Fields of gold

Right now as you drive around the rural areas some of the fields have turned a solid yellow. This is the plant that is causing most of it, Packera glabella. I call it butterweed. This field is on County Road 350 just a little west of US 52. The picture was taken May 10, 2009.

Link to Packera glabella:

Here is another view of the butterweed in that field north of County Road 350.

Another link to Packera glabella:

There's another different plant that's turning fields yellow around here too. That's one of the wild mustards, Sinapis arvensis. The picture above is Sinapis arvensis, and it's in front of the same field of Packera glabella that is pictured at the top. You see the yellow clumps of Sinapis in the urbanized areas too. If you pay attention you can tell the difference between the two plants from a distance. Pictures taken May 10, 2009.

Link to Sinapis arvensis:

Another link to Sinapis arvensis:

Here is a closer look at that same wild mustard plant (Sinapis arvensis). The yellow in the background is Packera.


This is another field turned yellow with butterweed (Packera glabella). This is along US 52 about 5 miles outside of Lafayette. This picture was taken May 10, 2009.

A third kind of plant that turns fields yellow like this at this time of year is the golden ragwort (Packera aurea). This is more often found in the wooded areas though. At Soldier's Home it turns the ground yellow between the oak trees. The Packera aurea in this picture was in the woods at Ross Hills County Park, May 9, 2009.

Link to golden ragwort: