yellow flowers that were once used for tea and even dye! While many people blame these beauties for hay fever, goldenrod depends upon pollinators to spread their seeds, and not the wind, so they’re innocent! However, because of their hardy root system, and because they originated in Europe, there is some debate regarding whether or not goldenrod is an invasive species or now thoroughly naturalized.

Reference the Quest Map to help guide you to this flower.

Horse Mint

Also known as “spotted bee balm,” horse mint is instantly recognizable: its flowers have hairy yellow petals covered with purple spots! The top petal hangs low over the bottom petal, and it has a strong fragrance. These distinctive plants attract both bees and butterflies, and it can bloom for up to two months!

Reference the Quest Map to help guide you to this flower.

Marsh Phlox

These lovely flowers have narrow tubes leading to five petals ranging in color from blue to violet. While they can grow up to four feet tall, they are often much shorter. This plant is also sometimes called the smooth phlox. There are several species of phlox, so look closely: can you see the stamen (the slender stalk in the middle of the flower)? If so, you’ve found the marsh phlox!

Reference the Quest Map to help guide you to this flower.

Shrubby St. John's Wort

This lovely yellow flower can bloom up to two months in late summer: each blossom has five petals which surround a multitude of stamen (those slender stalks found in the middle of flowers). Another distinctive feature is the plant’s “woody” stem that even has bark!

Reference the Quest Map to help guide you to this flower.

Trumpet Creeper

This flowering vine can sport reddish-orange “trumpet-shaped” blossoms up to three inches in length. Because it can spread so well, in some places it has also been called the “devil’s shoestring”! Hummingbirds love these flowers, though, and they can bloom throughout the summer.

Reference the Quest Map to help guide you to this flower.

August Hot Spots

• West Beach
• Coffee Creek Watershed
• Shirley Heinz Preserves
• Miller Woods
• Cowles Bog
• Great Marsh Trail