Late Last Bloomers of Bloodroot and Hepatica

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We all know a cardinal when we see one, so we can recognize the species and tell it apart from robins and redstarts. But can any of us profess to know individual birds? I would argue no – not without also observing behavioral differences or actions unique to the individual.

Well, if we think about the same idea and apply it to plants, how can we tell individuals apart from one another? If planted or observed in prior years one has a pretty good chance of remembering where an individual plant put down their roots. However, without the common location from year to year I doubt many of us could recognize individual plants within a species.

As behavior doesn’t really apply with plants we look for other characteristics that sets them apart from the rest. We say, “these are the early blooming variety of tulip” or “those hardy fruit trees are the ones resistant to such-and-such pox.” With wild plants I’m sure there are examples of sub-groups of species that appear differently or that have certain characteristics that set them apart from the average wild herb.

Here, we have two examples of late-blooming spring ephemeral flowers.

Little bloodroot blooming under older bloodroots.
Little bloodroot blooming under older bloodroots.

The little bloodroot in the image above was seen on 30 April 2010. Note the large leaves of bloodroot that overhang the little late bloomer. The seed pod of a prior blooming bloodroot can just be seen to the left of the large flower stalk on the right of the photograph. Bloodroot bloomed in South-Central Pennsylvania from 3 April to 18 April 2010, although only one tattered bloom was seen on the 18th.

Once the ground gets warm enough to sprout the bloodroot plants, it’s like a mass blooming. The blooming may last for a week, but no longer than that except for singular plants here and there. The same is probably true for hepatica.

Late blooming hepatica with mottled leaves.
Late blooming hepatica with mottled leaves.

The hepatica blossom above is the latest one yet, spotted on 30 April 2010. In the image above one hepatica plant has three light green leaves and a second plant, lower on the hill with the bloom, has mottled leaves. The mottled-leaf plant has one spent blossom visible on the left. Hepatica bloomed here a little earlier than bloodroot from 24 March to 3 April 2010.

Individual variation is at play. Microhabitat variation wasn’t the cause of these late-blooming flowers as we saw others in same location that had already bloomed as witnessed by spent flowers and/or the presence of seed pods.

The lesson here for all of us is that when we go out and observe nature or look for wild herbs, we need to remember that we’re there only for an instant in time. Many variables play on the growth, or lack thereof, of plants and animals. Timing can be everything. Next week or last week might have been the best time to find what you’re seeking, but that doesn’t mean a total loss.

Like they taught us in school – Stop, Look and Listen! To that list I would add Smell! You never know what treasures lie ahead, so venture on!

Privet Shrub Smells Like Spring

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Early in the day during my walk at the Box Huckleberry Natural Area I was stopped in my tracks by nice sweet smell. It smelled like a spring day and that’s about all I can say to describe the lovely scent.

I looked around and the thing was I couldn’t find the source of the smell. I did see some pinxter flower, the wild pink azalea. It was barely blooming yet with flower buds formed and only one of them open. It looked like they may even open later in the day but only one of them was opened so far and I can’t think the scent that I smelled was due to a single flower down the trail.

Smokey says the pinxter flower doesn't have a lovely scent.
Smokey says the pinxter flower doesn't have a lovely scent.

There was hardly any of the box huckleberry still blooming so I wasn’t sure where this lovely scent came from. The neat thing was it stopped me in my tracks, so I took a moment to look all around me. I couldn’t find what was blooming to make such a nice scent and then I spotted them – I saw a whole bunch of moccasin flowers or Pink Lady’s Slippers. They don’t have any smell of their own, but I was truly appreciative of the pretty scent having helped me find them.

Later in the same day I was over on the Middle Ridge Trail at Little Buffalo State Park when I came across the same lovely smell. This time it was easy to find the scent producer. A Privet shrub, Ligustrum vulgare, had taken up residence some years ago right next to the trail and now it was tree-sized, probably twenty feet tall.

A branch of the privet hedge tree.
A branch of the privet hedge tree.

Privet shrub blooming with 3-4 inch long oval pointed leaves. The four pointed trumpet-like blooms were opening in all their glory.

Trumpet-like four-pointed blooms of Privet.
Trumpet-like four-pointed blooms of Privet.

Tubular blossoms open to show four points. Note there are still some unopened flowers in the bud stage.

A couple years ago I saw a privet shrub right next to a stop sign. In the adjacent meadow there were a dozen or more privet shrubs that you could readily see during their bloom time in mid-Spring. The white blossoms just about cover the little shrubs. Well, being at a stop sign I guess it was noticed by someone else. When I went during the autumn to collect the scented shrub, it was gone. Perhaps the road crew beat me to it.

It was stopping at the stop sign and smelling the lovely privet blossoms that introduced me to Privet. Even though it can be invasive, I will continue to enjoy its scent when I smell it.

Privet is a shrub native to Europe and alien to the U.S. Most wildflower guides don’t have information on Privet, due to its being a shrub and not an herbaceous plant, except the Newcomb Wildflower Guide which does cover some shrubbery.

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  • Hedge or fence? (telegraph.co.uk)
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Large and Small Trees Cut Down By Power Company

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I had a very unpleasant opportunity to see “men at work” when I visited Little Buffalo State Park on 30 April 2010. The sound of chainsaws filled the air and I wondered if other trees were forced down by stormy weather.

It seems the power company, or whatever outfit they employ, took the day to cut down trees that were growing in the power line zone that crosses the far end of Mill Race Trail.

Now, I understand the men had a job to do, that of clearing the area to protect the power lines. What I don’t understand is how they went about their business. It was very evident to me that they cut down EVERYTHING whether it posed a potential hazard to the precious power lines or not.

Some of the vegetation they cut down never would have reached a height to bother the extremely high power lines in this area. Why take the time and energy to cut ALL the trees? If someone could have taken a little time to educate these people about the ecosystems and microhabitats they were destroying, perhaps lives could have been saved.

Unfortunately all they were paid for was cut first, ask questions later.

Looking down the power lines at the far end of Mill Race Trail.
Looking down the power lines at the far end of Mill Race Trail.
Lots of vegetation under the power lines.
Lots of vegetation under the power lines.

The images above were taken 18 April 2010 on the Mill Race Trail. Note that there is plenty of vegetation in the foreground and on the left side of the meadow.

Contrast the pre-cut photos with ones taken on 30 April 2010 after the clear cut –

Looking across the meadow at the end of Mill Race Trail.
Looking across the meadow at the end of Mill Race Trail.
Did all these trees really pose a hazard to the power lines above?
Did all these trees really pose a hazard to the power lines above?
Hot meadow.
Hot meadow.

Looking back across the power lines. Very small foreground trees were cut to the ground.

Clear cut hillside.
Clear cut hillside.

Although the before and after shots were not taken from the same exact locations, looking up the hill you can see that everything was clear cut.

So, what habitats were possibly ruined by taking down all the trees in this area? Any plant or living thing that required a cooler environment, as that provided by the trees, may be destined to die or find a new home. Walking from the shade of the trees further up the trail into the bright sunshine of the newly-naked area, there was at least a ten degree increase in air temperature. You could feel the heat coming up from the ground where the sunlight made it to the ground. Any salamanders that lived here will have to move up or down stream, back into wooded areas.

Habitats or microhabitats were disrupted, not only by the loss of shade, but by the debris left to rot where it lay. It’s known that beautifully large hepatica and showy orchis plants live where the saplings of spicebush and others were cut down and left to lay. If the cut wood is left where it is, these beautiful and rare plants won’t return again.

Come on people, let’s work smarter! Perhaps the cutting crews can get together with the land managers – especially in areas like State Parks – and find ways to protect both nature and the power lines. All it would take is one biologist to inform which plants don’t need to be cut (because they’ll never get too tall) and where leftover debris may become a hazard to the life forms that the parks are supposed to protect for all our futures.

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Downy Yellow Violet Flowers in Moist Woodlands

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Probably the first thing noticeable about yellow stemmed violets would be their heart-shaped leaves. The leaves branch off each other which gives a nice effect of producing a clump of heart-like leaves. Each leaf stands apart from the other as to make the heart-shaped outlines very obvious.

Heart-shaped leaves of Downy Yellow Violet.
Heart-shaped leaves of Downy Yellow Violet.

Stemmed violets have both flowers and leaves produced on the same stem. The differences between several yellow-stemmed violets come down to leaf shape.

The yellow stemmed violet that we have here is called the Downy Yellow Violet, Viola pubescens. Two identifying characteristics are first, the downy or softly hairy surface of the stems and leaves, and second, the toothed stipule, which is like a tiny leaf at the base of the heart-shaped leaves.

Toothed stipules of downy yellow violet.
Toothed stipules of downy yellow violet.

Note the yellow circle around the toothed stipule (hard to see the teeth in this image) and the downy hair on the leaves and stems.

The flowers appear differently depending on the angle that you view them at. Looking down on the violet you’ll see four petals, sideways you can see the spur and straight on gives you a look at the lined lower petal.

Looking down on the yellow stemmed violets.
Looking down on the yellow stemmed violets.
Top-side view of the Downy Yellow Violet.
Top-side view of the Downy Yellow Violet.

Yellow violets seem common in low-lying areas near creeks or wetlands. Blooming cohorts included white violets, the common blue violet, miterwort, wild ginger and wild stonecrop. Bloodroot and trout lily had already bloomed in this area. Photos were taken 30 April 2010 near the Day Use Area of Little Buffalo State Park in Newport, PA.

These pretty violets – and all members of Viola – are edible, but the Peterson Edible Plants Guide tells us that the yellow species may be mildly cathartic, which means that they may act as a laxative. The young leaves and flowers can be added to salads. The leaves can be used to thicken soups, boiled as a cooked green, or dried to make tea.

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Greater Celandine Has The Craziest Leaf Shape

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Greater Celandine has appeared to me before singly. Only one plant at a time did I ever see until I went to Little Buffalo State Park on 30 April 2010.

Greater Celandine, Chelidonium majus, grows to 1-2 feet tall with their yellow flowers at the highest points on flower stems that project from leaf axils. It is an alien plant in the U.S. and native to Europe.

Yellow flowers top the Greater Celandine plants at the edge of the woods.
Yellow flowers top the Celandine plants at the edge of the woods.

The leaves of greater celandine are unique. Perhaps that is why the plant is in its own genus – ther are no other members of Chelidonium. The compound leaves have typically five leaflets in a pattern with rounded teeth that may be so big that the leaflets have lobes.

Shadows aside, it looks like a kid could have dreamed up this leaf!
Shadows aside, it looks like a kid could have dreamed up this leaf!

Isn’t that the craziest leaf you’ve ever seen? There’s not another one like it. For sure you’ll be able to identify greater celandine, even if it’s not flowering, just by looking at the leaves.

Loose clusters of 3/4-inch wide flowers with one to a few blossoms flowering at one time top the celandine plant. Note the bright yellow flowers with bushy stamens and four petals held out flat.

Yellow flowers and erect seed pods of celandine.
Yellow flowers and erect seed pods of celandine.

In the image above note the long hairs on the flowers pods and flower stems.

Seedpods forming on celandine
Seedpods forming on celandine

In the image above you can see the green part of the flower that will lengthen into the seed pod. Note that there are long and smooth, slender seed pods present from previously fertilized flowers, and also flower buds that have yet to open on the taller stem.

Greater celandine is found in wooded areas, especially near the edge of paths or roads or other open areas.

Several celandine plants at the edge of the woods.
Several celandine plants at the edge of the woods.

In the image above there are about ten greater celandine plants as noted by their clusters of bright yellow flowers. These celandine were at the edge of the woods as an open field was behind the photographer.

The Peterson Medicinal Plants Guide warns us that the yellow juice obtained by breaking a stem is highly irritating, allergenic and most likely poisonous. At one time the yellow juice was used as a folk remedy for skin problems like warts, eczema and ringworm, but due to its toxicity we can’t recommend using celandine for any remedy. However, modern herbalists might disagree and use greater celandine for a number of ailments.

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Golden Alexanders a Kind of Wild Parsley

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Learning family characteristics will speed you on your way to learning about new plants. If you can recognize family characteristics, you can more easily come to a decision about the identity of a wild plant, herb or flower.

When you come upon a wild herb or wildflower that you don’t know, look for characteristics that will help you identify it. If you know some family characteristics, you may more easily identify the new herb.

Ask yourself,

  • What other plant does this new one look like or remind you of?
  • What features of the flower are outstanding?
  • What is the leaf arrangement and type?
  • Where is the plant growing? What is its habitat?

The more plants that you are familiar with, the easier it is to identify new ones.

Recently, I came across a plant unfamiliar to me. From afar anyone would have thought it was a mustard plant as they are flowering profusely in fields everywhere. This plant had yellow flowers at the top of plant, similar to the mustards.

On closer inspection I saw the bright yellow flowers were very tiny and held in umbels, unlike the four-petalled mustard flowers that are not in umbels. I felt the foliage and immediately thought “Parsley! This must be some kind of wild parsley.” Upon looking it up when I got home I found out that I was right, Golden Alexanders is a member of the Umbelliferae, the Parsley Family. Kind of like a picture is worth a thousand words.

Now, I’m not saying that I went through the ‘Parsley Family Character List’ in my head and decided that this new plant fit the Parsley Family. It was more like the general look and feel of the plant simply reminded me of parsley that we’d grown in the vegetable garden.

Parsley family characteristics as noted by the Peterson Wildflower Guide:

  • umbrella-shaped flower clusters (umbels)
  • umbels usually compound
  • many small, five-petaled flowers
  • leaves usually finely cut

You don’t have to memorize all the characteristics of a family to recognize the similarity between family members. However, the more famliar you are with the common families in your area, the easier it will be to identify the wild herbs that you find.

Depending on the reference we have from 88 to 99 different members of the Parsley Family in our area. Flower color doesn’t help to distinguish plants as members of this family as they may have white, yellow, pink to red, or blue to purple flowers.

Golden Alexanders, Zizia aurea, has bright yellow flowers in compound umbels and finely cut leaves.

Umbels of Golden Alexanders flowers.
Umbels of Golden Alexanders flowers.

Compound umbels of golden yellow flowers are identifying characteristics of Golden Alexanders. The small golden clusters of flowers are held in umbels and these also are umbels themselves. Umbels are clusters of flowers where the flower stems all originate from the same point as if forming the spokes of an umbrella.

Golden yellow flowers of Golden Alexanders.
Golden yellow flowers of Golden Alexanders.

Golden alexanders reaches 1-2 feet tall with its jagged leaves cut into threes – twice. The leaves are doubly compound, where each leaf is divided into three parts and each part is further divided into 3 or more narrow toothed leaflets.

The triplicate leaflets of the compound leaf of Golden Alexanders.
The triplicate leaflets of the compound leaf of Golden Alexanders.

The left flower stalk in the image above illustrates one compound leaf of golden alexanders. Each of three leaflets has three leaflets.

Tiny yellow flowers held in umbels of umbels.
Tiny yellow flowers held in umbels of umbels.

Golden alexanders presented here was found adjacent to a picnic area in the Day Use Area of Little Buffalo State Park in Newport, PA on 30 April 2010. This is the same area where we saw the tremendous display of Spring Ephemeral flowers.

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Honeysuckle That Doesn’t Smell Sweet

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Honeysuckle flowers and leaves
Image by Martin LaBar via Flickr

Honeysuckle is a sweet treat that many of us remember from our childhoods. Taking the blooms off the plant and sucking the honey-sweet nectar was fun and exciting. The scent of honeysuckle is heavenly and used to our delight in perfumes, soaps and air fresheners.

Nature is peculiar in all its variety. Did you know that there are some honeysuckle plants that don’t even smell? The blossoms look practically the same as the deliciously scented Japanese Honeysuckle, Lonicera japonica. The Japanese honeysuckle is a vine with pairs of white flowers that fade to yellow.

A group of honeysuckles, called Fly Honeysuckles, are shrubs that are related to the Japanese Honeysuckle. The flowers are tubular with five lobes and they project from the leaf axils. The evenness and length of the flower lobes helps to separate the species of honeysuckle. Also, the habitat where the plant lives will help to distinguish it from its relatives.

The Newcomb Field Guide indicates that fly honeysuckles can be found in swamps and bogs, on alpine slopes, in cool woodlands, in thickets and along roadsides.

Morrow’s Honeysuckle, Lonicera morrowi, is the fly honeysuckle in the photos shared here. A few examples were seen flowering at the spillway of Lake Holman along Little Buffalo Road a couple weeks ago.

First flowers of a fly honeysuckle blooming.
First flowers of a fly honeysuckle blooming.

Fly honeysuckle starting to bloom. Photo taken 18 April 2010. White blossoms are freshly open. Note the pairs of flower buds at each leaf node.

Another example of Morrow’s Honeysuckle (on Little Buffalo Road near the intersection with Route 34) was flowering profusely on 30 April 2010. The symmetry of this plant is remarkable with its pairs of opposite leaves and two flowers per leaf axil. The oval leaves themselves are quite symmetrical. Finding this fly honeysuckle along roadsides shows its invasive character.

Fly honeysuckle shrub at the side of a road.
Fly honeysuckle shrub at the side of a road.
Flowers on a fly honeysuckle at the road side.
Flowers on a fly honeysuckle at the road side.

Honeysuckle flowers practically coat this woody shrub.

Blooms of the fly honeysuckle.
Blooms of the fly honeysuckle.

Close-up view of the flowers of dry honeysuckle shows the older blossoms have turned yellow and new ones in the bud stage are creamy white.

Seeing this honeysuckle and getting close enough to realize that it was the scentless kind makes me want for summer. That’s when the Japanese honeysuckle will be blooming and filling the air with its wonderful fragrance.

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Pink Lady’s Slipper Moccasin Flower Blooming in Pennsylvania

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Moccasin Flower (Cypripedium acaule)
Image via Wikipedia Lady Slipper

Pink Lady Slipper or Moccasin Flower Blooming in Pennsylvania, 30 April 2010.

Checking on the huckleberry plants the other week I was pleasantly surprised to see the Pink Lady’s Slipper or Moccasin Flower, Cypripedium acaule. After I saw one I looked for more lady slippers and found a number of them right along the trail near the stone monolith.

Stone monolith to mark the Natural Historic Landmark.
Stone monolith to mark the Natural Historic Landmark.
Registered Natural Landmark since 1967.
Registered Natural Landmark since 1967.

Pink lady slippers don’t bloom every year. Typically a third to a half of the plants in an area will bloom while the others just display their two thick leaves.

Pink Lady's Slipper young bloom and leaves.
Pink Lady's Slipper young bloom and leaves.

The flower starts life with a light pink or cream color that darkens as the flower matures.

Pink flower or pouch of the Pink Lady's Slipper.
Pink flower or pouch of the Pink Lady's Slipper.

Three orchids in the image above with one mature flower.

Flower of pink lady slippers.
Flower of pink lady slippers.

Two orchids and one of them blooming. Note the brown to maroon sepals and light green bract at the base of the flower head in the image above.

Pink Lady's Slipper pink pouch.
Pink Lady's Slipper pink pouch.

The pink lady slipper is fairly common in our territory here in the Appalachian Mountain ridges. I’ve seen them blooming plenty of times, but never saw one that formed a seed head. That may be a result of searching them out when they’re blooming and not paying much attention to them the rest of the year.

Here, there were two plants that must have formed seed heads the prior year. The brown seed heads were still attached to the plants.

Seed head of pink lady slipper orchid.
Seed head of pink lady slipper orchid.

Note in the image above that the brown seed head rose to about 16 inches.

Looking down on the seed head of pink lady's slipper.
Looking down on the seed head of pink lady's slipper.

In the image above a young orchid flower is on the left and a seed head formed the prior year is on the lower right. Note that the seed head is slotted, apparently for releasing the seeds.

A second pink lady's slipper went to seed last year.
A second pink lady's slipper went to seed last year.

The pink lady’s slipper was also flowering along the slope of the trail on the east side of the Box Huckleberry Natural Area.

Each Mother’s Day I look forward to seeing the native moccasin flowers blooming. Since Mother’s Day was celebrated on May 9, 2010 the Pink Lady’s Slippers bloomed right on time.

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