Trillies, Lilies, and the Rest of the Bunch

I've been so busy this spring that I haven't had much time to get out and botanize. This past Tuesday evening, I visited property of friends of ours just northeast of Potato Creek State Park in St. Joseph County, Indiana. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough daylight for me to take photos at that time. Today, Lindsay, Bootypants, and I went back to this mesic upland forest to snap some shots.

Trillium recurvatum.

Trillium grandiflorum.

Erythronium americanum. Very few individuals of this species still had flowers; most had dropped petals and were developing fruit.

Arisaema triphyllum.

Asarum canadense. I'd never noticed the white portion of the inside of the calyx.

Claytonia virginica.

Dicentra cucullaria.

Enemion biternatum.

Phlox divaricata. The best I can tell, this is ssp. divaricata, with notched petals. Unfortunately, the references I've seen say that the unnotched variety/subspecies sometimes has notched petals, and vice versa.

Phlox divaricata ssp. laphamii. Notice the unnotched petals. The two varieties apparently overlap near the Indiana-Illinois state line, with ssp. divaricata more eastern and ssp. laphamii more western.

Viola pubescens.

Many other species were blooming, but I missed seeing the earliest species (Sanguinaria canadensis, Erigenia bulbosa, etc.) in Indiana this year.

Additional photos can be found at Through Handlens and Binoculars by clicking here.

Scott's edition of "Good Stuff from Saturday"

Like Keith, I was lucky enough to have time to get out and enjoy the weather on Saturday. I will be longing for the warm temperatures and clear skies of this past Saturday early this week, as snow is again in the forecast for this Tuesday!

Next weekend, I am leading a hike for Shirley Heinze Land Trust members at Bendix Woods County Park in St. Joseph County, Indiana. On Saturday, I walked the trail at Bendix Woods to see what would be flowering next weekend for my hike. Based on what I saw, participants should be in for a real treat.
The forest floor was already alive this past weekend. Most of the white specs in the photo above are Enemion biternatum (Rananculaceae), shown below. Ben already discussed the differences between this species and Thalictrum thalictroides in his post here. Another difference between the two is that Enemion biternatum has conspicuous white, papery stipules.

The other contributor to the snowy-spotted landscape is Trillium grandiflorum (Liliaceae), the state wildflower of Ohio. This charismatic species, shown below, had just begun to flower. It should be at its peak next weekend at Bendix Woods. Seeds of T. grandiflorum possess elaiosomes, which are fleshy, fatty structures. Ants are attracted to the elaiosomes. When ants harvest seeds from different colonies of T. grandiflorum, they are helping to increase the genetic diversity of the future colony that will germinate at the location of their nest.

Both Dicentra canadensis (below) and D. cucullaria (below that) (Fumariaceae) were in flower, though I saw many fewer flowering individuals of D. canadensis. I noticed a lot of bumblebees in the vicinity of these two species, and as it turns out, bumblebees are thought to be the only pollinator of the two species.

Like Trillium grandiflorum, the seeds of Dicentra canadensis and D. cucullaria possess elaiosomes and are spread by ants.

One of my favorite spring wildflowers has to be Floerkea proserpinacoides (Limnanthaceae), pictured below. Why? Probably because most people don't even notice it, and because the flowers, although just a few millimeters across, are rather interesting. Small bees and flower flies are known to pollinate false mermaid, as it is known, and both insects were in abundance at Bendix Woods yesterday.

The maroon flowers of Asarum canadense (Aristolochiaceae), shown below, are low to the ground, where they are pollinated by ants. This has to be one of my favorite ephemerals. Oh... wait... I just said that about the previous species! It really is difficult to pick favorites, but who doesn't love a plant that has roots that can be used to make candy? I made candy from the roots of this and true ginger (Zingiber officinale) in college. While some pieces were too strong, others tasted very good.

Several other species were in flower, but I'll save those for the people who come on my hike next week!

After visiting Bendix Woods, I swung by Sebert County Park in LaPorte County, Indiana. Not much was flowering at this site, but one gem that was in bloom was Viola conspersa (Violaceae). This is one of our blue-flowered violets that has stems with leaves (as opposed to leaves all basal, as in V. sororia). You will also notice that the lateral petals are heavily bearded, and that the spur is long, but shorter than the ridiculous spur of V. rostrata.

Violets are a fun and diverse group. Yesterday alone, I saw Viola blanda, V. canadensis, V. conspersa, V. odorata, V. pubescens, V. rostrata, and V. sororia in flower.

Further south, you may already be seeing climax wildflower dispays, but I think we are about one week away here in northern Indiana. Even if you are busy, make time to get out next weekend to see these exhibits for yourself.

I need a little spring!

I'm not one to complain about the snow. I love the snow. I love the winter. But even I have to say that spring can't come quickly enough this year. Parts of LaPorte County were blanketed with almost 2 feet of snow... last night! It's only early February, but it's hard to believe that spring will be roaring in less than two months. Since I don't think I'll be seeing any live flowering plants anytime soon, I figured I would post some old early spring photos to hopefully brighten our spirits.

Behold, the harbinger of spring - Erigenia bulbosa! This photo was taken on March 19, 2005 at Fall Creek Gorge in Attica, Indiana.

Trillium nivale, aptly named snow trillium, as it can sometimes be seen flowering while snow is still on the ground. This photo was taken on March 19, 2005 at Fall Creek Gorge.

The ubiquitous spring beauty, Claytonia virginica. In the depths of winter, even the most common of plants can bring us joy. This photos was taken on April 1, 2006 at Mammoth Cave in Kentucky.

When there isn't much florally happening on the forest floor in early spring, Hepatica acutiloba is at its best. This photo of sharp-lobed hepatica was taken at Dowagiac Woods in southwest Michigan on April 15, 2006.

Upside-down, they do look like a Dutchman's breeches, don't they? I took this photo of Dicentra cucullaria at Bendix Woods in South Bend, Indiana on April 10, 2005.

If you've seen the roots of Dicentra canadensis, you understand why it's commonly referred to as squirrel corn. This photo was taken on April 17, 2005 at Bendix Woods.
In mid-April, marsh marigold lights up forested wetlands and seeps. This photo of Caltha palustris was taken in LaPorte County, Indiana on April 19, 2006.
Bloodroot, Sanguinaria canadensis, is beautiful even prior to anthesis. This photo was taken at Waldhaus in Buchanan, Michigan on March 25, 2007.

This perennial favorite, yellow trout lily (Erythronium americanum), is about as photogenic as they come. I snapped this shot on April 10, 2005 at Bendix Woods.

And a final sign of spring, the leaves of Asarum canadense, wild ginger, just beginning to unfurl. I took this photo at the Heron Rookery in Porter County, Indiana on April 1, 2007.

I can't wait for spring!