Spring Ephemeral – Page 2

Trout Lily Flowers Next to the Juniata River

August 14, 2012April 26, 2010 by wilde

In Pennsylvania one of the Spring Ephemerals that blooms in early April is the Trout Lily, Erythronium americanum, which is also called Adder’s Tongue or Dogtooth Violet. Trout Lily is a better or more descriptive common name because the trout lily is a member of the Lily family, Liliaceae.

If you know traits of the Lily Family, then you’ll be able to recognize that trout lily is a lily. It’s supposedly named for blooming at the time when the trout are running, or spawning. Since April 3rd was the first day of trout fishing season here, the name trout lily might be right on.

You’ll probably first notice the foliage of the trout lily as it is visible for many weeks, yet the blossom is out for a short time, perhaps a week at the most. The flowers in these photographs, taken 8 April 2010, were gone by the 13th of April.

We found a colony of trout lilies blooming along my favorite river road. It was easy to spot their yellow flowers on the west-facing slope that overlooks the Juniata River.

Large group of trout lily blooming next to the river road.

Looking up at trout lily blooming on the hillside next to the river.

Looking up the hill at all the yellow trout lily blooms.

Flowers at the bottom of the image are just opening their bell-shaped blossom. Once open the petals flare backward exposing the bright yellow stamens.

The palmate or divided leaf on the left in the image above is a cut-leaved toothwort, which was growing in small patches among the trout lilies.

The thick, sword-like leaves of trout lily come to a point at the tip and are mottled with dark green to maroon on a light green background, or vice versa.

Found in wetland areas, natural water drainage areas next to creeks, rivers, lowlands.

Close-up of trout lily flowers with yellow stamens.

One to three lance-like leaves per bloom and sometimes you find a large number of single leaves with no blooms on this perennial spring flower. Trout lily flowers are the tallest part of the plant and they reach 8 – 10 inches tall.

The under or back side of the yellow petals is streaked with brown, and more so on the three outer petals.

Oh, see those three little leaves in the foreground? Well, I certainly didn’t. In my enthusiasm for the opportunity to photograph these flowers I neglected to check for poison ivy, but that’s what I got! Never used to as a kid. Use caution if you’re going in the woods, no matter what time of year. All it takes is one brush with the poison ivy plant and you could be itching for a long time. Take my word for it!

Spring beauty blooming as trout lily cohort.

Spring beauty flowers and the mottled leaves of trout lily.

Also blooming in the same area were Spring Beauty and Cut-Leaved Toothwort.

Trout lily and spring beauty blooming together.

Across the road on the river side, a small patch of Virginia Bluebells, Mertensia virginica, were blooming at the base of a tree.

Virginia bluebells blooming next to the river.

On the east side of the Juniata River these bluebells were blooming on the 8th of April 2010.

From what we’ve seen on the Juniata River it seems that river banks and the adjacent lands might be great places to search for spring flowers. If you can find a trail near you that runs through river side areas, take a hike and let us know what you find.

Bloodroot the White Woodland Flower with a Red Root

August 14, 2012April 25, 2010 by wilde

One of the earliest blooming Spring Ephemeral flowers is Bloodroot, Sanguinaria canadensis. The days are often cold and windy at the time of year when the bloodroot blooms, but once the sun shines long enough to warm the ground bloodroot will emerge.

Bloodroot grows in eastern forests, especially moist soils in wooded areas. The Mill Race Trail at Little Buffalo State Park, Newport, Pennsylvania, is a great place to see this perennial spring flower blooming in early April.

A group of bloodroot flowers in the woodlands.

The flowers arise from an underground rhizome in a bud fashion. If you looking for bloodroot on the early side, you might see a few flowers still curled up tight before the blossoms open.

Bloodroot flower emerges as a tight bud.

In the image above you can see the leaf curled around the flower stem below the small white flower bud. The sword-like mottled leaves next to the bloodroot are trout lilies that had yet to bloom.

As bloodroot grows the flower stem continues to elongate and the flower opens up. The leaf of bloodroot is still wrapped around the flower stem while the flower is blooming.

Bloodroot flower opening. Note leaf curled around flower stem.

Once the petals of the bloodroot flower start to open you’ll be able to see the large canary yellow stamens.

As the bloodroot flower matures the leaf also continues to develop and pull away from the flower stem.

It would be cool to see bloodroot flowers under a UV light – I wonder if the gray lines on the white petals would light up to show the pollinators where to find the pollen. You have to inspect the flower really closely to see these lines, which are barely visible in bright sunlight.

Bloodroot is considered a Spring Ephemeral, flowering only for a brief time in early spring before the trees leaf out. If you get into the woods after the tree leaves emerge, you probably won’t find any bloodroot still blooming.

Bloodroot blooms for about a week, depending on the weather in early Spring. Here in Southcentral PA we see bloodroot the first or second week of April.

Bloodroot flowers have eight to ten, white, elongated petals that seem to be attached rather loosely. Any attempts at picking the flower or digging one up will result in the loss of petals. That’s probably why we don’t see bloodroot at garden centers. They’re too delicate for any handling and would never look good in flower arrangements because of that.

The flowers of bloodroot should be appreciated in their natural habitat or perhaps in a native plants garden.

Bloodroot flowers in the forest in early April.

Closer inspection of the flower shows that it comes up first, followed by a single leaf for each flower. The leaves emerge curled around the flower stem. After the flower has bloomed and lost its petals, the leaf will grow in earnest.

The large round leaf of bloodroot is a unique one with a deeply scalloped edge. In the image below there are about 16 bloodroot leaves.

Bloodroot leaves after the flower is gone.

Some of the leaves will get pretty large – as big as your hand, or 8 to 10 inches across. No two leaves seem to have the same exact design, although they all have 7-10 deeply cut lobes each of which are scalloped or have deep, rounded notches.

Bloodroot leaf with scalloped edge and rounded lobes.

Peeking underneath the leaves you can see the seed pods forming from the old flower.

Bloodroot seedpods are circled in yellow in the image above. (Click on photo for larger image.) Eventually, the flower stem will bend down to the ground where the seedpod can release its contents. The bloodroot plant disappears, or cycles back to the earth, in summer.

(Photos of bloodroot flowers were taken 3Apr2010 and photos of bloodroot leaves were taken 18Apr2010.)

Bloodroot is named for the red juice that bleeds out from a cut or damaged root. The root itself is an orange-red color. Native Americans used bloodroot as a dye and to decorate their skin. If you rub the juice on your skin it will last a few days.

Peterson’s Medicinal Plants Guide tells us that, historically, bloodroot was used in the form of a root tea to treat coughs, laryngitis, asthma, bronchitis, lung ailments and rheumatism.

CAUTION – bloodroot is toxic – do not ingest.

A component in bloodroot, sanguinarine, has been shown to have antiseptic, anesthetic and anticancer activity. Today, it is used in commercial mouthwash and toothpastes as a plaque-inhibiting agent.

Dutchman’s Breeches Bloom the First Half of April in Pennsylvania

August 14, 2012April 24, 2010 by wilde

Went to drop off the car at the local garage a couple weeks ago for its annual inspection. The garage is located on a “river road” that travels along the Juniata River in Perry County, PA.

On Saturday, 3Apr2010, I had reason to travel the same river road (on my way to Little Buffalo State Park in Newport, PA) and it was then that I first spied these massive groupings of Dutchman’s Breeches. Until then I had not seen such a large grouping of these curious Spring ephemeral flowers.

Dutchman’s Breeches, Dicentra cucullaria, were blooming in mass quantities on high stone outcroppings and along the roadside. The stoney hillside coming up from the river bank is gradual in slope on the river side of the road, but once you cross the road the stone rises more vertical, making small cliffs in a couple areas that are probably 30 to 50 ft. tall.

Dutchmen's breeches blooming on the hillside.

The Dutchman’s Breeches were in full bloom and really shone white in the sunlight. As we passed by them in the car you could easily see the white blossoms on their flower spike hanging above the plant greenery.

Dutchman’s Breeches have all their flowers in a row going up a curved flower stalk, in the manner of the old time garden favorite Bleeding Hearts, Dicentra spectabilis, a close relative of Dutchman’s Breeches. Comparing one to the other you can see similarities in the way the flowers hang from their flower stems.

: Image via Wikipedia Bleeding Hearts

While the Bleeding Hearts dangle down from their flower stem, the Dutchman’s Breeches appear to be hanging on the clothesline with their feet up!

Note the highly divided, feathery leaves. This closeup image shows the “pantaloons” hanging from the flower stalk. The unique flower of Dutchman’s Breeches makes identification a simple matter. No other flower looks quite like a hanging pantaloon. Another related plant, called Squirrel Corn, Dicentra canadensis, has a similar flower, but instead of two “legs” sticking up it’s blossom has a rounded end that makes it look like a kernel of corn.

We’ve seen Dutchman’s Breeches blooming from the 3rd to the 18th of April this year, so there’s at least a two week time period to observe their flowers, which is kind of long for a Spring ephemeral. Once you know what they look like, they’re easily noticed – even while driving by at highway speeds – by their flowers on the upright flower stalks.

Apparently, Dutchman’s Breeches prefer a wooded, hillside habitat. We’ve seen several areas with mass groupings of them and all were on a slope in wooded areas.

Dutchman's breeches blooming on a east-facing hillside.

Dutchman’s Breeches on a east-facing hill on the western side of the Juniata River. (Photo taken 10Apr2010.)

Dutchman's breeches blooming on a west-facing hillside.

Dutchman’s Breeches on a west-facing hill on the eastern side of the Juniata River. (Photo taken 7Apr2010.)

Blooming on the same west-facing slope were Dogtooth Violet or Trout Lily, Cut-Leaved Toothwort and Spring Beauty. This slightly shaded, moist area next to the river was still receiving runoff as we saw some water flowing down the rocks to the river.

Spring Ephemeral Flowers at Little Buffalo State Park Newport PA

August 14, 2012April 15, 2010 by wilde

Take Route 34 exit off Route 322, go south on Route 34 through Newport, PA and just after a sharp bend in the road to the right (near the feed mill), turn right onto Little Buffalo Road. Continue for a mile or so and turn left onto State Park Road. Pass in front of the Blue Ball Tavern Museum and cross the one lane bridge. Turn right onto the first lane and proceed to the parking area on the left.

Map of the day use area in Little Buffalo State Park — Map of the Day Use Area in Little Buffalo State Park

The red path shows how to get to the Day Use Area and where to park. The yellow circle marks the best place to find Spring wild flowers in Little Buffalo State Park.

The Day Use Area is set up for picnics with plenty of picnic tables and pavilions, grills, a playground, and easy access to trails and scenic overlooks.

Walk toward the creek and through the covered bridge. Take the Mill Race Trail if you want to see the Spring wildflowers. It’s an easy trail, only one-half mile long, and it is the best place to see the Spring Ephemeral flowers at Little Buffalo State Park. You’ll see some wildflowers on the hillsides and other flowers in the lowlands near the creek. Shoaff’s Mill is an attraction in itself – the water wheel is supposedly one of the biggest in existence!

Spring Ephemeral flowers blooming on 3 April 2010 –

skunk cabbage
round-lobe hepatica
spring beauty
bloodroot

Also saw the sword-like leaves of the trout lily, but its yellow flowers were not visible yet.

Spicebush trees or shrubs were blooming along the far end of Mill Race Trail near the creek. Bright yellow clusters of flowers bloom all along the length of the branches before any leaves appear.

If you’d like a more challenging hike, stop by the visitor’s center and pick up a map of the park. Try the Volksmarch 10K loop, the Buffalo Ridge Trail, or the Fisherman’s Trail.

Hepatica, a Spring Ephemeral Blooming in the Woods of Pennsylvania

August 14, 2012April 10, 2010 by wilde

On March 31st the Round-lobed Hepatica, Hepatica americana, were blooming strong. I counted 13 hepatica plants on the south east quad, west and south of the original found plant at the moss-covered skinny log. I think I may have been in the woods at the right time to see so many plants. All it takes is a little wind for the oak leaves to cover up the hepatica and hide it from us, so make sure to look well among the leaf litter for it.

The previous two days were cloudy, overcast, windy and rainy. The delicate forest flowers must need at least a little sun to coax their blooms out of hiding. After all, they only bloom once in a year and when they do bloom it’s during the time when there are no leaves on the trees.

Leaf buds are pushing a little on a few trees, like the cherry trees and lilacs, but for the most part the scenery is still drab shades of gray and brown accented with flowering forsythia and star magnolia.

Hepatica photos taken 29 March 2010 show the flower buds getting ready to open. Photos in this post – all photos taken 31 March 2010 – show blossoms opening up.

Round-lobed hepatica with white blossoms.

White flowers are opening up on this round-lobed hepatica. It’s an older plant with at least seven leaves and as many flowers. (Click images to see larger view.) Note that the petals are shorter than the bracts under the flower head. Young petals are smaller than the bracts. As the flower matures the sepals get larger until they are about the same length as the bracts.

The Peterson Field Guide to Wildflowers tells us the petals are actually sepals.

Round-lobed hepatica plant with only two leaves and two flowers.

The true colors of the two blossoms above are pale blue. The waxy surface of the leaves can be seen here as a shiny surface.

In real life the flowers were a much deeper blue to purple color, but the sunlight – and a flash on the closeup images – washed out the color. The afternoon sun shone on the hepatica flowers softly, but the images from my little digital Olympus were overexposed. Can’t wait to get a manual everything camera.

Round-lobed hepatica with purple flowers.

Closeup of light purple round-lobed hepatica flowers. This plant grew at the base of a big oak tree, so it was easy to find it again. Use landmarks around you to re-locate plants that you want to observe throughout the year.

Round-lobed hepatica with small upright leaves. Note angular features of small leaves.

This older hepatica plant, as noted by the many leaves and flowers, has a set of smaller, upright leaves. The upright leaves are not rounded on the edges, but rather pointed or angular and about the same size as the flowers.

Closeup of round-lobed hepatica upright leaves.

Closeup of smaller, upright leaves shows they are taller than the flowers. Why are these leaves held upright? Are they young versions of the mature leaves that overwinter or do they have a different purpose? Several of these smaller leaves are deformed or have been nibbled on. Not many of the larger, rounded leaves are so deformed, but there are a few leaves that are torn or damaged that survive from year to year. Perhaps mammals of the forests that browse on the small leaves help to pollinate hepatica.

Round-lobed hepatica with ant on flower.

Here, we see that ants are likely pollinators of round-lobed hepatica. Note the fuzzy appearance of the flower stems and the tight anthers on the cream-colored stamens that stick out like little lights.

Fuzzy stems of round-lobed hepatica flowers.

Flowers don’t all blossom at one time. In the image above there are two fully-developed flowers with their petals held out flat, one flower about to open, two with bent heads and flower stalks almost tall enough, and one with a short flower stalk and tighter flower bud. Note the hairy stems and bracts. The hairs are quite long in places, making the flower heads and stems appear fuzzy.

Leaves are hairy as well. Older leaves may lose some of the hairs, which are not as long as the hairs on the flower stems.

When you’re taking a walk in the woods searching for hepatica and other Spring ephemeral flowers, stop every now and then and scan the leaf litter all around you. Look for any bit of green on the forest floor and if there is a well-rounded edge to the leaf inspect it a little closer.

At times you will find the flower poking its head above the leaf litter while the leaves that have overwintered are still under cover. This has led to some field guides to state that hepatica flowers will appear before the leaves do. Actually, the leaves are there too, just not completely visible.

Round-lobed hepatica flowers with hiding leaf.

Typical view of hepatica with the flowers sticking above the leaf litter and the leaves hidden below the oak leaves.

Round-lobed hepatica with single leaf and flower. — Round-lobed hepatica with single leaf and flower poking out of the leaf litter.

Three bracts underneath the flower heads are either green or maroon, hairy, and rounded at the tips.

Round-lobed hepatica with maroon bracts.

This plant has two flowers in the bud stage and a young opened flower that appears to be supported by the three maroon bracts beneath the open flower head.

Not all hepatica plants were flowering on this day. I suppose they don’t flower each and every year, or perhaps those without flowers had already bloomed. At the most the plants that I saw had two blossoms full out per plant, some had only one or no flower – at that particular time. A couple plants had already flowered and dropped their petals, while more blossoms are yet to fill out.

Heat Pushes Hepatica Plants to Bloom Early

August 14, 2012April 9, 2010 by wilde

The weather has been unusually warm for much of the US East Coast for the past week. The heat continued to rise to 25 degrees or more over the average for this time of the year, which is about 58 degrees. In Millerstown, PA high temperature records of 85, 89 and 89 degrees were set on April 5, 6 and 7. Yesterday, we tied the record at 86 degrees. Then the cold front came through.

It was a fast storm that reset the temperatures down to normal. Winds blew gusty, lightning hit all around us, the power flicked on and off a few times, and finally a soft rain cooled everything off.

The sunny and warmer than usual weather has pushed vegetation growth and flower blooming much faster than normal. Plants grow and flower according to the amount of sunlight received and temperatures experienced. So, it is a combination of warmth and light that will indicate to a plant that the time is right for flowering, or fruiting for that matter.

Higher temperatures will speed up plant growth and as a result the time of flowering can arrive sooner. The opposite may happen during colder than normal temperatures where growth is slowed and blooming delayed.

Additionally, some plants are not sensitive to the amount of light available, so sunlight is not a factor in their blooming time. These plants are called photoperiod-insensitive plants.

A woodland plant blooming earlier in 2010 is Hepatica. We know that hepatica, one of my favorite woodland plants, blooms in very early Spring, before the trees leaf out. That means that hepatica will bloom in Pennsylvania sometime in April, depending also on latitude and elevation. Will weather conditions, which are very quick to change this time of year, dictate the blooming times of hepatica? It seems so, considering that in 2010, with record-breaking high temperatures, we have observed hepatica and other plants blooming much earlier.

Prior articles on wildeherb.com contain some photos that illustrate the early blooming. In 2007 hepatica was photographed blooming on 21 April. In 2006 hepatica blooms were photographed on the 11th and the 19th of April. In 2010 hepatica is just about done blooming in the first week of April.

Many other plants are also flowering earlier this year. All the plants photographed in the wildeherb links above are blooming now or just past blooming. For instance, the star magnolia has leaves developed already and maybe two blossoms are still hanging on one limb. All the other flower petals have fallen to the ground. Yet, in 2006 the same star magnolia tree was in full bloom on April 11 and no leaves had yet developed.

Tulips, peach trees, ferns, dandelions, and violets all seem to be at about the same development stage now (April 9, 2010) as shown in the April 19, 2006 photos. The one exception is cinquefoil. Its flowers have yet to appear, so perhaps their blooming is dictated more by the available sunlight instead of the prevailing temperatures. A photoperiod-sensitive plant, perhaps.

If the old weather data could be matched up to the images, we might actually be able to document temperature-dependent blooming times. It would be interesting to find out which of the Spring ephemerals are more keyed to temperature than sunlight. That might make it possible to go into the woods at the right times to spy on them!

On a grander scale there are implications here regarding global warming. It’s been documented that blooming has been occurring earlier in the year in some places and for years now. Some are worried that the insects and other pollinators for the early blooming plants might not be in the proper areas to perform their pollinating service at the right time. Insects slumber, birds and bats migrate. During early spring if the plants get way ahead of the pollinators, it could spell disaster for future generations of plants.

At the extreme this raises the question of possible plant extinction due to climate change. Without pollinators in the scenario, these flowering plants won’t be able to reproduce by seed.

To lend credence to these observations, it’s already been documented that plant life-cycles can be disrupted by a changing climate.

Flowers bloom earlier as UK warms (news.bbc.co.uk)
Plants flower five days earlier for every degree of global warming (telegraph.co.uk)

Yellow Coltsfoot Blooms and Hoof-shaped Leaves

August 14, 2012April 8, 2010 by wilde

Coltsfoot is still blooming in places along roadsides in Pennsylvania. Coltsfoot, Tussilago farfara, could be considered a Spring Ephemeral flower, but that term is usually reserved for woodland flowers that have a very short life cycle with a narrow window to bloom.

The Spring Ephemerals only receive enough sunlight to bloom after it gets warm enough in late winter and early spring up until the time when the trees develop their leaves. Once the forest canopy is filled in not enough light gets to the forest floor for these small herbaceous plants to continue flowering.

Typically, you’ll see coltsfoot along the road or trail side where it can get enough sunlight to develop its leaves. The leaves will stick around for most of the summer, so the life-cycle for coltsfoot is too long for it to be considered a true Spring ephemeral, but it does bloom in very early Spring, when the ephemeral flowers are blooming. Coltsfoot is a perennial that will return year after year. (Photos taken 1 April 2010.)

coltsfoot flower heads lifting up to the sun

Note that some of the flower heads are stilled bowed down from the night. These flower heads will also rise up once they receive enough sun.

coltsfoot blooms open with the sunlight — The left photo shows coltsfoot flowers closed in the late afternoon and the right photo shows the same blossoms opening up in the morning sunshine.

Coltsfoot leaves growing by April 1. Note the red-circled areas that highlight the hoof-shaped leaves.

coltsfoot flower heads open and closed — Coltsfoot flower heads open and closed. Note the very narrow ray flowers, maroon cast to scales on flower stems, and bowed heads of closed blossoms.

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