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.

Hedge bindweed

Such an ugly name for such a large, pretty flower.  This is the vine hedge bindweed - obviously a relative of the morning glory.  Both flowers can have this white and pink color: you can tell it is a hedge bindweed because of its arrowhead-shaped leaves, whereas morning glories have heart-shaped leaves.

arrowhead-shaped leaves

Growing in a bush set back from the west side of the staircase up to the 116th street exit on the west side of Morningside Park, Manhattan.

Common mallow

Common mallow.  These plants have cute dark leaves shaped like lily-pads and they like to grow right up on the border of sidewalks, on land that has been disturbed.  They are relatives of the European "marsh mallow" plant which - yes - was originally used to make real marshmallows.  You can use this plant to make them too, apparently, by boiling the leaves or seed pods in water until it is thick, mixing in sugar, then whipping the mixture up until it has a foamy texture and allowing spoonfuls of it to dry.  The leaves and wheel-shaped seedpods are also edible on their own.  Okra is in the mallow family, so it's unsurprising that both that vegetable and this plant have a mucilaginous texture when cooked.

The flowers can be white, or light pink-purple, or streaked with both colors, like this one.

Growing alongside the lower-level, east side path at about 122nd street in Morningside Park, Manhattan.

Red clover

Red clover.  They're bigger and usually grow taller than their white clover relatives, but otherwise look similar.  These flowers are edible.

West side of the Reservoir, Central Park.

Common fleabane

Common fleabane - also called Philadelphia fleabane, or if it's white, daisy fleabane. 

In front of an empty building in Harlem.