April 20: Wild Blue Phlox, Ground Ivy

I'm finding more and more flowers each day! Today I first noticed some Wild Blue Phlox, which at first I thought were Wild Geraniums. But these flowers are more blue and the leaves have a simpler shape.

Wild Blue Phlox

Phlox is Greek for "fire" or "flame," and it's thought that the twisted flower bud resembles a flame.
Wild Blue Phlox attracts butterflies. This was one of the first native wildflowers to be collected by European explorers and exported to Europe, where it became very popular. So maybe it's considered an "invasive species" over there! :-D In Victorian England, Wild Blue Phlox symbolized a proposal of love and a wish of pleasant dreams. Interestingly, the roots of this plant were boiled and used for treating venereal diseases and as an eyewash. Tea made from this flower was used to treat stomach aches, boils, and eczema.

I also found some Ground Ivy, which is actually a mint. You can smell the mint by crushing the leaves.

Ground Ivy

It's also called "Creeping Charley" and "Gill-over-the-ground," from the French guilller ("to ferment") because its leaves were once used to ferment and flavor beer. Seems like so many of the plants were used to make tea for stomach problems and this was another of them. I suppose as long as a plant leaf isn't poisonous, people figured they could make a tea out of it. Then, since they could drink it, they expected it to do something for them.

Ground Ivy expels the plants which grow near it and so impoverishes pastures. Cattle, horses, goats, and pigs don't like to eat it, although sheep will. It's thought to be bad for horses although it seems to be OK for humans...this webpage lists things it's used for.