Plant Sightings

The most popular Springtime wildflower color seems to be white, so it is rather pleasing to find flowers of different colors. Wild geraniums that grow along our lane and in the open woods sport light violet to pink flowers.

Also known as Cranesbill, Geranium maculatum, the Wild Geranium has five-parted, deeply lobed leaves and occurs in shady, wooded areas and roadsides.

Flowers with five large, rounded petals occur in small clusters with only one or two blooms open at a given time. The “cranesbill” — which is the future seedpod — lies at the center of each flower. Stems and sepals are very hairy.

Later in the season, when the seeds are fully mature, the seedpods burst open and forcefully eject the seeds to colonize new areas.

Deerberry occurs as a small shrub in the undergrowth of the oak-white pine-hickory forests of the Northeastern United States. In Pennsylvania this colony of deerberry is predominately 2-3 feet tall, but one shrub has grown to about 6 feet in height.

Deerberry blooming in the woods of Pennsylvania.

Foliage consists of alternating leaves that grow to larger sizes nearer the distal end of the branches. Oval, pointed leaves measure 1-3 inches long.

Leaves of the deerberry shrub are entire, alternating, oval, pointed and pale on the underside.

Deerberry flowers hang from racemes that have smaller leaves and bracts.

Hanging blossoms of Deerberry, Vaccinium stamineum, have flower stems longer than the blossoms. The light green, cup-shaped calyx contains five white petals that flare out to the side.

Stamens protrude beyond the edge of the deerberry flower bell, which alludes to the species name.

Deerberries are inedible, so perhaps the value of this shrub is in providing habitat for wildlife. It grows in shady areas and, apparently, is not browsed by deer.

I have three members of the Rose family to share with you today.

In another month we should be picking raspberries all down the lane. Great arcs of white blossoms show where I need to cut back the poison ivy and dead branches for easy access. The fruit-producing stem will be lopped off in the fall to encourage new growth for next year’s crop.

A handful of raspberries will be produced at each node where you see five to eleven blossoms.

Not all the flowers bloom at the same time. Some petals are falling away while other blooms have yet to open, which is excellent for harvesting. Some fruits will ripen before others, so there is the possibility of several harvests. Hopefully, the birds and the bear will save us some.

Raspberry, Rubus sp., flowers in different stages of development.

Wild roses, Rosa multiflora, are in the bud stage now, but it won’t be long before they beautify the lane with delicate, white blooms and a sweet scent.

Flower buds of wild roses are still small and packed inside the green sepals.

More white blooms were found on the Common Chokecherry, Prunus virginiana. The shrubs to small trees occur in disturbed areas, particularly roadsides and edges of fields. Small flowers occur in clusters three to six inches long with each individual blossom having five rounded petals, a cup-shaped calyx and numerous stamens.

Common Chokecherry flowers occur in elongated clusters.

Notice the bag worm, or tent caterpillar, nest in the background. If you inspect the lower portion of the photo above, you will see yellow-green midribs of the leaves that the caterpillars have consumed. Lucky for the birds who eat the cherries that the bag worms don’t eat the flowers!

Driving along a Pennsylvanian country road during the months of May or June, you are likely to see some patches of tall white, pink or violet flowers, called Dame’s Rocket or Dame’s Violet.

The flowers of Dame’s Rocket, Hesperis matronalis, cluster at the top of one to three feet tall stems. Blooms with four petals that eventually give rise to erect seedpods indicate this garden escape is a member of the mustard family. Phlox spp. are similar in appearance although the flowers have five petals and you would most likely find phlox blooming in a wooded area.

The white blossoms may have a tinge of pink or purple and some flowers are variegated. The stamens and style are retained mostly in the flower tube.

A few small flower clusters project from the leaf axils. Finely toothed leaves attach directly to the hairy, stiff stem.

Before the rain got too heavy this afternoon we ducked into our Pennsylvania woods to see how the Pink Lady’s Slippers were coming along.

Right on cue — sometime between the First of May and Mother’s Day — the Pink Lady’s Slippers come out in full bloom. Each year we go to the same spots to see these beautiful and interesting members of the orchid family.

Because of the shape of the irregular flower Cypripedium acaule is also known as the Moccasin Flower. Indeed, the heavily veined, pink pouch identifies the Pink Lady’s Slipper.

Pink Lady’s Slipper growing in a mixed hardwoods forest in the mountains of Pennsylvania.

This plant is distinctively hairy, which is not noticeable until you get real close. All parts of the basal leaves, flower stem, sepals and the blossom have short, soft hairs.

Fuzzy Pink Lady’s Slipper showing short hairs and the deeply cleft, hollow pouch.

The atypical views of this pink orchid illustrate the three dimensional shape of the irregular flower.

Side view shows the heavily veined pouch of the Moccasin Flower.

The greenish-brown sepals and lateral petals are not very noticeable from a distance as they blend in with the background colors.

In a couple weeks the pink flower will fall away leaving behind the green, spade-shaped bract at the top of the long flower stem.

If you have an occasion to hike the woods of Eastern Canada or the Northern United States or the Appalachian Mountains down to north Georgia, keep your eyes open for the Pink Lady’s Slipper. It’s not every day that you get to see this beautiful orchid!

More wild pink flowers that we saw today were a group of pretty Pink Azaleas, Rhododendron nudiflorum, also known as the Pinxter Flower. We were surprised to see so many blossoms as this was the most extensive blooming witnessed to date.

Wild Pink Azaleas blooming underneath an oak tree.

Five petals are joined at the base making a long tube which has more color than the distal ends of the petals. The orange-tipped stamens are very long and project well beyond the petals. The green-tipped pistil is longer yet.

Close up image of pink azalea flower showing the long stamens and pistil.

Pink azaleas are practically odorless, but apparently the leaves taste good to some little green caterpillars. Most of the elongated leaves were already consumed, except for the midrib.

Two days ago the first violet was seen opening its purple blossoms. Between the rain and the wind that come along with the Spring rains, it’s been hard to get decent photos of them.

The Northern Downy Violet, Viola fimbriatula (V. sagittata var. ovata) is characterized by its elongated lance-shaped leaves with short stems. It is always one of the first violets to bloom in south-central PA.

The light violet to purple flowers are only slightly taller than the leaves and sit about 2-3 inches above the ground. The spur is small in this species of viola.

The two lateral lower petals are bearded with fine hairs. The lower middle petal has lines of deep purple. Stems of both flower and leaf are softly hairy, or downy.

Younger individuals of the northern downy violet have smaller oval-shaped leaves without lobes.

A similar violet is the arrow-leaved violet, Viola sagittata. Leaves are lance shaped with notches at the base, but the leaves are not downy. Flowers are about 4-5 inches off the ground.

A great resource for aiding indentification of New England violets is the Connecticut Botanical Society, where you can browse wildflowers by color, look up ferns and rare plants, and learn about gardening with native plants.