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| Spring Blooms - Chippewa County (image by Ruth Forsgren) |
By Ruth Forsgren
In my mind there are few things that bring me as much joy as
finding the woodland spring flowers starting to bloom. I don’t know whether it
is their colorful little greetings after a long, brown period or that being
small they can be difficult to find and the excitement of the hunt brings me
happiness. A forest that is carpeted in spring beauty will readily capture my
eye and camera lens, but upon closer examination comes the triumph of finding
the small, shy yellow violet or that bloodroot bloom tucked into a fallen tree
that makes my walk in the spring forest an adventure.
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| Spring woodland - Chippewa County (image by Ruth Forsgren) |
Almost all of the spring flowers blooming in the woods are
called spring ephemerals. Ephemeral comes from the Greek word ephêmeros which means lasting a day. So spring ephemerals are only here
for a short time, they must emerge, bloom and set seed before the leaves are
out on the tree canopy above. Once the trees leaf out they shade the plants on
the forest floor and many of the true ephemerals will wither leaving just the
root, rhizome or corm underground to store the plants energy until the
following spring when sunlight once again warms the forest floor. I would like to share with you a few of my
favorite spring ephemerals.
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| un-opened Bloodroot flower (image by Ruth Forsgren) |
Fond little girl memories of the joy of picking daisies
might be what leads to bloodroot (Sanguinaria
canadensis) being one of my favorite spring flowers. The Bloodroot flower
hasseveral delicate, bright white petals that surround the lemon yellow stamens
and is supported by a blood red stalk. When the deeply lobed leaf first emerges
it completely surrounds the flower, almost as if it is afraid that the flower
cannot stand on its own.
Each flower only lasts for one, maybe two days before
the seeds begin to form. The bloodroot offers no nectar but has abundant pollen
that is important to bees in the honey production. The name bloodroot comes
from the red liquid found in the stalk and underground in the rhizome. The red
fluid is not technically sap but instead is a latex. Native Americans were reported
to use the reddish-orange latex as a dye for both baskets and ceremonial body
paint; many sources also reference Native Americans use of it as an insect
repellant.  |
| Bloodroot Flower (image by Ruth Forsgren) |
Bloodroot is an example of a plant whose historical folk
medicine uses fall under what is known as Doctrine of Signatures. The Doctrine
of Signatures comes from the belief that if a natural object looks like a body
part, it can be used to treat diseases that affect that part of the body. So
the red blood-like liquid in this plant would of course be useful in curing
blood related illnesses. Modern sciences have proven many of these associations
to be incorrect and bloodroot falls into that category.
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| Spring Beauty along the trails at Beaver Creek Reserve. (image by Ruth Forsgren) |
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| Spring Beauty (image by Ruth Forsgren) |
Another favorite spring flower of mine would have to be
spring beauty (Claytonia virginica). At
Beaver Creek Reserve, spring beauty carpets our lowland forest areas in a sea
of bright purplish-pink. Reaching a height of three to six inches the sheer
multitude of these plants are what pack quite a punch. The next time you
encounter spring beauty I encourage you to stop and get down close to these
delicate little flowers and you will find they are quite ornate with their pink
and purple petals sporting a deeper pink vein down the middle.
Spring beauty
leaves resemble grass blades but are thicker and shinier. Spring beauty
attracts pollinators with an abundance of nectar as the reward for visiting the
bloom. |
| Yellow Trout Lily (by Ruth Forsgren) |
Yellow trout lily (Erythronium
americanum) with their drooping flowers also fall onto my list of spring
favorites. The plant has many common names but I learned it as trout lily, so
named because of the coloration of the leaves. The dark green leaves are
heavily mottled with maroon markings that resemble the markings found on the
sides of a brook trout. The single flower, made of sepals and petals, tilts
downward with yellow on the inside and a rich bronze color on the outside.
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| Trout Lily bloom (by Ruth Forsgren) |
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| Dutchman's Breeches (by Ruth Forsgren) |
I also love the Dutchman’s breeches (Dicentra cucullaria). I
think part of my joy is that I have never lived in an area where these grew
plentiful so seeing them is a treat; but, I think part of my love is The leaves are very frilly and soft looking,
growing in almost a mound under the flowers. The nectar is well guarded, found
at the very tip of the elongated spurs it requires a long proboscis (tongue) to
reach it. The time of the bloom coincides with the emergence of queen
bumblebees and lucky for them they have the long proboscis requires to reach
the nectar.
because
there may still be a tiny part of my eight-year-old self and her giggly delight
in finding out that they were named because they look like old fashioned
underwear, aka breeches hanging on the clothesline. |
| Trillium (by Ruth Forsgren) |
And I will wrap up my favorites list with two of what I
consider showboats of the woodland spring flowers. The great trillium and the
Jack-in-the-pulpit. The great white trillium (Trillium grandiflorium) have
three large leaves that grow in a whorl with the single white bloom rising
above them. The bright white flower will reach up to three to four inches
across and can easily be spotted from some distance away when in bloom. The
trillium will bloom a little later than some of the spring flowers, just in
time for the flight of many species of bees that feed upon its nectar and
pollen.
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| Trillium (by Ruth Forsgren) |
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| Jack-in-the-pulpit (Flickr image) |
The Jack-in-the-pulpit(Arisaema triphyllum) can reach
heights of three feet in rich moist woodlands. The name comes from the flower
that resembles the raised covered platform or pulpit in old churches that
helped the speaker be heard. In this case I guess the speaker’s name is Jack. What
we see and tend to call the flower is actually a modified leaf bract or spathe
(the pulpit) which protects Jack. The spathe is green on the outside and
purplish or purple striped on the inside and under the hood. “Jack” is really a spadix or stalk covered
with very tiny flowers and can been green or purplish. The bright red seed
stalks are found in late summer.
I hope you are able to find some spring woodland ephemerals
this year and can start to make your own favorites list. Please remember that
these plants should remain where you find them and in fact in many cases would
be illegal to pick or gather wildflowers in Wisconsin.
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| Spring Beauty (by Ruth Forsgren) |
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