​Giant Ragweed - Ambrosia trifida

Although an herbaceous annual, it grows up to 15 feet. Opposite leaves, usually three-lobed with bristly hairs, grow up a tall, stiff stalk. Spikes of green flowers in late summer. Huge colonies may be found in sunny disturbed places. Species of the Asteraceae, or composite, family commonly produce pollen that triggers allergic reactions, and ragweed is especially well-known for this characteristic. Its pollen is actually used by pharmaceutical companies to treat ragweed allergies. It is useful as an astringent, to stop bleeding, for treating fever, diarrhea, nosebleeds, and mouth sores. American Indians made a leaf poultice to treat bug bites and chewed the root at night for its calming properties. Ragweed seeds are large with a tough coat so animals do not often eat them.

​Horrid Thistle - Cirsium horridus

With spines up to 8 inches long, the Horrid Thistle almost names itself once stepped on, or even seen. Yellow, purple, or (rarely) red or white corollas sit handsomely atop often solitary stems and a basal rosette up to 2 ft. in diameter. The plant reaches tall, depending on the type of the soil it resides in: pine and prairie soils will support it up to 2 ft. tall while our alluvial soils at the Nature Station can allow it to reach heights of up to 6 ft. tall, given the opportunity! This species is usually a winter annual, but re-seeds itself prolifically by sending out fluffy floating white seeds. These seeds are eaten by songbirds, including Carolina Chickadees, and the nectar is used by hummingbirds and butterflies, especially swallowtails.

​Showy Daisy Fleabane - Erigeron philadelphicus

The basal leaves of the Daisy Fleabane begin to grow in October or November, and beginning in December their stems (up to 30 in. tall) are produced. It produces many flower heads in spring, about ½ in. diameter, colored from white to light pink with a yellow center. The petals are thin like hair, and number about 150 per flower. These are seen at the Nature Station along the back levee on the edge areas since they tend not to grow under the forest canopy. Its genus name is from the Greek eri (early) and geron (old man) presumably referring to the fact that the plant flowers early in the year and has a hairy down, like an old man’s beard. Daisy fleabane tea has been used as a diuretic, an astringent, to treat diarrhea, kidney stones, and to stop bleeding.

​Mist Flower - Eupatorium coelestinum

Clusters of small bluish flower are common in disturbed soils and the margins of wet sites from August until the frost (and occasionally in April). Leaves are opposite and triangle-shaped with serrate margins. Grows up to 3 feet. Sometimes used by gardeners.

​Rabbit Tobacco - Gnaphalium obtusifolium 

In the first year of its life cycle, Rabbit Tobacco puts its energy into growing short hairy rosettes; then in the second year it will produce the flowering stem with white flowers. The plant remains standing until the following spring, hence its alternate name, "sweet everlasting." The name "rabbit tobacco" may refer to the peppery tobacco smell of its crushed leaves, or perhaps to its medicinal uses. Some think that when brewed into a tea, it allows your lungs to breathe as a relief from asthma, or, in some accounts, relief from lung cancer. It is also used to alleviate drunkenness, for sore throats, pneumonia, fever, abdominal cramps, and rheumatism, or as fresh juice for an aphrodisiac. Common in early succession areas such as poor roadside soils or where recently plowed. 

​Wild Lettuce - Lactuca sp. (species undetermined)

Members of this genus are distinguished by a milky juice that flows from a broken or wounded stem. They are usually annuals or biennials with leaves almost like an arrowhead and the flowers range from blue or violet to white to yellow. We usually see this tall plant along the edge of the boardwalk in the open, sunny areas, sometimes with its head bent down in humble reverence for nature’s biodiversity. Seeds are occasionally eaten by songbirds and small mammals. Although it may be poisonous to consume, American Indians and settlers may tea for various medicinal purposes. The milky juice can serve as a substitute for rubber.

​Goldenrod - Solidago sp.(several species)

Species of this genus will often hybridize freely, creating confusion among botanists as to the number of species, hybrids and varieties that can be named. In general, Goldenrods are perennials with fibrous roots and terminal spikes of small, dense, yellow flowers in fall. It can grow tall and is common especially in fallow fields. Songbirds and small mammals sometimes eat the seeds, and larger mammals may graze on the leaves in winter. In Germany, the leaves of some species are approved for use as a diuretic to treat inflammation of the urinary tract.

​Gaillardia - Gaillardia aestivalis

Yellow ray flowers tinged with red around the brown center bloom all summer until frost. Grows in sunny areas all along the Gulf Coast. Can be found in abundance on the levee at the Acadiana Nature Park.

​Mexican Hat - Ratibida columnaris

Perennial with several stems up to 2 feet high with leaves along the bottom half of the stem only. Terminal summer-blooming ray flowers have yellow petals with red near the base and long cylindrical receptacles. Found in the sunny space along the levee at the Acadiana Nature Station.

​False-dandelion - Pyrrhopappus carolinianus

Yellow flowers look like dandelions, and false dandelion produces a milky juice like dandelion, the leaves are not as sharply divided as dandelion leaves. While dandelion has a basal rosette of leaves, false dandelion has a few stem leaves as well. Upper leaves become gradually smaller. Flowers are open in the morning, but then close in the heat of the day.

​Blue Star - Amsonia tabernaemontana

Perennial clumping flowers that look like their name, grows up to three feet tall with lance-shaped leaves and is found commonly in rich deciduous woods or wet sites in alluvial soils such as ours here at the Nature Station.

​Mayapple; Mandrake - Podophyllum peltatum

A delicately fragrant scent emanates from the solitary white flowers found hanging under one or two large leaves. The Mayapple is a gregarious perennial herb which grows up to a height of 1 ½ or 2 ft. The fruit is a yellowish to reddish berry about 3 in. long. Pulp from this fruit has a peculiar flavor which can be eaten raw in small amounts or processed into marmalade. The seeds and vegetative parts are poisonous, however Native Americans and early settlers used parts of it medicinally.

​Venus' Looking Glass - Triodanis perfoliata

Purple flowers rest in the axis of the stem and leaves, which clasp tightly to the stem. It grows tall in the summer, with few branches off of its main stem.

​Partridge Pea - Chamaecrista fasciculata(previously Cassia fasciculata)

A small annual legume with fern-like compound leaves. The summer flowers bloom in the morning and wilt in the afternoon. The lower petals on each of the yellow flowers are larger than the top petals. As a legume, it makes small bean pods. The Partridge Pea grows in open, disturbed areas. The plants feed caterpillars of sulfur butterflies. Cherokees may have made tea from its roots for treating fatigue, hence an alternate name "sleeping plant."

​Bladderpod - Glottidium vesicarium

An annual that grows up to 12 feet. Leaves are divided into about 24 opposite oval-shaped leaflets. Small pinkish-yellow flowers bloom in summer. Seeds from the pods are very poisonous; consuming a small amount can cause death. Cows sometimes eat the seeds and die. Found sometimes along the levee.

​Beggar's Ticks - Desmodium glabellum

Small purple flowers make triangle-shaped seeds that disperse by sticking to passing people or animals. Leaflets of three.