Walking the trail yesterday, a flowering bush stopped me in my tracks. What caught my eye was the combination of purple and orange–a colorful spike of purple flowers with orange-tipped stamens. Other visitors noticed the flowers too, calling my attention to two previously overlooked bushes growing on the island. Curious, I looked it up. Amorpha fruticosa. Once cultivated as a garden ornamental and for making dye, the plant escaped. Thriving in the wild, it is now plentiful along stream banks such as ours.
Historic Landmark on the Hudson River