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Spring ephemerals give way to June-blooming wildflowers

KAXE | By Charlie Mitchell
Published June 12, 2025 at 12:00 PM CDT
A tube-shaped flower flanked by two wing-like petals blooms at Peninsula State Park, Wisconsin, on June 21, 2010.
Contributed
/
Nathan Mayer via Flickr
A gaywings flower blooms in Peninsula State Park, Wisconsin, on June 21, 2010.

During the Phenology Report for the week of June 10, 2025, Staff Phenologist John Latimer discusses wildflowers, fruit trees and life in the bog.

Spring ephemerals are on the decline as they finish their flowering season, but there are plenty of summer wildflowers to replace them, Here are a few common June-blooming plants; see if you can spot them this month!

An annotated photo shows key features of a Canadian bunchberry, including flowers with 4 white petals, leaves with deep curved veins, and the bunchberry's habit of growing in bunches.
1 of 6  — Canadian bunchberry
A bunch of Canadian bunchberries grow in St. Louis County on June 24, 2025.
KAXE / Graphic by Charlie Mitchell. Original image by Courtney Celley/USFWS
An annotated photo shows key features of an invasive orange hawkweed, including its many-petalled orange flower that fades to yellow in the center, a tall stalk that rises from a whorl of low-lying, hairy foliage, and that it is classified as noxious weed that should be eradicated.
2 of 6  — Orange Hawkweed
A clump of orange hawkweeds grow in St. Louis County on June 11, 2018.
KAXE / Graphic by Charlie Mitchell. Original image by Rubin Stenseng
An annotated photo shows key features of a Red Columbine, including swellings at the top of the flower that hold nectar for pollinators and the flowers' yellow interior and red exterior.
3 of 6  — Red Columbine
A red columbine grows in Credit River Township on May 27, 2025.
KAXE / Graphic by Charlie Mitchell. Original image by iNaturalist user sls42
An annotated photo shows key features of a pink lady's slipper, including the big pink slipper-like flower hanging down from purplish petals, the deep-veined basal leaves and somewhat bristly stalk, and its habit of growing in bogs and swamps.
4 of 6  — Pink lady's slipper
A pink lady's slipper grows in St. Louis County on June 5, 2025.
KAXE / Graphic by Charlie Mitchell. Original image by Courtney Celley/USFWS
An annotated photo shows key features of a Bluebead Lily, including yellow-green flowers with 6 petals, glossy leaves with a strong central vein, and its habit of growing in shady swamps and wet forests.
5 of 6  — Bluebead lily
A bluebead lily blooms near Pennington in June, 2025.
KAXE / Graphic by Charlie Mitchell. Original image by williamwanders.
An annotated image shows key features of a dame's rocket, including its pink, purple or white flowers with 4 petals, its tendency to grow along roadsides or forest clearings. It can be confused with native phlox, but the phlox flowers have 5 petals, not 4.
6 of 6  — Dame's rocket flower
A dame's rocket blooms in McGregor on June 8, 2025.
KAXE / Lorie Shaull

Topics

  • Introduction (0:00-0:25) 
  • A transition from spring to summer (0:25-1:30) 
  • A pollinator paradox (1:30-2:23) 
  • Juneberries (2:23-4:15) 
  • Shrubs (2:23-6:33) 
  • Trees (6:33-8:36)
  • Birds (8:36-10:29) 
  • Insects (10:29-12:19) 
  • Life in the bog (12:19-14:05) 
  • Ferns (14:05-15:11) 
  • Wildflowers (15:11-20:11) 
  • Conclusion (20:11-21:17) 

What have you seen out there? Let us know: email us at comments@kaxe.org or text us at 218-326-1234.
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That does it for this week! For more phenology, <b>subscribe</b> to our Season Watch Newsletter or visit the Season Watch Facebook page.

Funding for this project was provided by the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund as recommended by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR).
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Science and Nature PhenologyKAXE Morning ShowTuesday Morning ShowKAXEPhenology ReportSummer phenology
Charlie Mitchell
Charlie Mitchell (she/they) joined KAXE in February of 2022. Charlie creates the Season Watch Newsletter, produces the Phenology Talkbacks show, coordinates the Phenology in the Classroom program, and writes nature-related stories for KAXE's website. Essentailly, Charlie is John Latimer's faithful sidekick and makes sure all of KAXE's nature/phenology programs find a second life online and in podcast form.


With a background in ecology and evolutionary biology, Charlie enjoys learning a little bit about everything, whether it's plants, mushrooms, or the star-nosed mole. (Fun fact: Moles store fat in their tails, so they don't outgrow their tunnels every time conditions are good.)
See stories by Charlie Mitchell
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