Identifying wildflowers

So is it a wildflower or a weed?

And I have no idea how I got that green underline!!
Email question from Kim:

Anyway, my driveway or what will someday be the SHARED driveway, has daisies and a few other wildflowers growing along it, and there is some wetlands where ducks and geese swim and the catanine tails (not sure of the spelling) grow in abundance. There are pink and purple flowers along the way but never knew what they were so I never dug them up because I wasn't sure if they would overtake everything.

nb:(can't get font to change, so I changed the color for my comments)

The "catanine" referred to, is Common Cattail or Typha latifolia, common in wetlands.

So I am attaching a few more pics of the different flowers along the drive and maybe you can help me to identify them and tell me if it would be worth digging some of them up to bring the closer to my property.

nb: You would need to be sure what you are wanting to dig is not on an endangered species list. Those plants, like Jack-in -the -Pulpit and Lady Slippers are not supposed to be dug up unless they are on your own property. I have taken seeds of wildflowers that I am interested in and brought them to my gardens that way, except for Milkweed, which I transplanted for my Monarch Butterflies. Milkweed is not on an endangered species. The Monarch Butterfly lovers have been asking people for years to plant milkweed to give them places to lay their eggs. So many of the open fields have been developed and in the process wiped out so many native Monarch breeding grounds.

The sun is setting quickly, so I will go see if I can get the pictures before it's too late.
IF you could help me to identify them I would be truly grateful. :-) I looked in the books I have and online under wild flowers and the sub-categories and didn't find these.

Pictures are attached as to what is growing in the wild. The kids, grandkids and I walked after dinner tonight as much of the acreage (sp?) as we could as there is a lot of wetlands, and that hollyhock is a loner! No more to be seen anywhere up here. Isn't that strange?

There is a picture attached of a spikey purple flower similar to a liatris then there is another with my 5 yr old standing next to it. Look at the height of the thing.

This is Lythrum salicaria, also called Purple loosestrife. This plant is on the MA Prohibited Plant List, which I discovered when looking for a list of MA native plants. The full list can be found at http://www.mass.gov/agr/farmproducts/proposed_prohibited_plant_list.

This is the plant that has been invading all our wetlands, and choking out the native plants in ponds and lakes. If you have any it needs to be completely destroyed - it will take over your gardens, and choke out existing plantings. I am having a problem with Bittersweet that came in from my neighbor's yard. When I got sick, and not in my garden for several years, it just came in and took over several areas - it choked out all my heather and several roses, and is in my Quince gardens, which I will have to prune to the ground to eradicate it! Luckily the Quince will grow back. My other plants weren't so lucky.

This plant is the wonderful Black Raspberry, now being picked by Mia in our gardens! When fully ripe it produces a small black berry, which is the sweetest tasting berry!! And oh, how tasty right off the bush! I have cultivated them and also Blackberries, which have a much larger berry, and a very similar plant. I don't even try to tell them apart. I can do that when the berries start to grow. Some people refer to these two as brambles - they are very thorny and grow wild all over this area.

This is Queen-Anne's-Lace, or Daucus carota, var. carota. This will sometimes have one or two red or black dots right in the middle. It is said that it is the blood drop from Queen Anne's finger. There is an annual form called False Queen Anne's Lace, which has a similar flower.
This is a biennial, which I love, and have all over the gardens. I make sure to deadhead most of it so that it doesn't end up everywhere.


This is Common Yarrow, Achillea millefolium. I really limit this in the garden - I have a few plants down near the street to be able to show it to people for identification purposes only. It spreads by seed and underground runners, which can be a pain to deal with. I have also had a pink variety which I have had in the garden, but I find it too much trouble to keep in check.


This is Butter-and-Eggs, Linaria vulgaris, a sweet wildflower that kids adore. It's like a tiny Snapdragon.


This photo shows Loosestrife and what looks to be a Fleabane, Erigeron philadelphicus. I have this in many areas (the Fleabane) - it is a sweet daisy like flower. I just make sure I deadhead it as it is quite invasive, but looks so nice with the Lupines and Black Eyed Susans.


This is Common St. Johnswort, Hypericum perforatum, much sought after by herbalists. I have it in the street area.


This is Common Mullein, Verbascum thapsus. I consider it a weed in my garden, as it is so large.


Looks like it could be Spotted Knapweed, Centaurea maculosa.


This is Rabbit-foot Clover,Trifolium arvense.

This is a Yellow Clover, a filed clover, Trifolium Campestre, also known as Low Hop Clover. Thank you Carey for your help with these two identifications.