Since we are now passing through the part of our year that the calendar tells us is midsummer, it seems appropriate to say something about the wildflowers that are predominant at this season.

Just now, everything wild might seem to be sporting something yellow. Yet, that should come as no surprise. Spring flowers, perhaps reflecting the season, tend to show cool colors: white, lavender, pink and blue are spring shades. Yellow, orange, and red appear during the warmest days.

Just now, we are on the reverse slope and passing through the most prevalent yellow phase, heading toward the purple, blue, and white phase of the cool down. We are now passing through the time of the yellow composite — otherwise known as the time of the yellow daisy. It’s a fact of life.

These large yellow daisies can be difficult to tell apart. The first one of the type to come on the scene usually begins to open its flowers during the last days of June. This one has flowers of a deep yellow-orange, a color that is not matched by anything else in the wild around here. And every floret in the head is fertile.

All parts of the flowers on this one are one color, too. In growth habit, this one branches widely but rarely gets more than shoulder high on folks of average height. Probably because the disc, the center of each flower, bulges outward, it goes by the name Ox-eye.

Most easily confused with the Ox-eye are the members of the sunflower clan. In our area a few of these may have been showing some flowers for as much as two weeks. Indeed, one species, the Naked Sunflower, may have been carrying flowers since mid-July.

This one grows only about waist high, has few flowers on nearly leafless stems (hence the name) and grows only in relatively dry sandy soil.

Several other species with stature ranging from less than shoulder high all the way up to 12 feet may be found growing in various soils and locations throughout our area. Some of these are best adapted to wood edges, some prefer wet places and some would be happy to grow anywhere. The most adaptable used to grow in fence rows or along the roads, but most of these have lost out to modern mowers and herbicides.

In order to rate the name sunflower, all of these plants must share certain characteristics. They must be large, yellow-flowered daisies, though the discs need not be the same color as the ray flowers. The discs of the flowers of many species are black, but the rays must all be yellow. They must have fibrous root systems, though they may also spread by rhizomes, which are underground runners. No sunflower that I know of has a taproot.

All the disc flowers must be fertile. Each one must produce a seed. Among the sunflowers, the ray flowers produce none.

Many other characteristics separate the members of this tribe into the many species that grow in North America. And there are a couple of other genera that I have not mentioned here that could conceivably be confused with the sunflowers, but, for now, this will have to do.

Look for sunflowers now along the trail.