Thanks for the Nov. 10 article about N.H. Fish and Game’s environmental program to support pollinators, “What are roadsides good for?” It is a great way to encourage the survival of native plants and insects. Although, in the Dec. 3 Monitor, letter writer Richard Brewster of Andover has a question about the identification of the flowers in the accompanying photo. He asks someone to name that flower.
It is a lupine, most likely the native species Lupinus perennis. It is not purple loosestrife, as Brewster suggests. Even in the low resolution photo accompanying the Nov. 10 article, I can identify the lupine’s palmately compound leaves (shaped similar to a hand with spread fingers) in the lower right corner. I can identify the shape of the lupine’s flowers, which are like those of other plants in the legume family. Purple loosestrife has lance shaped leaves and flowers with six or seven petals that grow in the leaf axils where the stem and leaf connect.
I recommend that Mr. Brewster purchase a field guide to Northeastern wildflowers and take a class on native plant identification. You don’t have to be a botanist to identify and enjoy native flowers.
KATHLEEN DISTER
Bow