Even as the weather gets colder in the Chicagoland area some plants are flowering. Witch hazel, Hamamelis virginiana, has fragrant, yellow flowers with narrow, crumpled petals and green leaves that turn yellow this time of year.
You may be familiar with this plant as an extract found in toners or lotions, but this local plant also plays a role in understory ecosystems.
Help Budburst find this important Chicagoland native plant!
Oriental bittersweet, Celastrus orbiculatus, has thin vines with round, alternately arranged leaves. Its flowers are small and green and produce red seeds encased in yellow pods.
Oriental bittersweet vines travel up and around the plants that it is growing near, smothering them or causing them to break due to excess weight.
Help Budburst find this invasive plant so that it can be better controlled!
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