Autumn

Click for Full Size	Name	Description
	Asian Rockbell (Wahlenbergia marginiata)	Slender perennial 12-60 cm tall. Leaves linear, 1-4 cm long, appear mostly on lower half of stem. Pale blue flowers grow terminally on naked stalks 1-5 cm long. Flowers have 5 united petals 5-8 mm long with flaring lobes. Blooms late March-Oct.
	Bitterweed (Helenium amarum)	Annual 10-50 dm tall, widely branched. Leaves are abundant, 2-7 cm long and less than 4 mm wide, with tiny depressions on surfaces. Flowering heads are terminal, 1.5-2.5 cm across. Rays flowers are yellow, disc flowers are dull yellow. Blooms May-Nov.
	Bristly Ladys Thumb (Persicaria longiseta)	Sprawling annual, uncommon in NC. Leaves 2-7cm long, 1-3cm wide, without redish triangular blotch in the middle. Inflorescence spikelike, with visable bristles. Flowers deep pink. Blooms May to frost.
	Common Blue-curls (Trichostema dichotomum)	Annual 15-60 cm tall. Leaves are opposite 2-8 cm long and 5-20 mm wide. Blue stalked flowers appear from leaf axils. The lower of 5 petals forms a lip, 5-10 mm long, with dark blue spots. The long blue stamens curve forward and downward. Blooms Aug.-Oct.
	Common Yellow Wood Sorrel (Oxalis stricta)	Annual 15-60 cm tall. Long stalked leaves are divided into 3 obovate, leaflets 10-30 mm long, deeply notched. 5-8 flowers grow on stalks 3-9 cm long. The 5 yellow petals are 8-11 mm long and curved outward. Blooms mid April-Oct.
	Compact Dodder (Cuscuta compacta)	Annual twinning semi-succulent vine without roots, parasitic on other plants via tiny suckers. Stems are orange to yellow. Sessile white flowers, 5 mm long, grow in multi-flowered clusters. Blooms Aug.-Oct.
	Cottony Gold-aster (Chrysopsis gossypina)	Perennial to 0.7 m long. Stems creep along the ground, then arise. Leaves are lance shaped and gradually smaller up the stems. Leaves and stems are covered in cobwebby white hairs. Showy yellow flower heads grow at stem tips. Blooms Sept.-Oct.
	Daisy Fleabane (Erigeron strigosus)	Winter annual. Stem 0.4-1 m tall, branched above, hairy. Leaves sparse, lance shaped 2-18 mm wide, toothed. Flowers form a flat topped cluster. Flower heads are 12 mm across with numerous white rays and yellow disc flowers. Blooms May-Oct.
	Diamondleaf Fanpetal (Sida rhombifolia)	Annual to 80 cm tall, stellate-hairy. Gray-green leaves are diamond-shaped, 3-8 cm long. Flowers grow from leaf axils. The 5 straw-yellow petals are 8-10 mm long, stalked. Blooms Jun.-Oct.
	Dog-fennel (Eupatorium capillifolium)	Robust annual or short-lived perrenial to 2m tall, with 1 to several erect hairy stems from a crown. Tiny flowers are creamy white in a branched inflorescence. Blooms Mid Sept.-Frost.
	Eastern Silvery Aster (Symphyotrichum concolor var. concolor)	Perennial 0.4-1.3 m tall, erect, unbranched. Leaves are 1-4 cm long, with silvery hairs giving a grayish tone. Flower heads grow in a narrow one-sided inflorescence to 20 cm long. Ray flowers are blue-violet. Disc flowers are yellow. Blooms Sept.-Oct.
	Fireweed; Pilewort (Erechtites hieraciifolius)	Annual to 1.5 m tall. Leaves are lance-shaped, 5-20 cm long 0.5-6.5 cm wide, toothed and/or lobed. Flower heads form a cylinder 10-20 mm long with cream colored disc flowers. Fruiting heads are white Blooms Jul.-Nov.
	Fringed Yellow-eyed Grass (Xyris fimbriata)	Perennial herb 5-12 dm tall found in pond margins. Leaves are 3-5+ dm long, 5-25 mm wide, not bulbous at base. Flowering spike is oval, 1-2.5 cm long. Yellow petals are exerted beyond the subtending bract. Blooms Sept.-Oct.
	Goldenrod (Solidago altissima)	Perennial herb, 1-2.5 m tall. Stem leaves 6-15 cm long, 1-3 cm wide, rough to the touch above, hairy beneath with lateral veins. Yellow flowers in heads positioned on one side of branched inflorescence stem. Blooms Sept.-Oct.
	Grass-leaved Golden-aster (Pityopsis graminifolia )	Similar to Sticky Golden-aster but larger in all respects. It lacks gland-tipped hairs on stems and flower stalks and usually grows in dense clonal patches. Blooms late July-Oct.
	Groundsel Tree, Consumption Weed (Baccharis halimifolia)	Shrub or a small tree. Leaves 3-7cm long, 1-4cm wide, coarsely toothed toward apex. White to yellowish flowers in heads. 2-3 flowering heads clumped into glomerules on a stem. Blooms Sept.-Oct.
	Hard Pipewort; Hat Pins (Eriocaulon decangulare var. decangulare)	Perennial, terrestrial or semi aquatic 30-80 cm tall. Leaves all basal, 12-30 cm long, to 10 mm wide. Stems ribbed lengthwise, topped by a hard domed white flower head, 8-16 mm wide. Flowers tiny. Blooms Late June-Sept.
	Hyssop-leaf Thoroughwort (Eupatorium hyssopifolium)	Perennial with erect stems 0.5-1 m tall, appearing in clumps. Larger leaves are 1-12 mm wide and 10-40X as long as wide. Leaves appear in whorls of 3 or 4. Tiny white flowers are clustered in heads. Blooms late July-Oct.
	Ivy-leaf Morning Glory (Ipomoea hederacea)	Twining annual. Leaves ovate 5-12 cm long and wide, cleft into 3 lobes. Flowering stalk shorter than subtending leaf stalk and bearing 1-3 light blue bell shaped flowers. Petals united. Flowers 2.5-4.5 cm long and broad. Blooms July-Frost.
	Kidney-leaf Rosinweed (Silphium compositum)	Erect perennial, 1-4 m tall with basal heart-shaped deeply lobed leaves. Flowering heads with yellow ray flowers 1-2 cm long, 3-5 cm wide, are numerous on a branched inflorescence from an essentially leafless stem. Blooms May-Sept.
	Licorice Goldenrod (Solidago odora)	Perennial herb .5-1.5dm tall, hairy in several distince lines. Leaves, 3-10cm long, 0.4-2.5cm wide, smell like anise when crushed. Yellow flowers, secund, in branched inflorescence about as long as wide.
	Mistflower (Conoclinium coelestinum )	Perennial herb to 1m tall. Opposite leaves, 4.5-9cm long, 2-6cm wide with bluntly tooth margins and resin dots on lower surface. Pale blue to lavender flowers in terminal clusters. Blooms July-Mid Oct.
	New York Aster (Symphyotrichum novi-belgii)	Hairless perennial, 0.6-1.5 m tall. Leaves are lance-shaped 5-15 cm long, 2 cm wide. Upper leaves are sessile, clasping. Bracts of flower heads have recurved tips. Rays are 1-2 cm long blue to pale violet. Discs are yellow. Blooms Sept.-Nov.
	Nodding Ladies Tresses Orchid (Spiranthes cernua)	Perennial 12-40 cm tall. Leaves are 5-25 cm long and 6-20 mm wide, reduced in size upward. Flowers grow in a dense twisted spiral in 2 to 4 ranks. White petals are 6-11 mm long. Blooms mid Sept. to mid Nov.
	Nuttalls Lobelia (Lobelia nuttallii)	Annual 30-60 cm tall. Stem leaves 1-3.5 cm long, 1-4 cm wide. Flowers on short stalks subtended by slender bracts. Petals are united, pale blue to whitish, 8-11 mm long with 2 flaring lobes above and 3 below. Blooms May-early Oct.
	Orange Grass (Hypericum gentianoides)	Erect annual, 1-5 dm tall with ascending, wing-angled branches. Leaves are sessile, 1-5 mm long, to 0.5 mm wide. Flowers have 5 yellow petals 1-4 mm long. Blooms July-Oct.
	Orange Milkwort (Polygala lutea)	Biennial or short-lived perennial with succulent leaves in basal rosettes. Stems are 1.5-5 dm tall. Flowers are brilliant orange in a compact head 1-3.5 cm long, 1.2-2 cm wide. Blooms April-Oct.
	Passion Flower; May Pops (Passiflora incarnata)	Repent or climbing vine to 2 m long. Leaf blades are 3-5 lobed, 6-15 cm long, 6-15 cm wide. Flowers are mostly solitary from leaf axils. Petals are bluish to white, 3-4 cm long, with lavendar parts banded in purple. Blooms May-July.
	Pine Barren Gentian (Gentian autumnalis)	Perennial with stems 15-70 cm tall. Leaves are linear, 5-7cm long, 2 mm wide, sessile. Flowers are blue to violet. Petals are united with 5 lobes that are 1/2 the length of the tube which is 4-6 cm. Blooms Sept.-Dec.
	Pineland Dayflower (Commelina erecta)	Erect or sprawling perennial. The succulent leaves are lance-like with basal sheaths. Flowers are three parted with 2 blue petals and 1 small white one. Blooms June-Oct.
	Pokeweed (Phytolacca americana)	Perennial to 3 m tall. Stems are succulent, bright magenta. Leaves 8-30 cm long, 3-12 cm wide. 10-30 flowers grow on arching inflorescence, blooming from the base outward. 5 sepals are greenish white, 2-3 mm long. Petals absent. Blooms May-Oct.
	Poor Joe (Diodia teres)	Erect or spreading annual with opposite sessile leaves, 2-4 cm long. Flowers are 4-parted. Petals are white to pink, united. The tube is 4-5 mm with lobes 1-2 mm long. The fruit is shaped like an upside-down pear. Blooms June-frost.
	Purple Disc Sunflower (Helianthus atrorubens)	Perennial 0.7-1.5 m tall. Hairy basally. Stem leaves ovate 6-20 cm long, 3-10 mm wide. Leaf stalk widely winged. Flower heads with purple disc flowers, yellow ray flowers. Blooms late July-Oct.
	Rabbit Tobacco(Pseudognaphalium obtusifolium)	Annual herb with stems 0.3-1 m tall, densely white flocked with hairs. Leaves 2.5-8 cm long, 2-8 mm wide, hairless above. Flowering heads in a panicle, Disc flowers white, with papery bracts, hairy at the base. Blooms July-Oct.
	Rice-button Aster (Symphyotrichum dumosum var. dumosum)	Perennial 0.7-1.2 m tall, bushy. Stem leaves are linear 10 cm long. The branches have tiny blunt leaves. Flower heads are 12-20 mm across with white or pale bluish rays and yellow to maroon discs. Blooms Aug.-Oct.
	Rough Mexican Clover (Richardia scabra)	Sprawling hairy annual. Leaves are opposite, lance-shaped, 2.5-7 cm long, 1-2 cm wide. White flowers grow in dense terminal clusters from leaf-like bracts. The 4-6 flower petals are united, with lobes 1/3 the length of the tube. Blooms late June-Frost
	Round-leaf Bush Clover (Lespedeza hirta)	Perennial 0.6-1.8 m tall with tawny hairs spread out from the stem, Leaflets 1.5-3 cm long and 2/3 or more as wide. Flowers in dense clusters from the axils of the upper leaves. Petals are yellowish white 8-12 mm long. Blooms Aug.-Oct.
	Sandhills Blazing-star (Liatris cokerii )	Perennial with stems to 0.8 m tall. Leaves, 5-18 cm long, 2-5 mm wide, and densely punctate on both surfaces. Flower heads grow in a dense spike. Each head has 4-9 pink to rosy disc flowers 7 mm long with 5 short lobes. Blooms Aug-Oct.
	Sandhills Chaffhead(Carphephorus bellidiolius )	Perennial 1.5-5 m tall. Basal leaves are 0.5-2 dm long, 0.5-2.5 cm wide. The inflorescence is 1/3 or more the length of the stem. Flowers are purple. A locally abundant endemic indicator of the NC pineland. Blooms Aug.-Oct.
	Sandhills Goldenaster (Pityopsis pinifolia)	Perennial herb, locally abundant, but found only in a few counties in the Sandhills. Stem leaves, 0.8-1.5 cm, are longer than the basal leaves. Flowers are yellow. Blooms Aug.-Oct.
	Savanna Grass-leaved Aster (Eurybia paludosa)	Perennial 20-80 cm tall. Stem leaves are linear. Up to 9 flower heads grow in a flat-topped inflorescence. Heads are 2.5-3 cm across. Ray flowers are violet to blue. Discs are yellow. Bracts are recurved and minutely hairy. Blooms July-Oct.
	Savanna Meadow Beauty (Rhexia alifanus)	Perennial herb grows to 1 m tall. Leaves grow to 7 cm long and 1 cm wide. Flowers are purple with 4 petals that are glandular beneath, 16-22 mm long. Anthers are 6-7.5 mm long. Fruit is urnshaped. Blooms May-Oct.
	Savanna Tickseed (Coreopsis linifolia )	Perennial herb 0.5-1 m tall. Lower leaves 3-15 cm long, 0.5-2 cm wide, reduced upward. Flower heads occur on long slender stalks forming a flat to multi-layered cluster. Ray flowers are yellow, toothed at tip. Disc flowers are maroon red. Blooms July-Oct.
	Sensitive Partridge-pea (Chamaecrista nictitans)	Annjual herb to 0.5 m tall. Divided leaves have 20-36 linear leaflets, 6-15 mm long, 1-4 mm wide, more or less sensitive to touch. Solitary yellow flowers with 5 unequal petals grow in leaf axils. Blooms June-Oct.
	Slender Goldentop (Euthamia caroliniana)	Perennial herb 5-12 dm tall. Leaves are linear, 2-7 cm long, 1-3 mm wide. Inflorescence is flat on top (corymb). Yellow ray and disk flowers in heads 2-3 mm broad. Blooms Aug.-frost.
	Slender Scratch-daisy (Croptilon divaricatum)	Annual with slender branched stem to 1.4 m tall. Bracts of the flower heads form short cylinders that have prominent gland-tipped hairs. Ray and disc flowers are yellow. Blooms Aug.-Oct.
	Small-leaved White Snakeroot (Ageratina aromatica)	Perennial herb, 35-65 cm tall. branched from mid and upper leaf bases. Opposite leaves 3-7 cm long, 1.5-5 cm wide., bluntly toothed. Convex or flat inflorescence with terminal clusters of tiny white flower heads. Each head has short pointed white bracts an
	Smooth-leaf Elephants Foot (Elephantopus nudatus)	Perennial with basal leaves 2-7 cm wide, giving the plant its common name. Purple flowers are all tubular. Three overlapping leaf-like bracts at the base of each flowering head form a triangle. Blooms late July-Sept.
	Split-Beard Little Bluestem (Andropogon ternarius)	Tufted perennial grass 0.7-1.5 m tall. Leaf blades to 3 dm long, 2-3.5 cm wide. 2 densely hairy inflorescences together on exerted stalk 4-15 cm long. Blooms Sept.-Oct.
	Sticky Golden-aster (Pityopsis aspera)	Perennial 0.5 m tall. Stems, branches and flowers stalks with dense gland-tipped hairs. Leaves numerous, grasslike. The lower ones 5-25 cm long, to 12 mm wide, silky pubescent. Flower heads are 12 mm wide with yellow ray and disc flowers. Blooms July-Oct
	Stiff-leaf Aster; Spruce Aster (Ionactis linariifolia)	Perennial 20-50 cm tall. Leaves alternate, sessile, crowded, stiff, 1-3 cm long, 3 mm wide, minutely toothed. The inflorescence has one to many flower heads. Ray flowers are lilac blue to violet blue. Disc flowers are bright yellow. Blooms Sept.-Nov.
	Streamhead Flat-topped Aster (Doellingeria sericocarpoides)	Perennial 1-1.8 m tall. Leaves alternate, elliptic 4-11 cm long, 1.7-3.5 cm wide. Flower heads numerous in branched, flat-topped inflorescence 12-25 cm across. Rays 2-8, white. Disc flowers yellow, turning purple with age. Blooms July- Oct.
	Tall Cottonweed (Froelichia floridana)	Annual 1-2 m tall covered in short white matted hairs with the texture of cotton. Leaves are opposite, 5-12 cm long, 5-25 mm wide. Flowers grow in dense cottony spikes 3-6 cm long. Blooms Jun.-Oct.
	Threadleaf Gerardia (Agalinis setacea )	Branched annual herb 0.4-1 m tall. Stems 4-angled. Principle stem leaves opposite, 4 cm long, 2 mm wide. Pale purple petals united to a short tube with 5 flaring lobes. Purple speckles and two yellow lines inside floral tube. Blooms Sept.-late Oct.
	Twisted Leaf White-topped Aster (Sericocarpus tortifolius)	Perennial 40-100 cm tall, branched in the upper 1/4 and densely hairy. Stem leaves are sessile, hairy, 1-4 cm long, twisted on axis. 2-4 clusters of flower heads grow at end of branches forming a flat-topped inflorescence. Blooms mid Aug.-early Oct.
	Virginia Buttonweed (Diodia virginiana)	Perennial 10-60 cm long. Leaves are opposite, 2-7 cm long, 4-12 mm wide, hairy on margins, often yellow-green. White flowers form a tube 7-9 mm long with 4 spreading lobes. Blooms Jun.-Nov.
	Water-shield (Bresenia schreberi)	Perennial aquatic. Plant thickly covered with clear viscous jelly. Leaves alternate, floating. Maroon flowers grow singly from leaf axils, slightly raised above water surface. Petals 12-20 mm, recurved to reveal erect stamen. Blooms Jun.-Oct.
	Water-spider Orchid (Habenaria repens)	Semiaquatic perennial 10-80 cm tall. Leaves are narrowly lance-shaped, 5-24 cm long, 4-20 mm wide. Whitish green orchid flowers, 7, mm long, grow in dense terminal racemes. Blooms May-Oct.
	Yaupon Black Senna (Seymeria cassioides)	Profusely branched annual parasitic plant with opposite leaves 1cm long and divided into filiform segments, 0.5mm wide. Yellow flowers are solitary in the axils of leaves. Petals are united with 5 lobes. Blooms Sept.-Oct.
	Yellow Pond Lilly (Nuphar advena)	Perennial aquatic. Leaves are floating or submersed. Floating leaves are ovate to roundish, deeply notched or heart-shaped at base. Flowers float at or just above the water surface. Petals are yellow, numerous, rounded. Blooms late April-mid Oct.
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