Turns out it was our friend, Ron Young, of Troy, who was to take a girl scout troop on a wildflower walk the next day, and he was out scouting for wild flowers.
Ron told us about a large patch of spring beauties (flowers) that he had seen. I usually have my camera in the vehicle but not on this day.
However, the next day we returned to the game lands and hiked the path to the plot of spring beauties to take pictures. After finding these wildflowers, we went on our own wild flower search.
Spring beauties are small, low-growing wildflowers that are found in a star-like cluster of five white to light pink flowers. A closer examination of the petals will reveal an array of fine pink stripes and a whiff of a pleasant floral fragrance. The plant grows from an underground tuber similar to a small potato.
Another early spring flower that we found is the trout lily (dogtooth
violet). If the flower is white, it is known as white adder’s tongue; if
the flower is yellow, it is called yellow adder’s tongue. The leaves, of the trout lily, are mottled, resembling an adder. The name trout lily is because the flower blooms at the opening of trout season; and the name dogtooth violet is because the bulb is the size and shape of a dog’s tooth. New bulbs send up only a leaf and it takes 3 to 6 years before the plant will flower.
Although it does not appear as a flower, the skunk cabbage is our first flower to bloom in the spring. The species name foetidus means foul smelling. The plant has an odor much like a skunk, the reason for part of its common name. The flower is covered with a yellow pollen. The
plant is cross pollinated by carrion beetles and flies that find the
skunk cabbage from the odor it emits. In early summer, the plant’s large leaves remind us of cabbage leaves, and that explains the cabbage part of the name
Another spring flower we found that day was the trillium. There are seven species occurring in Pennsylvania, and all species bloom in the spring. The blossoms last for only a short time, usually three weeks. All trillium species are shade-loving plants that thrive in moist, woodland areas. Carl Linnaeus gave the plant the genus name “trillium” that comes from the Latin prefix “tri”, because it has three of each of the following: leaves, sepals, flower petals, cells of ovary and ribs of the berries. The trillium belongs to the lily family and is a distinct group of woodland plants, with leaves in a single whorl of three.
The white trillium is known as painted trillium (T. undulatum). Flowers are white, with crimson veining at the base of each petal.
The red trillium (T. erectum) has a number of common names: Wake Robin because the plant’s maroon flowers bloom in early spring when the red-breasted robins return from their wintering grounds. Due to the Wake Robin’s red color and putrid odor of rotten meat, the plant attracts
carrion flies. Although the carrion flies pollinate the flowers, bumblebees visit the flower to collect its golden pollen.
The Coltsfoot flower, which we found along the roadsides, is often mistaken for the dandelion flower. This plant was introduced into this country from Europe, where it was used in medicine. The leaves appear after the flowers are gone. The plant’s name is from the shape of the leaves, which resemble a colt’s foot. The plant grows from both seeds and root systems and spreads rapidly. The seed heads are also mistaken for dandelions.
We did see very small green May apple plants, which are also known as American mandrake, wild mandrake and ground lemon. This plant is widespread across most of Eastern United States and southeastern Canada. May apples are woodland plants, typically growing in poor soil. The plant has umbrella-like leaves, with shallow to deeply cut lobes. The plants produce several stems from a creeping underground rhizome; some stems bear a single leaf and produce neither flower nor fruit; flowering stems could produce a pair or more of leaves and a white flower which matures into a yellow or red fleshy fruit, that appears as a small apple, and that explains the name. All parts of the plant, except for the ripe fruit, are poisonous. Even the fruit has to be ripe before it is not considered dangerous.
If you go searching for spring flowers, just remember that all of the early spring flowers bloom before the canopy of leaves shades out the sun.