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1. Pin Oak
2. Belladonna Lily
3. Poison Ivy
4. Highbush Cranberry

Scientific Name:
Cranberry Viburnum Viburnum opulus var. americanum (viburnum trilobum)

Common Name:
Highbush Cranberry

This lovely shrub graces several areas on our place. For the most part this is an easy to care for shrub that produces lots of little white flowers earlier in the summer. The berries are supposedly edible but we’ve not ever tried them instead we leave them on the tree as a nature food source for our wildlife in the winter months. We did learn that this is a native plant of Iowa (as well as other areas). I always like finding out that we have native plantings from the previous owners.

1. Pin Oak
2. Belladonna Lily (Naked Ladies)
3. Poison Ivy

Scientific Name:
Toxicodendron radicans

Common Name:
Poison Ivy

Increasingly important to recognize this one as it has invaded areas of our lawn. We are diligently trying to eradicate it but it is a sneaky plant. This particular bunch is located in an area underneath a pine tree that is growing a little wild.

Things to know and some we learned:

• Most common allergy in the country claiming half the population
• Sensitivity to urushiol can develop at any time
• Solutions or cures are those that annihilate urushiol
• Everyone appears to react slightly different to all the remedies.
• Covered by workers compensation in some states (CA, for example)
• First published records of poison ivy in North America date back to 1600s
• Urushiol Oil in the Poison Ivy plant is extremely potent and is what causes the rash/blisters.
• Plants themselves will not cause rashes as they must be damaged to release the oil.
• Poison Ivy and its relatives are exceedingly fragile plants and break easily.

1. Pin Oak
2. Naked Lady (Belladonna Lily)

Scientific Name
Amaryllis belladonna
Common Name
Naked lady, Belladonna lily

This is one of the few flowers that came with the house when we bought it. I had previously had the same plant at our old house so we knew it was sometimes called “Naked Ladies”. In a quick bit of research we learned that this is a native plant of South Africa.  Information at least online was sparse with much of what I found referring to the commercial industries tendency to misname bulbs as “amaryllis” when in fact they are not a true Amaryllis like the Naked Lady. Much what I found I already knew:

• these flowers are hardy and need little maintenance,
• the flower comes after the leaves thus the “naked” part of the common name,
• they propagate via a bulb not seeds

Hope you enjoy these bright, beauties as much as I like the surprise I get when they seemingly pop up overnight in late summer!