A selection of late summer wildflowers growing in the riparian zone along the Monongahela River at the Friendship Hill National Historic Site.
From top: Paleleaf woodland sunflower (Helianthus strumosus), also known as pale-leaved sunflower, distinguished by long leaf petioles and a pale leaf underside; common sneezeweed (Helenium autumnale), a water-loving aster whose dried leaves were once used to make snuff; cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis), whose scarlet, five-lobed flowers draw hummingbirds as pollinators; the closely-related great blue lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica), which early settlers once used as a treatment for syphilis (wishful thinking); and blue mistflower (Conoclinium coelestinum), or wild ageratum, a native aster that has become popular as a garden plant.
As a note, about a dozen sunflowers call NC-WV - SW PA home and they readily hybridize, often complicating identification. Pale-leaved sunflower has a tall, branching structure up to 7 feet in height and dense clusters of large flowers. In addition to long petioles and a pale leaf underside, this sunflower has a smooth stem with a whitish bloom to it. It's a very beautiful mid-to-late summer aster and one of my favorite wildflowers of Central Appalachia.