Mild water-pepper

Mild water-pepper, a type of smartweed, plants which are in the buckwheat family.  This one gave us some trouble in identifying it, but we think it is probably mild water-pepper because the flowers are distributed so sparsely along the stem.

Growing by a path below 116th street in the center of Morningside Park, Manhattan.

Poor-man's-pepper

Poor-man's-pepper.  The little white flowers are not much to speak of, but the seeds in the flat, round seedpods are edible and do, in fact, taste spicy like pepper.

Growing behind a chain-link fence in an empty lot in Harlem.

Prickly lettuce

Prickly lettuce.  What this picture doesn't quite convey is how very tall these guys are - at least four feet, maybe five.  The flowers look a bit like dandelion, but lots of them branch off of each long stalk.

This plant has a couple similar-looking relatives, but we think it is probably prickly lettuce because of the very spiky serrated edges of the leaves.

Growing near the northwest exit from the Ramble, via the bridge over the upper lobe of the Lake, Central Park.

Indian strawberry

This yellow flower is closed up in the picture, but notice the little pedestal it's on, with three-lobed leaves underneath and extending beyond the sepals.  This is indian strawberry.  Whence the name, you ask?

Amazing!  But sadly, unlike cultivated strawberry, they are not edible.

Growing in the middle of the Ramble, Central Park.

Gill-over-the-ground

This plant, which may be familiar to you, goes by many names: gill-over-the-ground, ground ivy, catsfoot, creeping charlie, etc.  It has very recognizable round, neatly scalloped leaves, and tubular lavender flowers.  Like many other members of the mint family, it spreads like a weed.

Growing near some creeping buttercups, on the western margin of the Lake, Central Park.

Creeping buttercup

Creeping buttercup.  There are many types of buttercups in our area, but this one is easily distinguished because of the light spots dappling its leaves.  You can see this on the leaf in the bottom center of the picture (it looks a bit like a carrot leaf).  This flower sprouts up from a vine that grows horizontally along the ground, thus the "creeping" in its name.

Growing in the marshy ground at the margin of the west side of the Lake, Central Park.

Foxglove beardtongue

Foxglove beardtongue.  This white relative of hairy beardtongue and fellow member of the snapdragon family has three equal petals below, and two differently-shaped petals on top.  Its lance-shaped leaves grow opposite from one another up the stalk.

Technically I'm not certain it is "foxglove" beardtongue - there are several white beardtongues in our area, but they are so close to one another that they can only be distinguished on extremely technical characteristics.

Growing on the west side of the Lake, Central Park.