Flowers, of course, come in quite an assortment of sizes. The smallest flowers of any plant you are likely to see probably belong to the tiny, floating duckweeds. And the largest flowers of trees, at least in North America, must surely belong to various species of magnolia. But what wildflower has the biggest bloom? Could it be this one?
It's a native species that is common from New England and Ontario south to Florida, and well into the Midwest and Texas. Technically, it is an herbaceous plant, but it comes up from a massive root system, and it looks like a shrub, usually, with branching stalks that can be up to 8 feet tall. It really likes sunny, wet places, and you will see it in marshes, ditches, damp meadows and along open, wet power lines. (Because of the droughts that we are experiencing this season, 2024 might not be the best year for it.)
John Nelson is the retired curator of the A.C. Moore Herbarium at the University of South Carolina. As a public service, the Herbarium offers free plant identifications. For more information, visit www.herbarium.org or email johnbnelson@sc.rr.com.
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Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
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Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.