Our final match of Round One is one last Battle of the Plants before we move on to Round Two. The White Turtlehead (Chelone glabra) faces off against the Riverbank Grape (Vitis riparia).
The turtlehead is named for its flowers and the turtles they resemble. These plants need wet or moist soils in sunlight and is a popular plant for bumble bees and the Baltimore Checkerspot butterfly. These may be great additions to your pollinator gardens, but only if you have the ponds for it. Learn more about this flower here.
The riverbank grape is a vine plant that grows. up to 35 feet long as it climbs over tree trunks and into forest canopies. Some consider this plant to be a weedy pest, as its dense leaves can smother bushes and small trees, but the riverbank grape blooms in late spring and develops berries that ripen over the summer, maturing in the fall. These berries feed many songbirds, waterfowl and mammals in the forest; the flowers provide pollen for bumblebees and hoverflies, and the caterpillars many moth species feed on the leaves. More information about this plant can be found at the Illinois Wildflowers site.
So, it’s time to close Round One and determine the winner of the final match. Will the turtlehead move on to the next round? Or will it be entangled by the riverbank grape? Again, there’s only one way to solve this grudge match, so cast your ballot below: