| It’s spring ephemeral season! You may have already seen them starting to pop up in your gardens or local woodland parks. Here are some of our favorites that put on a show in late March and early April. |
Hepatica acutiloba (Sharp-lobed Liverleaf)These bright, cheerful flowers emerge through the leaf litter atop fuzzy 6-8 inch stems in early spring. The flowers can range from white to pink or violet, and are joined in a few weeks by freshly unfurled leaves which are mottled and leathery. Unlike many other ephemerals, the leaves can persist all season and even through the following winter, providing interest year-round |
| Sanguinaria canadensis (Bloodroot)Bloodroot gets its name from the thick, fleshy red rhizomes that ooze a blood-like sap when broken. The striking white flowers arrive in early spring on a stalk that is clasped by the emerging leaf. Each flower lasts only 1-2 days, dropping their petals afterward as the seed pod begins to develop and the scalloped leaves unfurl. Those distinctive leaves continue to grow to around 7 inches across and will remain until mid to late summer when the plants finally go dormant. |  |
| Dicentra cucullaria (Dutchman’s Breeches)These graceful woodland wildflowers bloom in early spring with arching stems of creamy white flowers that, you guessed it, resemble pants! If you have trouble seeing it, picture white pants hanging from a wire with their ankles facing up. They will grow in spreading colonies with distinct central crowns, meaning that they leave room for other spring ephemerals and bulbs. |  |
| Claytonia virginica (Spring Beauty)Spring Beauty is a delicate, low-growing ephemeral with wispy foliage and delicate pink and white flowers. Their early and long-lasting flowers offer nectar and pollen for many insects before there are many other options. Specialist bees like Andrena erigeniae and at least 23 other species of native bees have been documented visiting Spring Beauties to make use of their generous amount of nectar. |  |
| Erythronium americanum (Yellow Trout Lily)These yellow flowers make for an elegant seasonal groundcover, often seen growing in large colonies along stream banks in low deciduous woodlands. The leaves give the plant its name, as they have mottled coloration that resembles the skin of brook trout. Yellow Trout Lilies require moist soil in the spring during, and benefit from partial to full sun early in their growing season and more shade as the trees above leaf out. |  |
