Circaea Species, Broadleaf Enchanter's Nightshade, Enchanter's Nightshade

Not showy at all.

I see colonies of this tens of feet across, mostly in disturbed places.

In the garden I ...Read Moretreat it as a weed and pull it up whenever I see it. It does seem to have a rhizome that doesn't all come up when I pull it, but this is one of the few perennial weeds that I can fairly easily control through pulling without any digging.

Most of the plants I see are not much more than 12" tall.

If I see this native wildflower in the woods as a wild plant, I leave it alone. However, I have pulled up many of this species as a weed ...Read Morein shady gardens, as it is very prolific. It pulls up very easily, though it often has some slender, white rhizomes with the more fibrous roots. Its sticky little bur fruits, first green, then brown, do stick to clothing like crazy where I have to pick off a good number of them off myself after touching them even just a little bit or brushing by them.

This is one of the woodland wildflowers that blooms during the summer in shaded areas. The flowers are small, white and delicate.
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The nectar and pollen of the flowers attract small bees, including Halictid bees and Little Carpenter bees. They are also visited by Syrphid flies. Birds and mammals help to distribute the seeds, as the small burs can cling to feathers and fur. These seed-bearing burs can cling to the clothing of humans as well. Deer occasionally browse on the foliage.

Enchanter's Nightshade spreads by both seed and rhizomes, often creating small colonies in woodlands.