If you’re not looking for them, you probably won’t see them. The tiny flowers of Maryland figwort Scrophularia marilandica, a member of the figwort family (Scrophulariaceae), range from reddish to almost brown in color. The flowers look like a miniature upside down scoop. The leaves and the root have been used medicinally. A tea of the leaves is traditionally used as a folk remedy for restlessness, anxiety and a mild sleep aid. Native groups used the root for fevers, hemorrhoids, and as a diuretic.

One of the most beautiful fall wildflowers, cardinal flower Lobelia cardinalis, has striking scarlet blooms. It’s a difficult plant to photograph because the vibrant flowers have a somewhat reflective texture making it easy to get an over-exposure blowing out details. Therefore, if using a reflective metering system, the photographer must adjust the exposure with an 18 percent gray background. The root and leaves were used by indigenous groups for various purposes. The root infusion was used for stomachache, syphilis, typhoid and worms. Leaf tea was utilized for colds, crop, nosebleed, fever and other uses. Historically, it was mentioned as a possible substitute for Lobelia or Indian-tobacco (Lobelia inflata), but considered weaker. Cardinal flower is an obscure medicinal plant seldom if ever used and best appreciated as a wildflower. See Foster and Duke 2nd edition (2002) for more information on medicinal use of various Lobelias.

American hogpeanut Amphicarpaea bracteata is one of those wildflowers you might not notice if you weren’t look for it. This member of the pea family has an edible root and apparently edible seed pods. The Pawnee are said to have collected and eaten the tiny beans found in the seed pod. The Omaha were observed collecting the nut-like tuber from the stores of field mice who had put them away for the winter. The root was also recorded as a possible treatment for diarrhea in tea.

Several members of the genus Bidens are referred to by the common name “Spanish needles.” A rather small inconspicuous plant that most might call a “weed” Spanish needles Bidens bipinnata, an aster family member (Asteraceae), has bipinnate (twice pinnately divided) leaves as the species name implies. An obscure medicinal plant, the Cherokee were reported to chew the leaves to treat a sore throat.