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This is a North American native species that is often confused with the East Asian species Korean Mint (Agastache rugosa) or Anise Hyssop (Agastache 'Blue Fortune'), which looks like a cultivar of it or a hybrid with it as a parent, and I have seen native plant nurseries use pictures of what looks like the East Asian species and sell it under the name of the North American native species. Many of the photos on this profile look like the East Asian species to me.

They look quite similar and have a similar anise aroma, but the North American native has glossier leaves that tend to be darker green with teeth that are not as rounded. If you look at the underside of the leaf closely, the North American species is said to have very dense small hairs on the underside, whereas the East Asian species has more scattered larger hairs, densest around veins. (This doesn't seem to hold true for my seedling plants, which I thought were the North American native, so perhaps my hand lens isn't good enough, or it is only true of mature leaves or it is not true of all genetic variants or that my plant is a hybrid between these two species.) The East Asian species often has an indented leaf base (a more heart-shaped leaf) and the leaves tend to be a bit wider in proportion to the length.

These differences are reported on a PDF produced by Terry Serres for Big River Big Woods, the chapter of Wild Ones in the Twin Cities. It may be that some of these differences are not completely accurate or that there are better ways of distinguishing the species, or that there are hybrids between Agastache species that also need to be distinguished from Agastache foeniculum and Agastache rugosa. I tend to go on the rule of thumb that the East Asian species tends to have denser flower clusters without gaps, and wider leaves directly under the flower clusters, but I am not sure if that holds true either, looking at photos of Agastache rugosa on this site. I think more research on the differences is warranted and hopefully more native plant nurseries will get clued in to this problem and make sure they are selling the genuine North American species.

Sometimes said to be an exceptional specimen of the US native, Amsonia tabernaemontana, discovered in a New England nursery, but George Coombs of the Mt Cuba Center reports that they grow the Blue Ice cultivar next to Amsonia orientalis (native to Turkey) in their Amsonia test beds and they bloom at the same time, have the same growth habit, get the same disease in the summer time that no other Amsonia gets, so they are very likely the same species. Link to the exact part of the YouTube video where he was interviewed below. Plant Delights Nursery similarly reports that a "paternity test" (not sure what that means; some sort of DNA comparison?) reveals it to be A. orientalis. This is useful information if someone is thinking of planting it in a native garden to support insects; it might not be as useful for local pollinators or plant-eating insects as one of the native species of Amsonia.

A very small slender-leaved sedge. Stays in a pretty tight clump, spreading by short rhizomes. Tolerates dry soil. Blooms pretty early in the spring. The seeds are dark brown when ripe (in summer) and look large in comparison to the slender stems.

A native plant that has tall candelabra-like flower clusters with small nondescript cup-like flowers. The flowers are good for attracting bees and wasps because they produce quite a bit of nectar. I grow this in a rain garden among other mostly tall native plants. To extend the blooming season, plant Early Figwort (Scrophularia lanceolata).

A common weed in my yard. Contrary to popular belief, the berries are edible when fully ripe (black and ready to fall off the plant, or already on the ground). They taste a little tomatoey and have an amazing fragrance. They remind me of blueberries or boysenberries. Unfortunately, they're so tiny that it's hard to get enough to make anything out of.

Huge sandpapery leaves, very tall smooth flower stems. I have this growing in back of the garage, and it's blooming for the first time.

The other variety of the species, Tansy Dock (Silphium terebinthinaceum var. pinnatifidum) , apparently has leaves with lobed edges, perhaps reminiscent of Compass Plant (Silphium laciniatum) .

A nutritious weed: high in vitamin A, vitamin E, minerals, and omega-3 fatty acids. It has a slightly sour and salty taste, and the leaves have a slimy texture. It is good chopped up in a salad with feta cheese and diced tomatoes. I discard the older stems, because they're fibrous and tough.

This species and variety is similar to the common weed, Common Purslane (Portulaca oleracea) , but it has wider leaves, and the stems grow straight up instead of trailing on the ground.

The wider leaves should make it more vigorous, because wider leaves mean more photosynthesis, but the larger leaves seem to be enjoyed by the leaf-mining caterpillars of the purslane sawfly (Schizocerella pilicornis). I squish the caterpillars whenever I see them inside the leaves, eating the insides, but the plants are still losing large portions of their leaves.

According to Google Patents (http://www.google.com/patents/...), this is a hybrid of Komakusa (Dicentra peregrina 'Hien') and Wild Bleedingheart (Dicentra eximia) bred by Akira Shiozaki, and it is the first of a line of hybrids with fragrant flowers. The flowers are a stunning shade of dark red, much like Bleeding Heart (Dicentra 'Burning Hearts') .

Like Bleeding Heart (Dicentra 'Candy Hearts') and Bleeding Heart (Dicentra 'Ivory Hearts') , this is a hybrid of Komakusa (Dicentra peregrina) , the Japanese and Siberian alpine species, and Wild Bleedingheart (Dicentra eximia) , the Appalachian species, bred by Akira Shiozaki.

This and 'Candy Hearts' have a similar flower shape, very much like D. peregrina. Each of the three hybrids has a different flower color: pink for 'Candy Hearts', white for 'Ivory Hearts', and deep pink, almost red, for 'Burning Hearts'.

According to Bleeding Hearts, Corydalis, and Their Relatives, this is a Japanese hybrid between Komakusa (Dicentra peregrina) , the Japanese and Siberian alpine species, and Wild Bleedingheart (Dicentra eximia) , the Appalachian species.

It has almost the exact same parentage as Bleeding Heart (Dicentra 'Ivory Hearts') , except that hybrid descended from a white-flowered form of D. eximia instead of a pink-flowered form. Bleeding Heart (Dicentra 'Burning Hearts') is another hybrid with the same parentage, with darker pink, almost red, flowers. These three hybrids were crossed by Akira Shiozaki.

Like its parent, D. peregrina, it doesn't like hot summers, but it's a gorgeous plant and grows well in a spot with morning sun and afternoon shade. Both this variety and 'Burning Hearts' have flowers that are about the same shape as D. peregrina. Maybe the difference is that the leaves are bigger, but I'm not sure, because I haven't seen the Japanese species in person.

According to Bleeding Hearts, Corydalis, and Their Relatives, this is a Japanese hybrid between Komakusa (Dicentra peregrina) , the Japanese and Siberian alpine species, and Dicentra eximia 'Alba', a white-flowered variety of the Appalachian species. It was bred by Akira Shiozaki, who also bred Bleeding Heart (Dicentra 'Candy Hearts') and Bleeding Heart (Dicentra 'Burning Hearts') .

It doesn't like hot and humid summers, like its parent D. peregrina, but it's also a gorgeous plant and can be grown in a spot with morning sun.

According to Bleeding Hearts, Corydalis, and Their Relatives, this is probably a hybrid of Oregon bleeding heart (Dicentra formosa subsp. oregona) and Wild Bleedingheart (Dicentra eximia) . I think they mean that the parentage isn't documented, but they are guessing based on what it looks like (flower and leaf characteristics).

According to Bleeding Hearts, Corydalis, and Their Relatives, this is a German hybrid bred by Ernst Pagels, and its parents were Wild Bleedingheart (Dicentra eximia) and Pacific Bleeding Heart (Dicentra formosa) . Said to be very tolerant of hot and humid climates, a characteristic that it got from D. eximia.

According to Bleeding Hearts, Corydalis, and Their Relatives, this is a chance seedling of Pacific Bleeding Heart (Dicentra 'Bountiful') with very finely cut leaves, introduced to the gardening world by Blooms of Bressingham, a nursery in England and named after one of their owners. Like D. 'Bountiful', it's a hybrid of Oregon bleeding heart (Dicentra formosa subsp. oregona) and Wild Bleedingheart (Dicentra eximia) .

According to Bleeding Hearts, Corydalis, and Their Relatives, this is a hybrid of Oregon bleeding heart (Dicentra formosa subsp. oregona) and Wild Bleedingheart (Dicentra eximia) bred in Canada by Richard Manske.

A delightful little succulent plant. Flowers are tiny, and they only appear in late afternoon, but they are such a bright pink, almost magenta, and they are produced for a long time during the hot part of the summer. They need bare soil to grow on.

This is an eastern and central North American species very similar to the European species, Plantain (Plantago major) . According to Minnesota Wildflowers, the native has purple bases to the leaf stalks and more elongated seed pods. Illinois Wildflowers mentions that the seed pods on the native species split open at the bottom, while the seed pods on the European species split open in the middle. The leaf stem and blade on the native are sometimes longer, up to 14 inches instead of 11 inches, but that's rare when the plants are growing in a regularly mown lawn.

I took a look at the plantains in my lawn, and so far it looks like I only have the native.

I have Late Figwort (Scrophularia marilandica) , so I got seeds of this species, which blooms earlier, to extend the season.

I grew this two years ago. It has glossy dark green leaves with green stems, a nice turnip green flavor, and doesn't mind the summer heat. It had holes eaten in it by bugs, so this year I planted Spotted Beebalm (Monarda punctata) and Narrowleaf Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum tenuifolium) nearby to attract wasps, to hopefully eat the bugs if they attack this year's crop.