Welcome to Awesome Native Plants
American Beech - Fagus grandifolia
It's pale papery leaves are persistent in the winter forest. It is a solemn landscape as the BLD (Beech Leaf Disease) threatens to put them into oblivion. A sobering thought.
To learn about the tree and its utility click: Beech (1) and Beech (2).
Beechdrops (Epifagus virginiana) which depend of beech trees will have the same fate : Click here.
Wingstem - - NEW PAGE
Wingstem - Verbesina alternifolia
Consider these tall early fall blooming plants for your yard next year.
As a composite, they have flowers that are relatively easier to observe in detail. See the basic structure of composites. Did you know that all composites use the 'plunger' technique to expose their pollen like the cardinal flowers? Read more about basic composite features and wingstem.
Click here.
Autumn Colors
Red Maple - Acer rubrum
Contributing deep reds to the collage of yellows and greens are the red maple leaves. Red maple is one of the most abundant trees in the east. It grows in a wide range of conditions.
Click here to learn more about Red Maple.
See also our collection of plants with colorful fall leaves: Click here.
Gentiana clausa - Closed Gentian
There are 7 species of gentians native to NJ. Three are presumed or possibly extirpated. Learn about the remaining 4:
- Gentiana clausa - Closed Gentian
- Gentiana andrewsii - Bottle Gentian
- Gentiana saponaria - Soapwort Gentian
- Gentiana autumnalis - Pinebarren Gentian
About AWESOME NATIVE PLANTS
This is the website of Millie & Hubert Ling. This site was created in September 2021 and is is dedicated to Native Plants mainly of New Jersey with a focus on the Plant Profiles & Photos pages. The goal here is to continue these. Also we will be adding trip reports of our many hikes in NJ. Hubert is a regular writer for the Gardener News and we will be republishing some of his articles. Continued in 'About Us': Click Here
WHY all the FUSS about NATIVE PLANTS?
What are they and why they are important?. Get the definitions and why they are important and how to find out if a plant is native or not. Also, NEW, added information on rarity in NJ. Click Here
in our 'Resources" section.
Looking around in NATURE: HIKES
Start planning where to hike for next year. NEW: Added: a list of conservation organizations that have preseves which are great places to see native plants. Click Here
BEAUTY and BEYOND
Get to know your native plants. Visit our Plant Profiles & Photos section for photos of not only the beautiful flowers but also their parts and what makes them work.
'GARDENERS NEWS' reprints
Hubert Ling as NPSNJ horticulture has been writing articles for 'Gardener News' since 2015. Some of his articles are being reprinted here. See them at Resources .
Autumn
All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful,
The Lord God made them all.
(Anglican hymn)
Study and photography unfolds a whole new dimension of intricacies and interdependencies that commands deference and awe.
"The Lord God made them all"