Pokeweed is a very distinctive, succulent plant here on Cape Cod. Its 1/4″ flowers are racemes with 5 white to pinkish round waxy sepals and green centers. Its leaves are large and egg-shaped. The stems turn red with age and the berries turn a dark blue.
It is a large plant which grows from 4-10 feet and blooms from July to September in open woods and fields. I saw these Pokeweeds at Fort Hill in Eastham along the side of the trail by the Nauset Marsh.
In the first photograph you can see the buds before they bloom to the left and as they bloom on the right. In the 2nd photograph you can see the dark blue berries that hang from the plant and look like grapes.
After reading one of the comments, I realized that Pokeweeds are very toxic plants, both the berries and the stem. Stay far away!
The Common Milkweed wildflowers look like a ball of little flowers which you can find all over Cape Cod this summer.
Common Milkweed wildflowers have tiny purplish to pink flowers which grow in 2″ round clusters . They bloom from June to August in fields and roadsides. I saw these Common Milkweed on the side of the trail while hiking at Fort Hill in Eastham.
The first photograph shows a fully bloomed cluster and the second photograph shows one that is just blooming.
These Bladder Campion wildflowers were just starting to bloom at Fort Hill in Eastham On Cape Cod. The flowers are 3/4″ and with lobed petals and protruding pistils which bloom from June to September.
You could see this gorgeous 3 masted ship from Fort Hill in Eastham on Cape Cod. It was just spectacular as it sailed across the ocean in front of Nauset Break and Nauset Beach in the late afternoon.
I could only see it in one little overlook at Fort Hill, so I clicked away.
Beautiful, don’t you think? Reminded me of the olden sailing days and the tall ships…
I was taking a hike at Fort Hill the other evening when I saw this little bit of purple out of the corner of my eye. It was on the side of the trail at Fort Hill and pretty hidden in the climbing vines.
But, I was able to take a photograph of it and then look it up in my wildflower book when I got home. It is a Climbing Nightshade wildflower and very delicate and pretty. Its flowers almost look like the Shooting Star wildflowers that I used to see out in Colorado.
The Climbing Nightshade is a climbing vine with purple shooting star shaped flowers with 5 petals which grow in clusters at the end of long stems. The flowers are just 1/2″ to 1″ and bloom from June to August.
This is my first Climbing Nightshade. Have you ever seen one?
Cape Cod daily articles on the wonderful Cape Cod places to hike, experience and photograph. A Cape Cod Outdoor Adventure Series.
