colony

Skunk Cabbage Flowers Hide in the Woodlands

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Skunk Cabbage flowers are not your typical Spring blossoms. Anyone who wasn’t educated about the structure of this strange plant would be hard pressed to recognize the flowers as such, or to find them in the first place. The flowers grow in colonial fashion on a sphere inside a protective hood. One can see these protective structures on a walk through the woods or wetlands, but the flowers are so small that they’re not easily seen unless you get down on their level.

The protective hoods are well camouflaged to blend in with their surroundings. The colorful skunk cabbage hoods are yellow to light green and streaked with slashes and spots of maroon and brown. Most hoods are variegated while a few are mostly one color. It’s surprising how well these bright colors blend into the leaves on the forest floor. Unless you know what you’re looking for they can easily be missed.

Maroon-streaked yellow hood of skunk cabbage.
Maroon-streaked yellow hood of skunk cabbage.
Yellow hood of skunk cabbage with maroon blotches.
Yellow hood of skunk cabbage with maroon blotches.
Yellow-green and maroon hood of skunk cabbage.
Yellow-green and maroon hood of skunk cabbage.
Purple or maroon hoods of skunk cabbage.
Purple or maroon hoods of skunk cabbage.
Camouflaged hoods of skunk cabbage at the creek.
Camouflaged hoods of five skunk cabbage plants at the creek.

Flowers may be present for up to a few weeks before the leaves emerge from the wet ground like “rolled-up cigars”. As the leaves grow in size quickly they begin to uncurl and become these mammoth cabbage-like leaves, hence the name “skunk cabbage”.

Flowers inside the hood.
Flowers inside the hood.
Purple sphere with flowers inside hood.
Purple sphere with flowers inside hood.
Yellow sphere with flowers inside hood.
Yellow sphere with flowers inside hood.

As I was stooping down to take these pictures it did smell like a skunk had recently passed that way. Of course it was the scent of the flowers that I was detecting. Their skunky smell beckons the flies that pollinate them. A few were buzzing around the area when I stopped by.

If you haven’t seen skunk cabbage before, now is a good time to look for it. The flowers are all but gone and dwarfed by the enormous leaves, but that makes it easier to spot these plants from afar.

Skunk cabbage leaves appearing at the creek.
Skunk cabbage leaves appearing at the creek.
The leaves and colorful hood of skunk cabbage.
The leaves and colorful hood of skunk cabbage.

Look for skunk cabbage near water sources and in bottom lands. Skunk cabbage leaves grow out while the deciduous trees are still bare. The hooded flowers hide among leaves really well and they won’t be seen from a distance, so it’s much easier to find a patch of skunk cabbage once the leaves have appeared. The plants photographed here were growing next to or in a small stream or creek in the mountains in Central Pennsylvania.

After you’ve found a colony of these perennial plants, make a mental note of the location so you’ll be able to return there next year in early Spring to see the flowers.

Spring Ephemeral Flowers Bloom For All to See

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Spring Ephemerals have had my attention for the past few weeks. I truly enjoy watching Spring take hold in the form of spying on my flowery friends. As the various plants arise from their winter sleep they sprout and put forth their beautiful blossoms for all to see.

The Spring ephemeral flowers by their very nature are fleeting in appearance. You can see them one day and be glad that you did for the next day they could be gone until the next year. Part of my delight stems from the fact that I know most people will never go to the woods to see these beauties. Can I possibly derive pleasure from knowing that people will miss out on these beautiful displays? Not really, but I do feel privileged somehow.

Instead of keeping all the fun to myself, I’ll keep posting pictures here to share with everyone. Soon, I’ll be offering an ebook or e-course on Spring Ephemerals, so stay tuned!

Some years I’ve totally missed out on seeing some favorite flowers because one thing or another kept me from taking time to hunt them. This year I’ve vowed to get to the woods to see my favorites, which I have been lucky to do so far, and to find a few new friends.

Activities that help us to appreciate nature – like looking for spring ephemeral flowers – would make for great family outings. If you’re trying to be “green-minded”, gather your kids or friends and take your next activity to a state park or forest where you can picnic and have some inexpensive fun. There are all sorts of things to do and observe that don’t cost more than your transportation of getting there. Here’s a few ideas to get started –

  • Set a goal to find five new flowering friends each season.
  • Walk or hike in the woods or on a nearby trail and observe nature.
  • Find a favorite flowering plant and observe it through all four seasons.
  • Make a photo-collage or screen-saver of your favorite flowers and leaves.
  • Find wild flowers that are red, white and blue, or your favorite colors.
  • Locate a berry vine and watch the flowers develop into yummy blackberries or black raspberries. Then, make jelly!
  • Get outside and just enjoy the fresh air.

Some of my old favorite spring ephemeral flowers include Round-Leaved Hepatica, Spring Beauty, Trout Lily, Bloodroot and Dutchman’s Breeches.

Spring flowers that I hadn’t before seen or identified include Early Saxifrage, Bluets, and, no doubt, there will be more to be appreciated in the years to come.

Spring ephemerals are just about done flowering for 2010. The trees are at least 50% with leaves developed, so the time for spring ephemeral flowers is almost over. Time for one more walk in the woods!

Spring Beauty Blooms in Large Colonies

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For a couple weeks we had seen a few spring beauties here and there, but nothing like what we saw today. Colonies of hundreds of the spring flower, Spring Beauty, Claytonia virginica, were flowering in the sunshine.

On the hillsides in the woods along the river road spring beauty blossoms were shining in the sun.

Spring Beauty blooms all over the hillside.
Spring Beauty blooms all over the hillside.

The highest patch of ground in the image above was absolutely covered with the white, five-petaled flowers of Spring Beauty. Telephone pole included in shot for scale.

White blooming spring beauty with blue ground ivy blossoms.
White blooming spring beauty with blue ground ivy blossoms.

Pollinating bees visit the spring beauty flowers. The light blue flowers are ground ivy that often occurs in the same areas as spring beauty. Other cohorts include the common blue violet, chives, mayapple and trout lily.

Areas along the road in this hilly area near the Juniata River had huge patches of flowers.

Mass of spring beauty flowers on both sides of the old canal.
Mass of spring beauty flowers on both sides of the old canal.

In the image above a huge colony of spring beauties is separated by the old canal. Next to the river plenty of Spring Beauty flowers were blooming. Spring beauty can be found in moist woodland areas, especially next to rivers, creeks and backwaters.

Looking down on a bunch of Spring Beauty blossoms.
Looking down on a bunch of Spring Beauty blossoms.

This Spring ephemeral is small, only getting the height of the grass and dandelions. A pair of linear, or grass-like, leaves occurs halfway up the stem. The flowers occur in loose clusters with first a single bloom followed by several at once, like we see here in this mass blooming.

Looking across the mass of blooming Spring Beauty flowers.
Looking across the mass of blooming Spring Beauty flowers.

Mass of blooming spring beauty. Note the river in the background above.

Large group of flowering Spring Beauty among the grass.
Large group of flowering Spring Beauty among the grass.

Until the guy mowed the area of grass next to his corn field, this land adjacent to the river was a mass blooming of spring beauty. I think a woman would have waited until next week to mow that area – I know I would have! (Photo taken 15Apr2010, other photos taken 10Apr2010.)

Bluets Colonize the Open Field

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A dainty little flower that can truly be appreciated from afar is called Bluets, Houstonia caerulea. You never see just one Bluet, so I guess that’s why they’re called Bluets.

Bluets are perennials that have the ability to form large colonies. It is this ability that will probably draw your attention to this tiny little plant.

The Bluets colony in this field can be seen from afar.
The Bluets colony in this field can be seen from afar.

Light blue flowers form a great big colony in the field in the image above. The flowers stand taller than the surrounding grass, which was very short, and so appeared as a great big patch of light blue color in the field.

Bluets flowers colonize a grassy field.
Bluets flowers colonize a grassy field.

Open areas, grassy fields and yards are likely areas to find Bluets, but they can occur in other open areas. Below, a small group of Bluets were found growing on a wooded bank along a country road.

A small grouping of bluets on a wooded hillside.
A small grouping of bluets on a wooded hillside.

The white spots in the image above are bluets that were growing on a hill that faced the morning sun. (Photo taken 13Apr2010. All other photos taken 7Apr2010.)

Four-petaled flowers are held upright on a thin stem, 2 to 8 inches high. Light blue to white petals surround a yellow ring in the center of the flower. Petals are pointed and the flowers look rather symmetrical.

Bluets are four-petaled flowers in light blue with yellow centers.
Bluets are four-petaled flowers in light blue with yellow centers.

Leaves are smaller than the blossoms. Very thin and short, the leaves are paired on the flower stems which have a few larger basal leaves.

The Houstonia genus is represented by 20 species in our area, but distinguishing them requires examination of the flowers, fruit and seed shape. Microscopy must be used to see fine seed detail in order to identify Bluets to the species level. Exact identification would require collection of fruits and seeds and further examination. In general, we can just refer to these cute little flowers as Bluets.

According to Peterson’s Medicinal Plants Guide Native Americans used a leaf tea for bed-wetting. No other use is mentioned and apparently Bluets aren’t edible, so I guess we’ll just have to appreciate the little Bluets smiling in the millions from afar.

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