Putnam Park Wildflowers

Eau Claire, Wisconsin

Putnam Park    borders the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire and the Chippewa River in Eau Claire Wisconsin. The Park is administered by UWEC. Approximately 48% of Putnam Park is a designated State Natural Area. It is one of the treasures of Eau Claire. The Park serves as both a recreational area for UWEC students, Eau Claire residents and visitors, and it functions as an outdoor classroom for the Biology Department at UWEC.

To see what flowers might be in bloom: What’s in Bloom in Putnam Park

To see a table of typical bloom times: Bloom times in Putnam Park

To search for flowers: Search Page

You can view the flower photos in alphabetical name order (scientific names are used).

For magnification of an image scroll the mouse pointer over the image, and for additional magnification, use the scroll wheel on the mouse. The notes button at the bottom of each flower gives some information on the species in the photo. Keep in mind that this is a work in progress.

For a detailed explanation of the content of the notes sections: Notes on the notes sections

The more button at the bottom of many of the flowers provides some extra photos. Note that the more section will not work with old browsers. It does work with Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome browsers. It is the intention to add leaf, stem, and whole plant shots in the future. No magnification lens is available for the more photos.

If you only have a short time available, you might like to view some of my favorites in Putnam Park.

Or you can view the photos in date order, which may be useful if you want to know what flowers might be observed in the Park at a particular time of the year.

Or you can also view the photos starting at a particular time of the year.

To view the flowers grouped by color click on the color of interest in the chart below. There is no magnification lens for the view by color. The color display will not work with older browser versions. It does work with Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome browsers. This will be slow unless you have a fast internet connection. As a much quicker alternative, go to the search page and search just by color.

If you are trying to identify a mystery flower you have seen in the Park, and you think you already know the name, use the flower index and note the color code beside each flower as a useful guide. Otherwise, make use of the search page, and pick a search based on the information you have for the flower and plant. Two key things to keep in mind. (1) A number of flower species in the Park have major color variations, so color is not always a reliable guide to identification, unless of course you have seen all the color variations. (2) Not every flower present in the Park has its photo recorded here. This is a work in progress. Some historical data is available on flowers observed in the Park many years ago. Several of the previously observed species have not been recently detected. This has been particularly the case for members of the Orchidaceae family.

The United States Department of Agriculture maintains a database of flowers for each region of the country. For Eau Claire County the database of genera and flower species on record can be found in the following two links. Note that a few genera and species found in Putnam Park are not present in the current USDA database.

Many botanists have contributed to the taxonomy of the flora present in Putnam Park. To see the principals, click on the link below.

The Notes section (see the link at the bottom of each flower) gives further information on each species. Some technical terms are used in these notes. Look upon this as a learning opportunity if you encounter terms you are not familiar with. A dictionary of technical terms with some illustrations can be found at the link below. Keep in mind that this is a work in progress.

Subspecies, varieties, and forms require an additional level of observational skill. They also often require an understanding of more technical vocabulary to discern fine details. A new section just started deals with those found in Putnam Park.

Information on a variety of pollinators that visit some of flowers found in Putnam Park can be found at the link below.

Some species of interest, which are uncommon in the Park:   If you cast an eye at the US Department of Agriculture distribution map for the species Impatiens parviflora (Small Balsam), you will see that this plant is not reported from anywhere in the lower 48 US states, though it was collected in King County Washington, in 2016 by Peter Zika. Dr. Joseph R. Rohrer, UWEC professor emeritus of Biology, observed this plant near the Chippewa Trail and the Fine Arts building in Eau Claire, and published his observation in 2017 (reference given below). In late 2017 the species had “jumped” the Chippewa River and was observed at the entrance to Putnam Park. This is a fairly aggressive invasive species. Some rather uncommon species that one does not usually see in Putnam Park are the white colored forms of Centaurea stoebe (Spotted Knapweed), which is usually pink, Phlox divaricata (Wild Blue Phlox), which as the common name might suggest is normally blue, Tradescantia ohiensis (Ohio Spiderwort), typically blue, Campanula rotundifolia (Harebell), which is usually a pale blue but displays a range of colors including a faint lavender to dark blue to a dark blue-purple, and the very elusive Oxalis stricta (Yellow Wood Sorrel), which is normally yellow. The reddish-purple colored Viola sororia (Common Blue Violet) is fairly uncommon in the Park, sometimes present in just two locations. Bacopa rotundifolia (Water-hyssop) is rare in Putnam Park, and rarely reported in Wisconsin. You can find each of these species using the name search at the top of the search page.

Habitat Diversity:   A great feature of the Park is the wide range of habitat encountered. The eastern section of the Park, at its lower elevation, ranges from mesic to swamp-like conditions. The other side of Putnam Drive, which passes through this section of the Park, is relatively steep hilly terrain. The western section of the Park borders the Chippewa River, with sandy soil along some of this section. There are rock outcrops also in this region. Further into the Park, it is a combination of both flat (where the trail is located) and hilly forested terrain. The far section of the Park is a meadow area. The approximately 230 acres of the Park provide a home for a wide range of both native and invasive flower species.

Naming Convention:  The scientific name is given first. The genus is capitalized, and the specific epithet, the second part of the binomial scientific name, is all lower case; both are italicized and are Latin names, but many have a Greek origin. If a subspecies or variety name is given, that will also be italicized, lowercase, and in Latin. The principal common name is given next. This departs from the common scientific convention of following the scientific name with the name of the first botanist to publish a description and name for the plant. If you want that information, look in the Notes section (link under flower photo). Common names are not italicized and not in Latin. Which is the principal common name is probably a matter for debate, and in some cases is based on the region where a particular plant is found. For example, Campanula rotundifolia has the common name Harebell, but it is also called Bluebell (in Scotland) or Bluebells of Scotland. Additional common names are given in parenthesis. Keep in mind that there are examples where different species share the same common name.

Photo Date:  The date given indicates when each photo was taken, which will give an approximate idea when you might expect to see a particular flower in the Park. Some flowers are in bloom for extended periods, and you may find a particular flower long before or long after the date on the photo. Other flowers are in bloom for much shorter times.

Insects:   Depending on which section of the Park you are in, expect to encounter insects. The most annoying ones to deal with are mosquitoes and ticks. On the Putnam Dr. section of Putnam Park, there are plenty of mosquitoes around depending on the time of year. The swamp like conditions undoubtedly keep the mosquito population high. Crossing the intersection of Putnam Dr. and Garfield Ave. leads to the western section of the Park and takes you into an area with much narrower trails with vegetative growth either very close to the trail, or in some parts, on the actual trail. In this region, you need to be much more alert to tick issues. My recommendations to minimize problems: (1) Wear a long-sleeve sweater/t-shirt and long pants. (2) Tuck pants bottoms under your socks. (3) Wear light colored clothes – which makes it easier to spot ticks. (4) Wear a hat. (5) Use an effective insect repellent. A combination of a Deet-based product and a permethrin-based product can be effective. Permethrin-based products should be put only on your exterior clothing, not on your body. (6) Stay on the established pathways in the Park. (7) Remember to check your body and clothing carefully for ticks after you exit the Park.

Location:   Most of the photos displayed were taken from the trails, including the Putnam Trail, referred to by some as the “Old Horse Trail”. Several photos were taken from the wooden staircase in Putnam Park. A few photos were taken at the edge of the Park with the Chippewa River, which is accessible when the river is low. A number of recent photos in the meadow section were taken off the trail.

Photo Editing:  The principal editing performed has been to crop most photos to reduce the file size and to insert a copyright notice. For almost every photo, a 30–40+ M raw file is available.

Photo Magnification:  If you want to see a magnified view of some section of a flower, move the cursor over the photo. This feature is available for the view by name and view by date, but not for the view by particular colors.

Photo Upload Time:  Some of the photo file sizes are large. So, if you have a slow internet connection, it may take some time for a photo image to load. Be patient.

Error Notification:   If you spot any mistake, it would be greatly appreciated if you would bring that to my attention. Contact Fred King, email is fking AT uwec.edu (replace AT by @ and delete the spaces).