Monotropa uniflora; Monotropaceae (Indian pipe family)
Remember Indian pipe, FOTD from June 22? (Those pictures were taken on June 18.) As the plants grow the nodding flowers straighten out and point upwards. Here are a few pictures from the same stand of plants, six days later:
Cimicifuga racemosa; Ranunculaceae (buttercup family), aka Actaea racemosa
Earlier this year I saw an interesting plant growing along the trail. I had no idea what it was, but thought it nice looking, with dark green, pinnately compound leaves giving it a fern-like appearance: 
I’ve gone back every few days to check on it, watching the spikes develop and the buds swell. Finally yesterday I saw it in bloom: 
The picture isn’t sideways; the inflorescence was growing diagonally out across the trail. It blooms from the bottom of the spike up, so I’ll be going back in another day or two to see how it progresses.
Black cohosh can be found in woodlands across the eastern US and Canada, though it’s listed as endangered in Illinois and Massachusetts. It gets large, several feet tall and several feet across, and the flower spikes add another few feet.
You may have heard of black cohosh as a dietary supplement or herbal remedy; read what the National Institutes of Health, the University of Maryland Medical Center, and the Mayo Clinic have to say.
This plant made a great if tricky subject to photograph. It was in dappled sunlight, on a breezy day with clouds moving across the sun, and insects kept landing on it, so it was never still. I shot at a high shutter speed for clarity, since every time I thought I had chased the bugs off the breeze would blow. It never stayed still. I took 150 pictures of it, mostly for the fun of playing with the camera, trying to get different types of shots. Here’s one more picture, with insect visitor:
(try clicking on each picture to see the details better)
Circaea lutetiana; Onagraceae (evening primrose family)
Not in the nightshade family (Solanaceae), despite its common name. I believe the generic name (Circaea) is from Greek mythology; Circe was the enchantress who turned Odysseus’ crew into swine.
Another plant I was ecstatic to find. Set up the tripod and got out the 105mm lens and spent a good 10 minutes trying to get decent pictures. Why ecstatic? Because I’d read about it but never seen it before. Last year when I was even less good at using botanical keys, I (briefly) mistook another plant for this. Look at the closeup; how many petals do you see? 
It looks like 4, but is actually two (and two sepals). There are very few flowers with only two petals. Only half a page worth in Newcomb’s. That kind of trivia makes it interesting to me.
Here’s the whole plant, about two and a half feet tall:
Enchanter’s nightshade can be found in rich woodlands, especially where it gets a little dappled sunlight.
Monotropa uniflora; Monotropaceae (Indian pipe family); more recently phylogenists are placing it in the Ericaceae (heath family)
Another saprophyte (like squawroot, FOTD 6/04). It completely lacks chlorophyll, deriving nutrients from decaying matter. But it is indeed a flowering plant, not a fungus. Bees even visit the flowers for nectar.
Yes, I was lying on my belly to get these shots. The leaves on the ground give a sense of scale. Indian pipe grows only a few inches tall.
Alium canadense; Liliaceae
You know that common weed that makes your yard smell oniony after you’ve cut the grass? If you can stand it, try letting some grow. It’s a pretty flower:
and purportedly edible.
However if you see this one, pull it out fast:
That’s field garlic, Alium vineale, an invasive alien. Although not poisonous, it has an unpleasant taste.
Elizabeth's Wildflower Blog 