{"license":"Text © Pollinate Happiness, free for educational use with attribution. Species ranges generalized from USDA PLANTS/BONAP; life-stage months typical for the Northeast.","count":47,"items":[{"slug":"common-milkweed","common":"Common milkweed","scientific":"Asclepias syriaca","inatTaxonId":47911,"type":"perennial","regions":["northeast","midatlantic","southeast","midwest","plains"],"zones":[3,9],"sun":["full"],"moisture":["dry","medium"],"height":"3–5 ft","bloom":[6,7,8],"color":"pink","value":"The single most important monarch host plant in the East; intensely fragrant flowers feed dozens of bee and butterfly species.","hostFor":"Monarch, milkweed tussock moth","tags":["monarch","fragrant","meadow"],"siteSlug":"milkweed","profile":{"story":"Named for its milky latex sap, milkweed was a staple of Indigenous medicine and fiber; the Omaha, Menominee, and others cooked the young shoots, buds, and pods. During World War II, schoolchildren across the Northeast collected 11 million pounds of milkweed floss to stuff life jackets after the Japanese cut off the supply of kapok. Two bags of pods filled one jacket.","wildlife":"The monarch is the famous one, but common milkweed is a whole community: milkweed tussock moth caterpillars, red milkweed beetles, large and small milkweed bugs, milkweed leaf beetles, and the oleander aphids that feed ladybugs and lacewings. The intensely fragrant June flowers are visited by more than 450 insect species, including bumble bees, honey bees, swallowtails, fritillaries, and hummingbird moths.","ecosystem":"A deep-rooted colonizer of disturbed ground that holds soil, rebuilds fertility in poor sites, and provides both host plant and nectar bar in one. A patch in a sunny corner is the single most productive pollinator planting per square foot on Long Island.","facts":["The floss is six times more buoyant than cork and warmer than goose down; it is still used in some hypoallergenic pillows.","Milkweed flowers trap insect legs in slits to attach pollen sacs; small bees sometimes get stuck.","A single plant can support monarch eggs for several caterpillars, but a good patch is 10 or more stems."],"wiki":"Asclepias_syriaca"},"url":"https://www.pollinatehappiness.com/natives/common-milkweed"},{"slug":"swamp-milkweed","common":"Swamp milkweed","scientific":"Asclepias incarnata","inatTaxonId":125381,"type":"perennial","regions":["northeast","midatlantic","southeast","midwest","plains"],"zones":[3,9],"sun":["full","part"],"moisture":["medium","wet"],"height":"3–4 ft","bloom":[7,8],"color":"rose pink","value":"A clumping, well-behaved milkweed for damp soil and rain gardens; monarchs prefer its tender leaves for egg-laying.","hostFor":"Monarch","tags":["monarch","rain-garden","container"],"profile":{"story":"Also called rose milkweed for its clean pink color, it was named incarnata, flesh-colored, by Linnaeus in 1753. The Chippewa used the root medicinally, and the tough stem fibers were twisted into cordage.","wildlife":"Monarchs often prefer it for egg-laying because its leaves are more tender than common milkweed. The flowers draw swallowtails, fritillaries, skippers, and a crowd of bees, and the seed floss lines hummingbird and goldfinch nests.","ecosystem":"A rain-garden anchor that tolerates standing water for days and holds wet soil with a dense root crown. Unlike common milkweed it stays in a clump, so it fits a small garden.","facts":["The vanilla-like fragrance is strongest in the evening.","Clumps live 10 to 20 years without division.","It grows happily in ordinary garden soil, not just swamps, as long as it is not bone dry."],"wiki":"Asclepias_incarnata"},"url":"https://www.pollinatehappiness.com/natives/swamp-milkweed"},{"slug":"butterfly-weed","common":"Butterfly weed","scientific":"Asclepias tuberosa","inatTaxonId":47912,"type":"perennial","regions":["northeast","midatlantic","southeast","midwest","plains","southwest"],"zones":[3,9],"sun":["full"],"moisture":["dry"],"height":"1–2 ft","bloom":[6,7,8],"color":"orange","value":"Brilliant orange milkweed for sandy, dry soil; a monarch host that fits in small gardens and containers.","hostFor":"Monarch, queen","tags":["monarch","container","deer-resistant","drought"],"profile":{"story":"Its old name was pleurisy root: settlers and Indigenous healers used the root for lung complaints, and it was in the U.S. Pharmacopoeia into the 1900s. It was the Perennial Plant of the Year in 2017, a rare honor for a native wildflower.","wildlife":"Monarch and queen caterpillars eat it; adults of nearly every butterfly in the meadow nectar on it, along with bumble bees, leafcutter bees, and beetles. Goldfinches take the floss for nests.","ecosystem":"The dry-soil milkweed: its taproot reaches deep into sandy Long Island soil and asks for no water once established. It thrives in the hottest, poorest spot in the yard.","facts":["The sap is clear, not milky, unlike other milkweeds.","It is slow to emerge in spring, often not until late May; mark it so you do not dig it up.","Flowers are usually orange but yellow and red forms occur in the wild."],"wiki":"Asclepias_tuberosa"},"url":"https://www.pollinatehappiness.com/natives/butterfly-weed"},{"slug":"purple-coneflower","common":"Purple coneflower","scientific":"Echinacea purpurea","inatTaxonId":48627,"type":"perennial","regions":["northeast","midatlantic","southeast","midwest","plains"],"zones":[3,9],"sun":["full","part"],"moisture":["dry","medium"],"height":"2–4 ft","bloom":[6,7,8,9],"color":"pink-purple","value":"Months of nectar for bumble bees and butterflies, then winter seed for goldfinches.","hostFor":"Silvery checkerspot","tags":["container","deer-resistant","drought","birds"],"siteSlug":"coneflower","profile":{"story":"Plains tribes used Echinacea for more than any other plant: toothache, snakebite, burns, coughs. It became one of the most-sold herbal remedies in the world, and Echinacea purpurea is grown commercially by the acre. Its garden career took off in the 1990s, and it is now one of the most recognizable American wildflowers.","wildlife":"Bumble bees, sweat bees, and butterflies work the disk florets all summer; silvery checkerspot caterpillars eat the leaves. From September to March the seed heads are goldfinch feeders, and the standing stems shelter overwintering insects.","ecosystem":"A long-lived, drought-tolerant perennial that provides three months of nectar and six months of seed. Straight-species plants are the ones that do this; double-flowered cultivars have traded the nectar for petals.","facts":["Each cone holds 200 to 300 seeds, each one a separate fruit.","Bees see a bullseye pattern in ultraviolet on the petals that we cannot.","It is not native to Long Island proper, but to nearby regions, and has naturalized here; it belongs in any Northeast garden."],"wiki":"Echinacea_purpurea"},"url":"https://www.pollinatehappiness.com/natives/purple-coneflower"},{"slug":"black-eyed-susan","common":"Black-eyed Susan","scientific":"Rudbeckia hirta","inatTaxonId":62741,"type":"perennial","regions":["northeast","midatlantic","southeast","midwest","plains","mountain"],"zones":[3,9],"sun":["full","part"],"moisture":["dry","medium"],"height":"1–3 ft","bloom":[6,7,8,9],"color":"gold","value":"Easy, self-sowing gold daisies that feed small native bees and hoverflies all summer.","hostFor":"Silvery checkerspot, wavy-lined emerald","tags":["container","drought","birds","easy"],"siteSlug":"black-eyed-susan","profile":{"story":"Named, by one story, for the Susan in an 18th-century ballad who searched the docks for her sailor, Sweet William, another flower. It is Maryland's state flower and the flower woven into the Preakness blanket, though those are usually chrysanthemums painted to match because the real thing blooms too late.","wildlife":"Its open flowers suit short-tongued bees, hover flies, and small butterflies; silvery checkerspot and wavy-lined emerald caterpillars eat the leaves; goldfinches strip the seed heads in fall.","ecosystem":"A pioneer that colonizes bare ground fast, holds it, and self-sows into any gap, making it the ideal filler while slower perennials establish.","facts":["Technically a biennial or short-lived perennial, but it reseeds so freely it is effectively permanent.","The Cherokee made a tea from the roots for colds.","It was one of the first American wildflowers exported to European gardens, in the 1700s."],"wiki":"Rudbeckia_hirta"},"url":"https://www.pollinatehappiness.com/natives/black-eyed-susan"},{"slug":"scarlet-bee-balm","common":"Scarlet bee balm","scientific":"Monarda didyma","inatTaxonId":52735,"type":"perennial","regions":["northeast","midatlantic","southeast"],"zones":[4,9],"sun":["full","part"],"moisture":["medium","wet"],"height":"2–4 ft","bloom":[7,8],"color":"red","value":"The top hummingbird plant of the Northeast garden; also draws bumble bees and clearwing moths.","tags":["hummingbird","fragrant","rain-garden"],"siteSlug":"bee-balm","profile":{"story":"The Oswego people brewed its leaves as tea and taught the practice to colonists, who drank Oswego tea in place of taxed British tea after the Boston Tea Party. Its flavor is the origin of the bergamot-like note, and the plant is named for Nicolás Monardes, a Spanish physician who wrote the first book on New World medicinal plants in 1574.","wildlife":"The top hummingbird plant in Northeast gardens: the tubular scarlet flowers are shaped for their bills. Bumble bees, hummingbird clearwing moths, and swallowtails also work it, and a specialist bee, Dufourea monardae, collects only Monarda pollen.","ecosystem":"A fast-spreading mint-family perennial for damp, rich soil that fills space quickly and feeds birds and long-tongued insects in the high-summer gap between coneflower and goldenrod.","facts":["The leaves contain thymol, the antiseptic in mouthwash.","Ruby-throated hummingbirds will defend a good bee balm patch against all comers.","Powdery mildew is cosmetic; the plant shrugs it off, and resistant selections exist."],"wiki":"Monarda_didyma"},"url":"https://www.pollinatehappiness.com/natives/scarlet-bee-balm"},{"slug":"wild-bergamot","common":"Wild bergamot","scientific":"Monarda fistulosa","inatTaxonId":85320,"type":"perennial","regions":["northeast","midatlantic","southeast","midwest","plains","mountain","southwest"],"zones":[3,9],"sun":["full","part"],"moisture":["dry","medium"],"height":"2–4 ft","bloom":[7,8],"color":"lavender","value":"Drought-tolerant bee balm covered in long-tongued bees and hummingbird moths; a specialist bee, Dufourea monardae, depends on it.","tags":["hummingbird","fragrant","drought","deer-resistant","meadow"],"profile":{"story":"The lavender-flowered prairie cousin of bee balm, used by dozens of Indigenous nations for colds, fevers, and as a seasoning. Its scent is close to the bergamot orange that flavors Earl Grey tea, which is how it got its name.","wildlife":"Long-tongued bumble bees, hummingbird moths, and butterflies crowd it in July; hummingbirds visit; two specialist bees depend on it; and the seed heads feed sparrows in winter.","ecosystem":"Tougher and more drought tolerant than scarlet bee balm, it anchors dry meadows and holds its own against aggressive neighbors, making it a reliable core plant for a mowed-once-a-year meadow.","facts":["It is more resistant to mildew than scarlet bee balm and better in sandy soil.","The dried seed heads smell of oregano all winter.","Deer and rabbits leave it alone because of the aromatic oils."],"wiki":"Monarda_fistulosa"},"url":"https://www.pollinatehappiness.com/natives/wild-bergamot"},{"slug":"showy-goldenrod","common":"Goldenrods (showy, stiff, wrinkleleaf)","scientific":"Solidago speciosa, S. rigida, S. rugosa","inatTaxonId":48678,"type":"perennial","regions":["northeast","midatlantic","southeast","midwest","plains"],"zones":[3,9],"sun":["full","part"],"moisture":["dry","medium"],"height":"2–5 ft","bloom":[8,9,10],"color":"yellow","value":"The essential fall nectar plant for migrating monarchs and hundreds of bee species; supports over 100 caterpillar species. Does not cause hay fever.","hostFor":"Over 100 moth and butterfly species","tags":["monarch","meadow","birds","deer-resistant"],"siteSlug":"goldenrod","profile":{"story":"Goldenrod's Latin name Solidago means to make whole, for its long use in wound healing. Thomas Edison bred a 12-foot goldenrod as a domestic rubber source, and Henry Ford gave him a Model T with goldenrod-rubber tires. Kentucky and Nebraska made it their state flower.","wildlife":"Goldenrods host more than 100 species of caterpillars in the Northeast, feed at least 11 specialist bees that collect only goldenrod pollen, and fuel monarchs on migration. Goldenrod gall flies, soldier beetles, locust borers, ambush bugs, and crab spiders live on them; chickadees and downy woodpeckers open the galls in winter.","ecosystem":"The most important late-season nectar and pollen source in eastern North America. A garden without goldenrod is closed in September, the month pollinators need the most.","facts":["It does not cause hay fever; its pollen is heavy and insect-carried. Ragweed, blooming at the same time, is the culprit.","Goldenrod honey is a prized dark, spicy honey.","Showy, stiff, and wrinkleleaf goldenrods clump; avoid Canada goldenrod in small gardens."],"wiki":"Solidago_speciosa"},"url":"https://www.pollinatehappiness.com/natives/showy-goldenrod"},{"slug":"new-england-aster","common":"New England aster","scientific":"Symphyotrichum novae-angliae","inatTaxonId":117443,"type":"perennial","regions":["northeast","midatlantic","southeast","midwest","plains"],"zones":[4,8],"sun":["full"],"moisture":["medium","wet"],"height":"3–6 ft","bloom":[9,10],"color":"purple","value":"Late purple daisies that pair with goldenrod to fuel the monarch migration and the last bees of the year.","hostFor":"Pearl crescent","tags":["monarch","meadow","rain-garden"],"profile":{"story":"One of the last flowers to bloom, it has been the emblem of fall in New England since colonial times. The name aster is Greek for star, and it was in the genus Aster until DNA work moved North American species to Symphyotrichum in the 1990s, to the lasting annoyance of gardeners.","wildlife":"Its purple flowers pair with goldenrod to fuel the monarch migration and feed the last bumble bee queens before they hibernate. Pearl crescent caterpillars eat the leaves, and a dozen specialist bees collect aster pollen.","ecosystem":"Fills the October gap when almost nothing else offers nectar. Its late seed feeds juncos and sparrows into winter.","facts":["Cut it back by half in early June and it will be bushier and half as tall.","Flowers close at night and in rain, protecting the pollen.","Colors range from deep purple to pink to nearly white in wild populations."],"wiki":"Symphyotrichum_novae-angliae"},"url":"https://www.pollinatehappiness.com/natives/new-england-aster"},{"slug":"smooth-aster","common":"Smooth blue aster","scientific":"Symphyotrichum laeve","inatTaxonId":129607,"type":"perennial","regions":["northeast","midatlantic","southeast","midwest","plains"],"zones":[3,8],"sun":["full","part"],"moisture":["dry","medium"],"height":"2–4 ft","bloom":[9,10],"color":"sky blue","value":"A tidy, mildew-free aster for dry soil, buzzing with small bees in October.","hostFor":"Pearl crescent","tags":["drought","deer-resistant","container"],"profile":{"story":"A prairie and dry-woodland aster with blue-gray, waxy foliage that stays clean all season, which earned it the name laeve, smooth. It was named by Linnaeus from specimens collected in the 1700s.","wildlife":"Small bees, hover flies, and late butterflies swarm the sky-blue flowers in October; pearl crescent caterpillars use the foliage.","ecosystem":"One of the best asters for dry, sandy Long Island soil, providing late nectar without the mildew and flopping of larger species.","facts":["The leaves clasp the stem and feel almost succulent.","It is among the last plants in bloom before frost.","Deer generally skip it."],"wiki":"Symphyotrichum_laeve"},"url":"https://www.pollinatehappiness.com/natives/smooth-aster"},{"slug":"white-wood-aster","common":"White wood aster","scientific":"Eurybia divaricata","inatTaxonId":127685,"type":"perennial","regions":["northeast","midatlantic","southeast"],"zones":[3,8],"sun":["part","shade"],"moisture":["dry","medium"],"height":"1–2 ft","bloom":[8,9,10],"color":"white","value":"The best native for dry shade under trees; clouds of small white daisies feed late bees where little else blooms.","tags":["shade","drought","groundcover","deer-resistant"],"profile":{"story":"The common aster of the eastern woodland floor, blooming in clouds of small white stars in September along every North Shore trail. Its zigzag stems and heart-shaped leaves make it easy to learn.","wildlife":"A crucial late nectar source for woodland bees, hover flies, and butterflies in shade where little else flowers; several moths use it as a host.","ecosystem":"One of the few plants that thrives in dry shade under oaks and maples, where it forms a living ground cover that suppresses stiltgrass and garlic mustard.","facts":["It spreads politely by rhizome and seed into a dense colony.","It tolerates root competition from trees that kills most perennials.","Pair it with Pennsylvania sedge for a native replacement for pachysandra."],"wiki":"Eurybia_divaricata"},"url":"https://www.pollinatehappiness.com/natives/white-wood-aster"},{"slug":"joe-pye-weed","common":"Joe Pye weed","scientific":"Eutrochium dubium / E. purpureum","inatTaxonId":204153,"type":"perennial","regions":["northeast","midatlantic","southeast","midwest"],"zones":[4,9],"sun":["full","part"],"moisture":["medium","wet"],"height":"3–7 ft","bloom":[7,8,9],"color":"mauve","value":"Big dusty-pink domes that tiger swallowtails and monarchs swarm in late summer.","tags":["monarch","rain-garden","meadow"],"siteSlug":"joe-pye-weed","profile":{"story":"Named, by tradition, for Joe Pye, an 18th-century Mohican healer in Massachusetts who is said to have used the plant to treat typhus. Its old name was gravel root, for its use against kidney stones. The dusty pink domes have been a late-summer landmark of wet meadows for as long as anyone has written about them.","wildlife":"Tiger swallowtails, monarchs, great spangled fritillaries, and bumble bees cover the flower heads in August; the leaves host several moth caterpillars; and the seed heads feed birds through winter.","ecosystem":"A tall, structural perennial of wet meadows and rain gardens that holds soil, drinks up runoff, and provides the largest butterfly landing pads in the late-summer garden.","facts":["The compact 'Baby Joe' at the Theodore Roosevelt Sanctuary is a selection of the Long Island native coastal plain species.","Stems are hollow and shelter small bees over winter.","Vanilla-scented when the flowers are fresh."],"wiki":"Eutrochium"},"url":"https://www.pollinatehappiness.com/natives/joe-pye-weed"},{"slug":"garden-phlox","common":"Garden phlox","scientific":"Phlox paniculata","inatTaxonId":117437,"type":"perennial","regions":["northeast","midatlantic","southeast","midwest"],"zones":[4,8],"sun":["full","part"],"moisture":["medium"],"height":"3–5 ft","bloom":[7,8,9],"color":"pink, purple, white","value":"Fragrant summer flower heads built for swallowtails, hummingbirds, and hawk moths.","tags":["hummingbird","fragrant"],"siteSlug":"phlox","profile":{"story":"Native to the eastern United States, garden phlox was sent to Europe in the 1700s and bred into hundreds of cultivars there before coming home as a cottage-garden classic. The name phlox is Greek for flame, for the bright color of the wild species.","wildlife":"The long-tubed flowers are built for swallowtails, hummingbirds, and hawk moths, which pollinate it at dusk drawn by its fragrance. Several moths, including the phlox moth, use it as a host.","ecosystem":"A midsummer nectar source for the largest pollinators, filling the July gap between bee balm and Joe Pye weed.","facts":["The wild species is a soft lavender-pink; the white and red forms are selections.","Its fragrance is strongest in the evening for moths.","Mildew-resistant selections like 'Jeana' are among the best pollinator plants in trials."],"wiki":"Phlox_paniculata"},"url":"https://www.pollinatehappiness.com/natives/garden-phlox"},{"slug":"moss-phlox","common":"Moss phlox","scientific":"Phlox subulata","inatTaxonId":68884,"type":"groundcover","regions":["northeast","midatlantic","southeast","midwest"],"zones":[3,9],"sun":["full"],"moisture":["dry"],"height":"4–6 in","bloom":[4,5],"color":"pink, lavender, white","value":"Evergreen carpet that blooms in April for the first butterflies and bees of spring.","tags":["groundcover","drought","container","spring"],"profile":{"story":"The pink carpets on old stone walls and cemetery banks every April are moss phlox, native to rocky slopes from New York to Michigan. It was a Victorian rockery favorite and has never gone out of style.","wildlife":"Its April bloom feeds the first butterflies of the year, including spring azures and early swallowtails, and queen bumble bees just out of hibernation.","ecosystem":"An evergreen ground cover for dry, sunny banks that stops erosion and needs nothing once established.","facts":["It is not a moss; the name refers to the needle-like leaves.","It flowers so densely the foliage disappears.","Shear lightly after bloom and it stays tight for decades."],"wiki":"Phlox_subulata"},"url":"https://www.pollinatehappiness.com/natives/moss-phlox"},{"slug":"little-bluestem","common":"Little bluestem","scientific":"Schizachyrium scoparium","inatTaxonId":122603,"type":"grass","regions":["northeast","midatlantic","southeast","midwest","plains","mountain","southwest"],"zones":[3,9],"sun":["full"],"moisture":["dry","medium"],"height":"2–4 ft","bloom":[8,9],"color":"copper fall color","value":"Host grass for several skipper butterflies; copper winter color and seed for sparrows.","hostFor":"Leonard's, cobweb, and dusted skippers","tags":["grass","drought","deer-resistant","container","meadow"],"siteSlug":"little-bluestem","profile":{"story":"The dominant grass of the Hempstead Plains, the only true prairie east of the Alleghenies, which once covered 40,000 acres of central Nassau County. A 19-acre remnant survives at Nassau Community College. It is also the state grass of Kansas and Nebraska.","wildlife":"Host plant for at least nine skipper butterflies, including Leonard's and cobweb skippers. Its fluffy seeds feed sparrows, juncos, and finches all winter, and its clumps shelter ground-nesting bees and overwintering insects.","ecosystem":"Deep, fibrous roots build soil and hold sand; the copper winter foliage stands through snow. It thrives on lean, dry soil where fertilizer-fed lawns fail.","facts":["The name comes from the blue-green tint at the base of the stems in summer.","Seed heads glow silver when backlit by low autumn sun.","It was the grass that fed the bison of the tallgrass prairie."],"wiki":"Schizachyrium_scoparium"},"url":"https://www.pollinatehappiness.com/natives/little-bluestem"},{"slug":"switchgrass","common":"Switchgrass","scientific":"Panicum virgatum","inatTaxonId":125727,"type":"grass","regions":["northeast","midatlantic","southeast","midwest","plains"],"zones":[4,9],"sun":["full"],"moisture":["dry","medium","wet"],"height":"3–6 ft","bloom":[8,9],"color":"airy tan seed heads","value":"Tough upright grass for screens and rain gardens; shelters overwintering insects and feeds birds.","hostFor":"Several skippers","tags":["grass","rain-garden","salt-tolerant","meadow"],"profile":{"story":"A tallgrass prairie native that also grows on Long Island's dunes and salt marsh edges. It has been studied for decades as a biofuel crop, and the Department of Energy chose it as a model energy crop in 1991.","wildlife":"Host plant for several skippers; cover for ground-nesting birds; winter seed for sparrows and juncos. Its dense clumps are where many beneficial insects overwinter.","ecosystem":"Roots reach 10 feet down, storing carbon and holding sandy soil against wind and storm surge. It tolerates salt spray, drought, and flooding, which is why it belongs in coastal rain gardens.","facts":["A single plant can live 20 years or more.","The airy seed heads turn gold in fall and stand all winter.","'Shenandoah' and 'Northwind' are selections chosen for form, not altered flowers, and work fine for wildlife."],"wiki":"Panicum_virgatum"},"url":"https://www.pollinatehappiness.com/natives/switchgrass"},{"slug":"dense-blazing-star","common":"Dense blazing star","scientific":"Liatris spicata","inatTaxonId":117439,"type":"perennial","regions":["northeast","midatlantic","southeast","midwest"],"zones":[3,9],"sun":["full"],"moisture":["medium","wet"],"height":"2–4 ft","bloom":[7,8],"color":"purple","value":"Purple bottlebrush spikes that monarchs and swallowtails cover in August.","tags":["monarch","rain-garden","container"],"profile":{"story":"A wet-meadow native from New York south, whose purple bottlebrush spikes open from the top down, the reverse of most flowers. The corms were used by several tribes for sore throats and as a diuretic.","wildlife":"Monarchs, swallowtails, and fritillaries cover it in August, and it is one of the best plants for attracting butterflies to a small garden. Bumble bees and skippers work it too, and goldfinches eat the seed.","ecosystem":"Upright, narrow, and long-blooming, it supplies concentrated nectar in the late-summer gap and fits between other plants without crowding them.","facts":["The corms are a favorite of voles; plant with a handful of gravel.","It is the blazing star sold as cut flowers in florists' shops.","Deer sometimes nibble it, but it recovers."],"wiki":"Liatris_spicata"},"url":"https://www.pollinatehappiness.com/natives/dense-blazing-star"},{"slug":"foxglove-beardtongue","common":"Foxglove beardtongue","scientific":"Penstemon digitalis","inatTaxonId":81942,"type":"perennial","regions":["northeast","midatlantic","southeast","midwest","plains"],"zones":[3,8],"sun":["full","part"],"moisture":["dry","medium"],"height":"2–4 ft","bloom":[5,6],"color":"white","value":"Early-summer tubular flowers for bumble bees and hummingbirds, bridging the gap before coneflowers open.","tags":["hummingbird","spring","deer-resistant","easy"],"profile":{"story":"A native penstemon of eastern meadows, named for its resemblance to foxglove and for the fuzzy sterile stamen, the beardtongue, inside each flower. It was Perennial Plant of the Year in 2016 as the cultivar 'Husker Red'.","wildlife":"The white tubes are sized for bumble bees, mason bees, and hummingbirds in late May and June, a lean time between spring and summer bloom. Several specialist bees collect penstemon pollen.","ecosystem":"Tough, adaptable, and clumping, it bridges the early-summer gap in nearly any soil and holds its rusty seed heads through winter.","facts":["Flowers have nectar guides visible only in ultraviolet.","The seed heads rattle and are prized in dried arrangements.","It seeds itself around gently without becoming a pest."],"wiki":"Penstemon_digitalis"},"url":"https://www.pollinatehappiness.com/natives/foxglove-beardtongue"},{"slug":"cardinal-flower","common":"Cardinal flower","scientific":"Lobelia cardinalis","inatTaxonId":48038,"type":"perennial","regions":["northeast","midatlantic","southeast","midwest","plains","southwest"],"zones":[3,9],"sun":["full","part"],"moisture":["wet"],"height":"2–4 ft","bloom":[8,9],"color":"scarlet","value":"The reddest flower in the East, pollinated almost exclusively by ruby-throated hummingbirds.","tags":["hummingbird","rain-garden","shade"],"profile":{"story":"Named for the scarlet robes of Roman Catholic cardinals when specimens reached Europe in the 1620s; Queen Henrietta Maria of England is said to have been delighted by it. It was used by Indigenous peoples as a ceremonial and love charm plant.","wildlife":"Pollinated almost exclusively by ruby-throated hummingbirds, whose foreheads pick up pollen from the flower's overhead anthers. Swallowtails visit too but rarely pollinate.","ecosystem":"A wetland and streamside plant that thrives with wet feet, stabilizes banks, and provides the reddest flower in the East at exactly the time hummingbirds are fattening for migration.","facts":["The flower's red is invisible to most bees, which is why it depends on birds.","Plants are short-lived but reseed; do not mulch over the winter rosettes.","All parts are toxic; deer leave it alone."],"wiki":"Lobelia_cardinalis"},"url":"https://www.pollinatehappiness.com/natives/cardinal-flower"},{"slug":"new-york-ironweed","common":"New York ironweed","scientific":"Vernonia noveboracensis","inatTaxonId":142979,"type":"perennial","regions":["northeast","midatlantic","southeast"],"zones":[5,9],"sun":["full"],"moisture":["medium","wet"],"height":"5–7 ft","bloom":[8,9],"color":"magenta","value":"Tall, deer-proof magenta flowers that monarchs and swallowtails favor in late summer.","tags":["monarch","deer-resistant","rain-garden","meadow"],"profile":{"story":"Named for New York, where it was first described, and for its tough, iron-hard stems. The genus honors William Vernon, an English botanist who collected in Maryland in 1698.","wildlife":"A butterfly magnet in August: monarchs, swallowtails, and skippers cover the magenta heads, and it hosts several moth caterpillars. Its late seed feeds finches.","ecosystem":"A tall wet-meadow perennial that deer refuse, making it a reliable backbone plant where browsing is heavy. Its purple pairs with goldenrod's yellow at the peak of migration.","facts":["Cut back by half in June to keep it under five feet.","The magenta is among the most intense of any native flower.","Its rusty seed heads give the plant its name as much as the stems do."],"wiki":"Vernonia_noveboracensis"},"url":"https://www.pollinatehappiness.com/natives/new-york-ironweed"},{"slug":"mountain-mint","common":"Clustered mountain mint","scientific":"Pycnanthemum muticum","inatTaxonId":126768,"type":"perennial","regions":["northeast","midatlantic","southeast","midwest"],"zones":[4,8],"sun":["full","part"],"moisture":["dry","medium"],"height":"2–3 ft","bloom":[7,8,9],"color":"silvery white","value":"Consistently rated the top pollinator plant in Northeast trials: wasps, bees, flies, and butterflies by the hundreds.","tags":["fragrant","deer-resistant","drought","meadow"],"profile":{"story":"A mint-family native of eastern meadows with silvery bracts that make the whole plant look frosted in July. Indigenous peoples used it as a seasoning and a fever tea; the leaves smell strongly of spearmint.","wildlife":"In the Mt. Cuba Center pollinator trials, clustered mountain mint attracted more insect species and individuals than any other plant tested: bees, wasps, flies, beetles, and butterflies by the hundreds. The predatory wasps it draws control garden caterpillars.","ecosystem":"A pollinator hub that also repels deer and rabbits, tolerates drought once established, and spreads into a manageable clump.","facts":["Rub a leaf on your skin; it is a traditional mosquito repellent.","The bracts are silver because of a waxy coating that reflects light.","It grows in mountains and meadows alike; the name is misleading."],"wiki":"Pycnanthemum_muticum"},"url":"https://www.pollinatehappiness.com/natives/mountain-mint"},{"slug":"golden-alexanders","common":"Golden Alexanders","scientific":"Zizia aurea","inatTaxonId":83154,"type":"perennial","regions":["northeast","midatlantic","southeast","midwest","plains"],"zones":[3,8],"sun":["full","part"],"moisture":["medium","wet"],"height":"1–3 ft","bloom":[5,6],"color":"yellow","value":"Spring umbels for tiny bees and a host plant for black swallowtail caterpillars.","hostFor":"Black swallowtail","tags":["spring","rain-garden","shade"],"profile":{"story":"A spring-blooming member of the carrot family named for Johann Baptist Ziz, a German botanist, and for its golden umbels. Early herbals confused it with the European alexanders, an old potherb, hence the name.","wildlife":"Host plant for black swallowtail caterpillars, which prefer it to garden parsley. Its flat May umbels feed small bees, hover flies, and beneficial wasps when little else is open.","ecosystem":"One of the few native spring nectar plants for meadows and rain gardens, and a host plant that keeps swallowtails off your dill.","facts":["The seeds are ribbed like tiny footballs and self-sow readily.","Foliage turns purple-bronze in fall.","It tolerates wet clay and dry shade alike."],"wiki":"Zizia_aurea"},"url":"https://www.pollinatehappiness.com/natives/golden-alexanders"},{"slug":"lanceleaf-coreopsis","common":"Lanceleaf coreopsis","scientific":"Coreopsis lanceolata","inatTaxonId":76444,"type":"perennial","regions":["northeast","midatlantic","southeast","midwest","plains"],"zones":[4,9],"sun":["full"],"moisture":["dry"],"height":"1–2 ft","bloom":[5,6,7],"color":"yellow","value":"Cheerful early-summer daisies for sandy soil; feeds small bees and later goldfinches.","tags":["drought","container","salt-tolerant","easy"],"profile":{"story":"A sandy-soil native of the East and Midwest; the name coreopsis means bug-like, for the seeds, which gave it the folk name tickseed. It is Florida's state wildflower and was scattered along highways in the 1930s in one of the first native roadside programs.","wildlife":"Small bees, hover flies, and butterflies work the yellow daisies in early summer; goldfinches eat the seed.","ecosystem":"A tough, early-blooming pioneer for sandy, salty, dry sites, including near the shore, where it stabilizes soil and self-sows into gaps.","facts":["It blooms for two months if deadheaded.","The petals have a notched, toothed tip.","It tolerates salt spray, making it a South Shore staple."],"wiki":"Coreopsis_lanceolata"},"url":"https://www.pollinatehappiness.com/natives/lanceleaf-coreopsis"},{"slug":"woodland-sunflower","common":"Woodland sunflower","scientific":"Helianthus divaricatus","inatTaxonId":84113,"type":"perennial","regions":["northeast","midatlantic","southeast","midwest"],"zones":[3,8],"sun":["part","shade"],"moisture":["dry","medium"],"height":"2–5 ft","bloom":[7,8,9],"color":"yellow","value":"A sunflower for dry shade that supports specialist bees and hosts silvery checkerspots.","hostFor":"Silvery checkerspot, painted lady","tags":["shade","drought","birds"],"profile":{"story":"The sunflower of dry oak woods and edges, a perennial cousin of the annual crop sunflower. Native Americans ate the seeds of many wild sunflowers long before the domesticated form was bred.","wildlife":"Sunflowers host about 70 caterpillar species in the Northeast, including silvery checkerspot and painted lady, and several specialist bees collect only sunflower pollen. Goldfinches and chickadees eat the seed.","ecosystem":"One of the few tall, bright bloomers for dry shade, lighting up woodland edges in August and feeding a specialist bee community.","facts":["It spreads by rhizome into colonies; give it room or a root barrier.","Flowers face the sun and track it slightly through the day.","The stems are smooth and often purple, unlike hairy field sunflowers."],"wiki":"Helianthus_divaricatus"},"url":"https://www.pollinatehappiness.com/natives/woodland-sunflower"},{"slug":"red-columbine","common":"Wild red columbine","scientific":"Aquilegia canadensis","inatTaxonId":49868,"type":"perennial","regions":["northeast","midatlantic","southeast","midwest","plains"],"zones":[3,8],"sun":["part","shade"],"moisture":["dry","medium"],"height":"1–2 ft","bloom":[4,5],"color":"red and yellow","value":"Nodding spring flowers timed for returning hummingbirds; self-sows in rocky shade.","hostFor":"Columbine duskywing","tags":["hummingbird","spring","shade","container","deer-resistant"],"profile":{"story":"The only columbine native to the East, and one of the first North American plants grown in Europe, sent from Virginia by 1640. The name comes from columba, dove, because the flower's spurs looked like a ring of doves. Several tribes used the crushed seeds as a perfume and love charm.","wildlife":"Its April bloom is timed to the return of ruby-throated hummingbirds, which are its main pollinators. Long-tongued bumble bees also visit, and the columbine duskywing skipper eats only columbine.","ecosystem":"A spring nectar source for rocky, shady, thin-soiled places where little else blooms, and a self-sowing colonizer of walls and ledges.","facts":["The nectar is hidden at the tip of the spurs; bees sometimes cheat by biting through.","Leaf miners draw squiggly lines in the leaves; harmless, and food for tiny wasps.","Seedlings appear in gravel and cracks and should be welcomed."],"wiki":"Aquilegia_canadensis"},"url":"https://www.pollinatehappiness.com/natives/red-columbine"},{"slug":"white-turtlehead","common":"White turtlehead","scientific":"Chelone glabra","inatTaxonId":82316,"type":"perennial","regions":["northeast","midatlantic","southeast","midwest"],"zones":[3,8],"sun":["part","shade"],"moisture":["wet"],"height":"2–3 ft","bloom":[8,9],"color":"white","value":"The host plant for the Baltimore checkerspot; bumble bees force their way into the turtle-shaped flowers.","hostFor":"Baltimore checkerspot","tags":["rain-garden","shade","deer-resistant"],"profile":{"story":"Named for the flower's resemblance to a turtle's head; the genus Chelone is Greek for tortoise, from a nymph turned into one for skipping Zeus's wedding. Cherokee and other healers used it for worms and skin conditions.","wildlife":"The sole host plant for the Baltimore checkerspot, Maryland's state butterfly, whose caterpillars overwinter in webs on it. Bumble bees force their way into the closed flowers, one of the best sights of late summer.","ecosystem":"A wetland and streambank plant that flowers in the September shade of stream corridors where few other natives bloom.","facts":["Watch a bumble bee disappear entirely inside a flower and back out coated in pollen.","Deer usually avoid it.","It grows in ordinary moist garden soil, not just wetlands."],"wiki":"Chelone_glabra"},"url":"https://www.pollinatehappiness.com/natives/white-turtlehead"},{"slug":"anise-hyssop","common":"Anise hyssop","scientific":"Agastache foeniculum","inatTaxonId":158076,"type":"perennial","regions":["midwest","plains","northeast"],"zones":[4,8],"sun":["full","part"],"moisture":["dry","medium"],"height":"2–4 ft","bloom":[7,8,9],"color":"lavender-blue","value":"Licorice-scented spikes that honey bees, bumble bees, and goldfinches adore; blooms for months.","tags":["fragrant","container","drought","deer-resistant"],"profile":{"story":"A prairie native of the upper Midwest, adopted into eastern gardens for its licorice scent and months of bloom. Plains tribes used it as a sweetener, a tea, and a cough medicine. It has become one of the most popular native perennials in the trade.","wildlife":"Honey bees, bumble bees, and small native bees mob it from July to frost, and it is among the top honey plants; goldfinches eat the seed in fall.","ecosystem":"An easy, drought-tolerant, deer-resistant nectar source that blooms for three months and self-sows gently.","facts":["The leaves make a genuinely good tea.","It is not native to Long Island but to the Midwest; it is a good neighbor here, not an invader.","Beekeepers estimate an acre can produce hundreds of pounds of honey."],"wiki":"Agastache_foeniculum"},"url":"https://www.pollinatehappiness.com/natives/anise-hyssop"},{"slug":"eastern-bluestar","common":"Eastern bluestar","scientific":"Amsonia tabernaemontana","inatTaxonId":126548,"type":"perennial","regions":["midatlantic","southeast","midwest"],"zones":[4,9],"sun":["full","part"],"moisture":["medium"],"height":"2–3 ft","bloom":[5,6],"color":"pale blue","value":"Steel-blue spring stars for early butterflies, then golden willow-like fall foliage.","tags":["spring","deer-resistant","easy"],"profile":{"story":"A southeastern native named for Charles Amson, an 18th-century Virginia physician, with steel-blue star flowers in May and willow-like foliage that turns gold in October. The Perennial Plant Association named a bluestar Plant of the Year in 2011.","wildlife":"Early butterflies, especially hummingbird moths and swallowtails, nectar on the spring flowers; the milky sap deters deer.","ecosystem":"A long-lived, no-maintenance perennial that provides spring nectar, summer structure, and fall color in one plant.","facts":["Clumps live for decades and rarely need division.","The seeds are odd corky cylinders.","It is in the dogbane family, related to milkweed, and equally deer-proof."],"wiki":"Amsonia_tabernaemontana"},"url":"https://www.pollinatehappiness.com/natives/eastern-bluestar"},{"slug":"false-sunflower","common":"False sunflower (oxeye)","scientific":"Heliopsis helianthoides","inatTaxonId":130382,"type":"perennial","regions":["northeast","midatlantic","southeast","midwest","plains"],"zones":[3,9],"sun":["full","part"],"moisture":["dry","medium"],"height":"3–5 ft","bloom":[6,7,8,9],"color":"gold","value":"One of the longest-blooming native daisies; feeds bees all summer and finches in fall.","tags":["meadow","birds","easy"],"profile":{"story":"Also called oxeye, it looks like a sunflower but keeps its ray petals fertile, which true sunflowers do not; hence false. It has been a meadow staple across the eastern United States since the prairies were mapped.","wildlife":"Bees and butterflies through a three-month bloom; caterpillars of several moths; goldfinch seed in fall.","ecosystem":"One of the longest-blooming native daisies, filling summer and early fall in meadows and tough sites.","facts":["It starts blooming in June, weeks before most sunflowers.","Tolerates clay, drought, and neglect.","Stems are strong and rarely flop."],"wiki":"Heliopsis_helianthoides"},"url":"https://www.pollinatehappiness.com/natives/false-sunflower"},{"slug":"wild-geranium","common":"Wild geranium","scientific":"Geranium maculatum","inatTaxonId":47699,"type":"perennial","regions":["northeast","midatlantic","southeast","midwest"],"zones":[3,8],"sun":["part","shade"],"moisture":["medium"],"height":"1–2 ft","bloom":[4,5,6],"color":"lilac pink","value":"Spring woodland flower that mining bees and bumble bee queens rely on when emerging.","tags":["spring","shade","groundcover"],"profile":{"story":"The spring geranium of eastern woodlands, called cranesbill for its beaked seed capsule. It was used by the Iroquois and others as an astringent for wounds and sore throats, and its tannin-rich root was in early American pharmacopoeias.","wildlife":"Mining bees, mason bees, and bumble bee queens rely on its May bloom; it hosts several moth species; and chipmunks and birds eat the seeds it flings.","ecosystem":"A woodland ground layer plant that fills the gap between spring ephemerals and summer, and holds slope soil with a thick rhizome mat.","facts":["The seed capsule springs open and hurls seeds up to 30 feet.","Leaves turn red in fall.","It is unrelated to the tender bedding geraniums, which are Pelargonium from South Africa."],"wiki":"Geranium_maculatum"},"url":"https://www.pollinatehappiness.com/natives/wild-geranium"},{"slug":"foamflower","common":"Foamflower","scientific":"Tiarella cordifolia","inatTaxonId":1569249,"type":"groundcover","regions":["northeast","midatlantic","southeast"],"zones":[3,8],"sun":["part","shade"],"moisture":["medium"],"height":"6–12 in","bloom":[4,5],"color":"white","value":"Frothy spring spikes for small bees over semi-evergreen maple-shaped leaves; a superb native ground cover to replace English ivy or pachysandra.","tags":["shade","groundcover","spring","deer-resistant"],"profile":{"story":"A woodland ground cover of the Appalachians and Northeast, named for its foamy white spring spikes. The genus name Tiarella means little tiara, for the shape of the seed capsule.","wildlife":"Small native bees and hover flies work the April flowers; the foliage shelters ground beetles and salamanders.","ecosystem":"An evergreen, spreading, deer-resistant native replacement for English ivy and pachysandra that suppresses weeds without smothering spring ephemerals.","facts":["The leaves are maple-shaped and often marbled with maroon.","It spreads by runners and can be divided endlessly.","Pairs well with Christmas fern and wild ginger under trees."],"wiki":"Tiarella_cordifolia"},"url":"https://www.pollinatehappiness.com/natives/foamflower"},{"slug":"golden-ragwort","common":"Golden ragwort","scientific":"Packera aurea","inatTaxonId":116329,"type":"groundcover","regions":["northeast","midatlantic","southeast","midwest"],"zones":[3,8],"sun":["part","shade"],"moisture":["medium","wet"],"height":"1–2 ft","bloom":[4,5],"color":"yellow","value":"Evergreen ground cover that smothers weeds and blooms bright yellow for early bees; a native alternative to lesser celandine.","tags":["groundcover","shade","spring","rain-garden","deer-resistant"],"profile":{"story":"A wet-woods and meadow native once used as a women's medicine, hence the old name squaw weed, now discarded. Its evergreen rosettes and April gold have made it a favorite native ground cover.","wildlife":"One of the earliest nectar sources for small bees and flies; several moth caterpillars eat it; the fluffy seed feeds finches.","ecosystem":"Forms a weed-smothering evergreen mat in damp shade or sun, out-competing lesser celandine and stiltgrass where little else can.","facts":["It contains alkaloids that make it toxic to livestock, so deer leave it alone.","The rosettes stay purple-green all winter.","It spreads fast enough to cover a bank in three years."],"wiki":"Packera_aurea"},"url":"https://www.pollinatehappiness.com/natives/golden-ragwort"},{"slug":"swamp-rose-mallow","common":"Swamp rose mallow","scientific":"Hibiscus moscheutos","inatTaxonId":82317,"type":"perennial","regions":["northeast","midatlantic","southeast","midwest"],"zones":[5,9],"sun":["full"],"moisture":["medium","wet"],"height":"4–6 ft","bloom":[7,8,9],"color":"white or pink","value":"Dinner-plate native hibiscus of Long Island's marsh edges; specialist hibiscus bees and hummingbirds visit.","tags":["rain-garden","hummingbird","salt-tolerant"],"profile":{"story":"Long Island's native hibiscus, growing in brackish and freshwater marshes along both shores. The dinner-plate flowers of the garden hardy hibiscus were bred from it. Its stem fibers were used for cordage.","wildlife":"The rose mallow bee, Ptilothrix bombiformis, collects only hibiscus pollen and nests in hard-packed soil nearby. Hummingbirds visit, and it hosts several moths including the io moth.","ecosystem":"A marsh-edge plant that tolerates salt and flooding, holds tidal banks, and blooms through August when marsh nectar is scarce.","facts":["Each flower lasts a single day, but plants produce dozens.","It is very late to emerge in spring; do not give up on it before June.","Seeds float and disperse on tides."],"wiki":"Hibiscus_moscheutos"},"url":"https://www.pollinatehappiness.com/natives/swamp-rose-mallow"},{"slug":"blue-vervain","common":"Blue vervain","scientific":"Verbena hastata","inatTaxonId":60251,"type":"perennial","regions":["northeast","midatlantic","southeast","midwest","plains","mountain"],"zones":[3,8],"sun":["full"],"moisture":["medium","wet"],"height":"3–5 ft","bloom":[7,8,9],"color":"violet-blue","value":"Candelabra spikes for small bees and a native replacement for purple loosestrife in wet meadows.","hostFor":"Common buckeye","tags":["rain-garden","meadow"],"profile":{"story":"A wet-meadow native used by many tribes and early settlers as a tonic and fever remedy; vervain was sacred to the Romans and the Druids, and the American species inherited the folklore.","wildlife":"Small bees and specialist verbena bees work the tiny flowers as they open in rings up the spikes over many weeks; it hosts the common buckeye butterfly; sparrows and juncos eat the seed.","ecosystem":"The native answer to purple loosestrife in wet meadows: tall, violet-blue, and beneficial, thriving in the same damp ground.","facts":["Flowers open a few at a time in a ring that moves up the spike.","It self-sows freely in damp soil.","The seeds are a favorite of cardinals and sparrows."],"wiki":"Verbena_hastata"},"url":"https://www.pollinatehappiness.com/natives/blue-vervain"},{"slug":"evening-primrose","common":"Common evening primrose","scientific":"Oenothera biennis","inatTaxonId":62207,"type":"perennial","regions":["northeast","midatlantic","southeast","midwest","plains","mountain"],"zones":[4,9],"sun":["full"],"moisture":["dry","medium"],"height":"3–5 ft","bloom":[7,8,9],"color":"yellow","value":"Opens at dusk for sphinx moths and specialist evening primrose bees; goldfinches eat the seed.","hostFor":"Primrose moth, white-lined sphinx","tags":["moths","drought","meadow","birds"],"profile":{"story":"A native biennial whose seeds, rich in gamma-linolenic acid, became a global herbal supplement. Indigenous peoples ate the roots and used the plant medicinally; it was taken to Europe in 1614 and naturalized there.","wildlife":"Flowers open at dusk in a few seconds, which you can watch, for sphinx moths and the specialist evening primrose bee; goldfinches strip the seed capsules all winter; primrose moth caterpillars eat the buds.","ecosystem":"A pioneer of disturbed sandy ground that feeds a night shift of pollinators most gardens ignore.","facts":["The flowers glow in ultraviolet to guide moths.","Sit by a plant at sunset and watch buds pop open one after another.","The first-year rosette is edible; the root tastes like parsnip."],"wiki":"Oenothera_biennis"},"url":"https://www.pollinatehappiness.com/natives/evening-primrose"},{"slug":"common-blue-violet","common":"Common blue violet","scientific":"Viola sororia","inatTaxonId":82816,"type":"groundcover","regions":["northeast","midatlantic","southeast","midwest","plains"],"zones":[3,9],"sun":["full","part","shade"],"moisture":["medium"],"height":"4–8 in","bloom":[4,5],"color":"violet","value":"The lawn weed that is actually the sole host plant of fritillary butterflies; let it be.","hostFor":"Great spangled fritillary and other fritillaries","tags":["groundcover","shade","spring","lawn"],"profile":{"story":"The state flower of New Jersey, Rhode Island, Illinois, and Wisconsin, and the lawn weed people spend money killing. Violets have been eaten, candied, and made into syrup since ancient Greece.","wildlife":"The sole host plants of the great spangled fritillary and other fritillary butterflies, whose caterpillars feed at night on violet leaves. Mining bees pollinate the spring flowers; a specialist bee, Andrena violae, depends on them.","ecosystem":"A native lawn plant that stays green through drought, feeds fritillaries, and tolerates mowing. Letting it be is the easiest butterfly conservation there is.","facts":["Violets also produce hidden, self-pollinating flowers underground in summer.","The leaves and flowers are edible and high in vitamin C.","Ants carry the seeds away for the oily attachment, planting them."],"wiki":"Viola_sororia"},"url":"https://www.pollinatehappiness.com/natives/common-blue-violet"},{"slug":"woodland-stonecrop","common":"Woodland stonecrop","scientific":"Sedum ternatum","inatTaxonId":127597,"type":"groundcover","regions":["northeast","midatlantic","southeast","midwest"],"zones":[4,8],"sun":["part","shade"],"moisture":["dry","medium"],"height":"3–6 in","bloom":[4,5],"color":"white","value":"The native sedum: a shade-tolerant succulent ground cover with starry spring flowers for small bees.","tags":["groundcover","shade","container","drought"],"siteSlug":"sedum","profile":{"story":"The only sedum native to the eastern woodlands, growing on rocks and logs in shade from New York to Georgia. It has been a rock-garden plant since the 1800s.","wildlife":"The starry white April flowers feed small native bees and hover flies; the succulent mats shelter tiny invertebrates.","ecosystem":"An evergreen ground cover for shady rocks and dry soil under trees where almost nothing else will grow.","facts":["Stem pieces root wherever they touch soil.","It tolerates both drought and damp shade.","Unlike the big Asian garden sedums, it blooms in spring."],"wiki":"Sedum_ternatum"},"url":"https://www.pollinatehappiness.com/natives/woodland-stonecrop"},{"slug":"lyreleaf-sage","common":"Lyreleaf sage","scientific":"Salvia lyrata","inatTaxonId":64093,"type":"perennial","regions":["midatlantic","southeast","midwest"],"zones":[5,9],"sun":["full","part"],"moisture":["dry","medium"],"height":"1–2 ft","bloom":[4,5,6],"color":"lavender-blue","value":"The native salvia: purple-tinged rosettes and spring flower spikes for bees and hummingbirds; tolerates mowing.","tags":["hummingbird","spring","groundcover","lawn"],"siteSlug":"sage","profile":{"story":"A native salvia of the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic, named for its lyre-shaped leaves, which are often purple-veined. It was used as a remedy for colds and as a salve, and its seeds, like chia, make a gel in water.","wildlife":"Bumble bees and hummingbirds visit the lavender-blue spring spikes; it hosts several moths.","ecosystem":"A native ground cover that tolerates mowing and foot traffic, useful in meadow lawns and along paths.","facts":["Leaves turn burgundy in winter sun.","It self-sows into lawns and can be mowed after bloom.","It is one of the few native salvias in the Northeast."],"wiki":"Salvia_lyrata"},"url":"https://www.pollinatehappiness.com/natives/lyreleaf-sage"},{"slug":"sweet-pepperbush","common":"Sweet pepperbush (summersweet)","scientific":"Clethra alnifolia","inatTaxonId":52867,"type":"shrub","regions":["northeast","midatlantic","southeast"],"zones":[4,9],"sun":["full","part","shade"],"moisture":["medium","wet"],"height":"4–8 ft","bloom":[7,8],"color":"white","value":"Long Island's own fragrant August shrub; the flowers hum with bees and swallowtails. The native answer to butterfly bush.","tags":["shrub","fragrant","rain-garden","shade","salt-tolerant"],"profile":{"story":"Long Island's own summer-flowering shrub, filling every wet woodland edge and pond margin with fragrance in August. Colonists used the dried flowers as a soap substitute, hence another name, soapbush. Clethra is Greek for alder, whose leaves it resembles.","wildlife":"Bees, especially bumble bees, hum audibly in a flowering pepperbush, and swallowtails and hummingbirds visit. The seed capsules feed birds and small mammals.","ecosystem":"A wetland shrub that tolerates salt spray, flooding, and shade, holds pond banks, and blooms when almost no other native shrub does.","facts":["The scent carries hundreds of feet on a humid evening.","Fall color is clear gold.","The compact 'Hummingbird' selection stays under four feet."],"wiki":"Clethra_alnifolia"},"url":"https://www.pollinatehappiness.com/natives/sweet-pepperbush"},{"slug":"buttonbush","common":"Buttonbush","scientific":"Cephalanthus occidentalis","inatTaxonId":52763,"type":"shrub","regions":["northeast","midatlantic","southeast","midwest","plains","southwest","pacific"],"zones":[5,9],"sun":["full","part"],"moisture":["wet"],"height":"6–12 ft","bloom":[6,7,8],"color":"white","value":"Golf-ball flower spheres that swallowtails, monarchs, and hummingbirds mob; thrives with wet feet.","hostFor":"Hydrangea sphinx, titan sphinx","tags":["shrub","rain-garden","hummingbird","monarch"],"profile":{"story":"A wetland shrub of the whole eastern half of the continent, named for its golf-ball flower heads. It was a favorite of Thomas Jefferson, who grew it at Monticello, and its bark was used as a fever remedy.","wildlife":"Its nectar-rich spheres draw swallowtails, monarchs, skippers, bees, and hummingbirds in July; the seed balls feed ducks and shorebirds; and it hosts several sphinx moths.","ecosystem":"It grows in standing water, stabilizing pond edges and providing waterfowl nesting cover, and it thrives in the wettest corner of a rain garden.","facts":["The flower heads are perfect spheres with hundreds of tiny tubular flowers.","Wood ducks nest in hollow buttonbush stems in the South.","It tolerates six feet of standing water."],"wiki":"Cephalanthus_occidentalis"},"url":"https://www.pollinatehappiness.com/natives/buttonbush"},{"slug":"highbush-blueberry","common":"Highbush blueberry","scientific":"Vaccinium corymbosum","inatTaxonId":52740,"type":"shrub","regions":["northeast","midatlantic","southeast","midwest"],"zones":[4,8],"sun":["full","part"],"moisture":["medium","wet"],"height":"6–10 ft","bloom":[4,5],"color":"white bells; red fall color","value":"Spring bells for bumble bee queens and specialist blueberry bees, summer fruit for birds (and you), scarlet fall color. Replaces burning bush.","hostFor":"Over 280 caterpillar species","tags":["shrub","birds","edible","fall-color","spring"],"profile":{"story":"Cultivated blueberries are less than a century old: Elizabeth White of the New Jersey Pine Barrens and USDA botanist Frederick Coville bred the first varieties from wild highbush plants in the 1910s. Before that, blueberries were a wild-harvested food for millennia. It is native to Long Island's bogs and pine barrens.","wildlife":"The spring bells feed bumble bee queens and the southeastern blueberry bee, a specialist that buzz-pollinates them. It hosts more than 280 caterpillar species, and dozens of birds, from thrushes to towhees, eat the fruit.","ecosystem":"A four-season shrub: spring nectar, summer fruit, brilliant red fall color, and red winter twigs, all while feeding more insects than nearly any other shrub.","facts":["The blue bloom on a berry is a natural wax that protects it.","Plants can live 50 years or more.","Buzz pollination: bees vibrate their flight muscles at a specific frequency to shake the pollen loose."],"wiki":"Vaccinium_corymbosum"},"url":"https://www.pollinatehappiness.com/natives/highbush-blueberry"},{"slug":"winterberry","common":"Winterberry holly","scientific":"Ilex verticillata","inatTaxonId":61119,"type":"shrub","regions":["northeast","midatlantic","southeast","midwest"],"zones":[3,9],"sun":["full","part"],"moisture":["medium","wet"],"height":"6–10 ft","bloom":[6],"color":"red berries in winter","value":"Tiny June flowers feed small bees; brilliant red berries feed robins, bluebirds, and waxwings all winter. Needs a male pollinator plant.","tags":["shrub","birds","rain-garden","winter-interest"],"profile":{"story":"The deciduous holly of eastern wetlands, whose bare red-berried branches have decorated New England homes at Christmas for centuries. The Iroquois used the bark as a fever remedy, hence the old name feverbush.","wildlife":"Its tiny June flowers feed small bees; its berries persist into winter and feed robins, bluebirds, cedar waxwings, mockingbirds, and more than 40 other bird species when little else is left.","ecosystem":"A wetland shrub that holds wet soil, tolerates flooding, and provides emergency winter bird food.","facts":["Plants are male or female; you need one male for every several females to get berries.","The berries are mildly toxic to people.","Birds usually wait until after a few freezes soften the fruit."],"wiki":"Ilex_verticillata"},"url":"https://www.pollinatehappiness.com/natives/winterberry"},{"slug":"spicebush","common":"Northern spicebush","scientific":"Lindera benzoin","inatTaxonId":54793,"type":"shrub","regions":["northeast","midatlantic","southeast","midwest"],"zones":[4,9],"sun":["part","shade"],"moisture":["medium","wet"],"height":"6–12 ft","bloom":[3,4],"color":"yellow","value":"First shrub to bloom in the woods, host of the spicebush swallowtail, and its red berries fuel migrating thrushes. Replaces bush honeysuckle.","hostFor":"Spicebush swallowtail, promethea moth","tags":["shrub","shade","birds","spring","deer-resistant"],"profile":{"story":"The understory shrub of rich eastern woods, whose twigs and berries smell of allspice. Colonists used the dried berries as a spice and the twigs as tea, and it was called wild allspice and Benjamin bush. Its flowering marks the true start of spring in the North Shore woods.","wildlife":"The spicebush swallowtail caterpillar, which mimics a snake with its false eyespots, eats only spicebush and sassafras. The promethea moth uses it too. Its fat-rich red berries fuel thrushes, catbirds, and vireos on fall migration.","ecosystem":"A shade-tolerant native shrub that replaces invasive honeysuckle and barberry in the understory and provides the earliest woodland nectar.","facts":["Scratch a twig and smell it; the scent is unmistakable.","Male plants have showier flowers; females bear the berries.","Fall color is a clear yellow that lights up shady woods."],"wiki":"Lindera_benzoin"},"url":"https://www.pollinatehappiness.com/natives/spicebush"},{"slug":"serviceberry","common":"Serviceberry (shadbush)","scientific":"Amelanchier canadensis","inatTaxonId":1538088,"type":"tree","regions":["northeast","midatlantic","southeast"],"zones":[4,8],"sun":["full","part"],"moisture":["medium"],"height":"15–25 ft","bloom":[4],"color":"white","value":"White April blossoms for early bees, June berries that birds strip in days, and orange fall color. The native replacement for Callery pear.","hostFor":"Red-spotted purple, viceroy","tags":["tree","birds","spring","fall-color","edible"],"profile":{"story":"Also called shadbush because it blooms when the shad run up eastern rivers in April, and Juneberry for its fruit. The name serviceberry may come from its bloom coinciding with the first spring funeral services when the ground thawed. Its fruit went into pemmican and pies for millennia.","wildlife":"April flowers feed early bees; June fruit is stripped by robins, cedar waxwings, orioles, and thrushes within days; and it hosts red-spotted purple and viceroy caterpillars.","ecosystem":"A small, four-season native tree that provides the first nectar, the first fruit, and orange fall color, and replaces Callery pear in every way that matters.","facts":["The berries taste like blueberry with almond and are excellent if you can beat the birds.","Smooth gray bark makes it handsome in winter.","It tolerates part shade and city conditions."],"wiki":"Amelanchier_canadensis"},"url":"https://www.pollinatehappiness.com/natives/serviceberry"},{"slug":"eastern-redbud","common":"Eastern redbud","scientific":"Cercis canadensis","inatTaxonId":48502,"type":"tree","regions":["midatlantic","southeast","midwest","plains","northeast"],"zones":[4,9],"sun":["full","part"],"moisture":["medium"],"height":"20–30 ft","bloom":[4],"color":"magenta","value":"Magenta pea flowers along bare branches in April, a lifeline for emerging bumble bee queens and mason bees.","hostFor":"Henry's elfin","tags":["tree","spring"],"profile":{"story":"A small tree of eastern woodland edges whose magenta flowers grow straight out of bare branches and even the trunk in April. George Washington transplanted redbuds from the woods to Mount Vernon. The flowers are edible and were pickled by early settlers.","wildlife":"The early flowers are a lifeline for emerging bumble bee queens, mason bees, and leafcutter bees, which cut its round leaves for nest lining; Henry's elfin butterfly caterpillars eat the buds and pods.","ecosystem":"A legume that fixes nitrogen, tolerates shade, and provides spring nectar and heart-shaped summer shade in small spaces.","facts":["Flowers sprouting from the trunk are called cauliflory, common in the tropics and rare here.","The heart-shaped leaves turn yellow in fall.","Seedpods hang on into winter and feed birds."],"wiki":"Cercis_canadensis"},"url":"https://www.pollinatehappiness.com/natives/eastern-redbud"},{"slug":"white-oak","common":"White oak","scientific":"Quercus alba","inatTaxonId":54779,"type":"tree","regions":["northeast","midatlantic","southeast","midwest"],"zones":[3,9],"sun":["full"],"moisture":["dry","medium"],"height":"60–80 ft","bloom":[5],"color":"n/a","value":"Oaks host more caterpillar species than any other plant genus in North America (over 500 in the Northeast), which is what feeds nesting songbirds. The most valuable tree you can plant.","hostFor":"500+ caterpillar species","tags":["tree","birds","keystone"],"profile":{"story":"The tree of American history: the USS Constitution's hull, whiskey barrels, and colonial ships were all white oak, and the Charter Oak of Connecticut was one. Individual trees live 300 to 600 years. It is the state tree of Connecticut, Illinois, and Maryland.","wildlife":"Oaks host more caterpillar species than any other plant in North America, well over 500 in the Northeast, which is what feeds nesting warblers, chickadees, and vireos. The acorns feed deer, turkeys, blue jays, wood ducks, and squirrels, and the bark shelters countless insects and bats.","ecosystem":"The keystone species of the eastern forest. Planting one oak does more for birds than a whole bed of perennials, and it will still be doing it in the 24th century.","facts":["White oak acorns are sweet and were a staple food of eastern tribes, ground into flour after leaching.","Blue jays plant thousands of acorns a year and forget many of them, which is how oak forests spread north after the ice age.","The wood's tyloses make it watertight, which is why it holds bourbon."],"wiki":"Quercus_alba"},"url":"https://www.pollinatehappiness.com/natives/white-oak"},{"slug":"black-cherry","common":"Black cherry","scientific":"Prunus serotina","inatTaxonId":54834,"type":"tree","regions":["northeast","midatlantic","southeast","midwest","plains"],"zones":[3,9],"sun":["full","part"],"moisture":["dry","medium"],"height":"50–80 ft","bloom":[5],"color":"white","value":"Keystone tree: spring flowers for bees, fruit for dozens of bird species, and host to more than 400 caterpillar species. Replaces tree-of-heaven.","hostFor":"Eastern tiger swallowtail, red-spotted purple, cecropia moth","tags":["tree","birds","keystone"],"profile":{"story":"The largest native cherry and one of the most valuable furniture woods in North America; 18th-century cabinetmakers called it New England mahogany. The bark's wild cherry flavor was the base of cough syrups and of the cherry in early sodas.","wildlife":"A keystone tree hosting more than 400 caterpillar species, including eastern tiger swallowtails, red-spotted purples, and giant silk moths like the cecropia. Its May flowers feed bees; its August fruit feeds more than 30 bird species and the foxes and raccoons that spread its pits.","ecosystem":"A fast-growing pioneer that reforests old fields, feeds birds and insects at every stage, and replaces tree-of-heaven in the same disturbed sites.","facts":["The bark on young trees has horizontal lines and smells of almonds; mature bark looks like burnt potato chips.","Wilted leaves are toxic to livestock, but fresh leaves and ripe fruit are fine.","Tent caterpillars love it, and so do the cuckoos that eat tent caterpillars."],"wiki":"Prunus_serotina"},"url":"https://www.pollinatehappiness.com/natives/black-cherry"}]}