Autumn scene with the dried brown stems of spotted horsemint in the foreground. The verticels (leftover sepals) look like brown pompoms along the stems. Each of those little tubes leftover from each flower contains four tiny nutlets that are the seeds for the next generation.
The base of the same spotted horsemint plant, showing new growth (narrow, sword shaped leaves) that will stay mostly green through the winter. It might turn a bit red, but the icy wind doesn't seem to damage it much now that we no longer have snow on the ground all winter, thanks to global warming.
Spotted horsemint, Monarda punctata. One of my favorite plants because it's a pollinator magnet for all sizes of bees and wasps. It does well in our poor, sandy soil.
#NativePlants #SupportPollinators
