Spring Wildflowers - What to expect in March and April

Although it doesn't seem like it right now, wildflower season is almost upon us.  Some species in Mid-Michigan begin blooming in March (or even February) and many more follow in April.

Here are some of the wildflowers that you can normally expect to see in the Great Lakes and Northeast in the coming six weeks - we shall see what happens once the snow and ice actually melt.

March Wildflowers

All of these species will continue blooming through April.

Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) - Click for Species Profile

Common Blue Violet (Viola sororia)

Cut-leaved Toothwort (Cardamine concatenata)

Skunk Cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus) - Click for More Information

Yellow Trout Lily (Erythronium americanum) - Click for More Information

April Wildflowers

The above species continue blooming April and are joined the following species.  Many of these species will continue to bloom into late May or early June.

Blue Cohosh (Caulophyllum thalictroides)

Broad-leafed Toothwort (Cardamine diphylla)

Dog Violet (Viola conspersa)

Dutchman's Breeches (Dicentra cucullaria) - Click for Species Profile

False Rue-anemone (Enemion biternatum)

Jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum)

Large-Flowered Bellwort (Uvularia grandiflora) - Click for Species Profile

Large-flowered Trillium (Trillium grandiflorum) - Click for Species Profile

Marsh Marigold (Caltha palustris) - Click for Species Profile

Mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum) - Click for Species Profile

 

Pussy-toes (Antennaria spp.)

Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica) - Click for Species Profile

Squirrel Corn (Dicentra canadensis)

Swamp Buttercup (Ranunculus hispidus) - Click for Species Profile

 

Two-leaf Mitrewort (Mitella diphylla) - Click for Species Profile

White Trout Lily (Eythronium albidum) - Click for More Information

Wild Blue Phlox (Phlox divaricata) - Click for More Information

Wild Red Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis)

Wild Ginger (Asarum canadense) - Click for Species Profile

Wild Strawberry (Fragaria virginiana)

What's in the woods? - 2, 4 & 5 May 2013

With the sudden warm weather, the Spring ephemeral wildflowers have reached their peak across Mid-Michigan.  Many species have actually passed their peak and are on the downslide.  A few of the species that can be found in bloom right now include Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis), Large-flowered Trillium (Trillium grandiflorum), Yellow Trout Lily (Erythronium americanum), False Rue Anemone (Enemion biternatum), Dutchman's Breeches (Dicentra cucullaria), Squirrel Corn (Dicentra canadensis), Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica), Skunk Cabbage (Syplocarpus foetidus), Marsh Marigold (Caltha palustris), Common Blue Violet (Viola sororia), Downy Yellow Violet (Viola pubescens), Cut-leaved Toothwort (Cardamine concatenata), and Blue Cohosh (Caulophyllum thalictroides).

The first photograph is from last Thursday (02 May 2013) at Pickens Field in Mt. Pleasant.

False Rue Anemone

The next three photographs  were taken Saturday (04 May 2013)at the southbound US-127 rest stop near St. Johns, MI.

Yellow Trout Lily

Spring Beauty

Large-flowered Trillium

The remaining photographs were taken yesterday (05 May 2013) at Chipp-A-Waters Park in Mt. Pleasant.

Dutchman's Breeches foliage, flowers, and seed pods

Large-flowered Trillium and Cut-leaved Toothwort (lower right)

Squirrel Corn

Spring Beauty flowers and Bloodroot leaves

The following fern pictures are also from yesterday at Chipp-A-Waters Park.  Fern identification is something that I need to work on, so for now these will remain unlabeled.

Native Species Profile - Dutchman's Breeches

I went back out to Chipp-A-Waters Park again this afternoon to check on the progress of the spring ephemeral wildflowers.  The Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) that was not fully open yesterday, was past its prime by this afternoon.  This is normal for Bloodroot; if you do not catch the bloom in the morning it will be done by afternoon.  Many year I miss the Bloodroot bloom entirely.

The Large-flowered Trillium (Trillium grandiflorum) looks about the same as yesterday.  It should be blooming in about two day.  The Blue Cohosh (Caulophyllum thalictroides) is taller, but is largely unchanged.  Cut-leaved Toothwort (Cardamine concatenata) is also growing quickly.  Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica) and Common Blue Violet (Viola sororia) have begun blooming.

The wildflower that has progressed the most in the last 24 hours is the Dutchman's Breeches (Dicentra cucullaria).

Dutchman's Breeches

What's in the woods? - 29 April 2013

The weather has improved considerably here in Mid-Michigan over the last week.  Spring has finally started to arrive in force.  Many of the spring ephemeral wildflowers are growing quickly and will be in bloom by the end of the week - this puts them about 10 days behind a normal spring. 

I took a walk at Chipp-A-Waters Park in Mt. Pleasant yesterday morning to check on the status of the wildflowers there.  Much of the floodplain forest is still flooded from the rains of the past few weeks, but the river is back within its banks now.  Here are some of the species that I found.

A Blanding's Turtle (Emydoidea blandingii or Emys blandingii) was sitting in the grass along the side of the trail.  Easily identified by its bright yellow chin and throat, the Blanding's Turtle is listed as a Species of Special Concern in Michigan.



Blanding's Turtle

Spring Delayed - In the Swamp

Yesterday I went to Mission Creek Park to check out the wildflowers in the Cedar and Red Maple Swamps.  The only thing that was blooming at all was Skunk Cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus).  Marsh Marigold (Caltha palustris). The Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) that grows along the creek was barely poking out of the ground.  In fact there was still one patch of ice in the cedar swamp.

Skunk Cabbage flowers and shoots

2 to 3 inch thick ice - covering an area of approx 15 x 40 ft

Blue Flag Iris (Iris versicolor) growing through the ice

More Skunk Cabbage growing in a warmer location.  It is a little further along.

Today, we woke up to snow on the ground.  It's April 24th.  In Mid-Michigan.  It should be Spring.  It's trying.

Spring - Delayed

I went out to one of my favorite wildflowers spots yesterday to see what is blooming.  Usually by the third weekend of April I can find Large-flowered Trillium (Trillium grandiflorum), Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica), Dutchman's Breeches (Dicentra cucullaria), Yellow Trout Lily (Erythronium americanum),

Blue Cohosh (Caulophyllum thalictroides), Cut-leaved Toothwort (Cardamine concatenata), Common Blue Violet (Viola sororia), and probably a few species blooming at this site.  Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) is often done blooming by now.  

So what did I find yesterday?

The only significant green is from Wild Leeks (Allium tricoccum).

Wild Leek shoots - photo taken 18 APR 2013

Bloodroot was just beginning to come up.

Bloodroot, less than 1.5 inches tall

As was Dutchman's Breeches.

Dutchman's Breeches

There were also a few leaves from Spring Beauty and Yellow Trout Lily visible, but that was it as far as native wildflowers.  I am going to another site today, but I expect more of the same.  Spring seems to have been delayed by about a week.

I did see one other thing.  My third snake of the year a small (1 foot long) garter snake.

Garter Snake peering over downed branch.

Native Species Profile - Carolina Spring Beauty

Usually around this time of year I can find several species of wildflowers blooming in local woods including Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica). 

Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica)

There is another plant in the Claytonia genus that can be found throughout Michigan - Carolina Spring Beauty (Claytonia caroliniana).  The Carolina Spring Beauty is very similar in appearance to the Spring Beauty.  Both plants have five white to pink petals with purple nectar guides.  Both plants can grow up to 6-12 inches tall, but are usually shorter.  Both plants grow throughout the eastern United States and Canada.

The main difference in the plants is the shape of the leaves.  The Spring Beauty has narrow grass-like leaves; the Carolina Spring Beauty has wider oval shaped leaves.  Another difference is in their bloom times.  The Spring Beauty begins blooming up to a month before the Carolina Spring beauty - late-March versus late-April.  Both plants will continue blooming into mid-June.

Carolina Spring Beauty (Claytonia caroliniana)

Basic Information

Carolina Spring Beauty

Claytonia caroliniana

Height:  6-12” tall

Habitat:  woodlands, uplands

Flower Color:  white or pink, with pink veins

Bloom Time:  late April – mid June

Thinking spring - Large-flowered Trillium

This photograph of Large-flowered Trillium (Trillium grandiflorum) was taken April 2012 at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.  There is an abandoned farm just south of Empire that is part of the park.  The path back to this farm is lined on both sides by expanses of woodland wildflowers including thousands of trillium.  These two plants were growing up through a cut in a log that was half-embedded in the soil.  Their stems managed to snake up through the cut in the log, leaving this interesting picture that looks like it was arranged for the camera.