This strikingly handsome purple-leaved small tree with wispy flowers is found on the south side of the W&OD bike path immediately west of the American Dream Way bridge. There are several more specimens in the median between the W&OD bike path and the W&OD gravel path near the Fannie Mae Gardens.
This is a smoketree (
Cotinus coggygria, see this
Virginia Tech fact sheet,
NC State fact sheet and this
Wikipedia article), which is a relative of the sumacs
In a clearing south of the W&OD bike path across from the Fannie Mae Gardens is a thicket of this plant, whose flower resembles a small thistle but whose leaves and stems are far less spiny. This appears to be a knapweed (
Centaurea spp.), and may be the highly invasive spotted knapweed (
C. maculosa, see this
Missouri description and this
Wikipedia article).
Pokeweed (
Phytolacca americana) is beginning to bloom, as here on the north side of the W&OD bike path near Isaac Newton Square; see
this post from last September for how pokeweed appears once it fruits out.
A couple of small flowering plants hidden in the grass west of the W&OD bike path south of Sunset Hills Drive. The white five-petaled flower with prominent anthers appears to be Carolina horsenettle (
Solanum carolinense), already featured before in
this post from last October. The small pink-flowered plant next to it with the reddish stem and comparatively large lanceolate leaves appears to be some form of knotweed, perhaps tufted knotweed (
Polygonum caespitosum, compare this
Virginia Tech weed guide and this
Connecticut description), even though the Digital Flora of Virginia does not list this species.
No doubt about this species - this is common milkweed (
Asclepias syriaca), now bursting into flower in this thicket on the south side of the W&OD bike path across from the Fannie Mae Gardens.
Close-up of an inflorescence. Compare the
Missouri description.
Milkweed flowers are apparently quite popular with insects. Here is a shot with two large butterflies feeding on separate inflorescences; these plants are located in the median between the W&OD bike path and the W&OD gravel path just south of Sunset Hills Drive and north of the Dulles Toll Road bridge.
And here is a shot with a bee of some sort.
