Spring Already??

Lindsay and I have been so consumed lately that even with reports from across the state of blooming spring wildflowers, we hadn't had time to just get into the woods across the street to see what others have been raving about.  In fact, without the blogs and list-servs to which I subscribe, I might have lost my mind... at least I was able to live vicariously through the field outings of others for the past couple of weeks.  With a string of 80 degree days over the past week, however, Lindsay and I could not help but to put everything else aside and fall farther behind with our other responsibilities to ensure that we had a chance to get to Potato Creek State Park in St. Joseph County, Indiana on 18 March 2012.

It isn't unheard of to see a few forest species flowering in mid-March.  For example, Skunk Cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus, above) is usually the first native species to flower in the pre-spring, often sending up its flowering spathe and spadix structure in wet mucky forested areas while there is still snow on the ground, sometimes even as early as mid-February.  Although Skunk Cabbage was still flowering, some plants had already put up their leaves, a sign that the flowering structures will soon shrivel, leaving a dark brown fist-sized fruiting structure into the summer.

As its common name suggests, Harbinger-of-Spring (Erigenia bulbosa, above) is often one of the first native wildflowers to begin blooming in mesic forests, but mid- to late-March is usually the earliest that you begin to see the tiny carrot-family flowers of these plants peppering the forest floor.

Another early bloomer, Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica, above) often starts flowering at about the same time as the preceding species.  This is one of our commonest forest wildflowers.  In addition, it can withstand more disturbance than many of its forest associates, and it sometimes can be found in mowed lawns that once supported trees and a rich understory but that sadly have been reduced to a near monoculture of non-native grass.

Limestone Bittercress (Cardamine douglassii, above) is another of the ephemerals that begins flowering in mid- to late-March during normal years.  This mustard is very similar to and often confused with Bulbous Bittercress (Cardamine bulbosa), which often grows in areas that are more damp.  The flowers of Limestone Bittercress are often tinged with lavender, but they can be white like those of Bulbous Bittercress.  One way to tell the two species apart is to look at the upper stems and determine if they are hairy or not... Limestone Bittercress has pubescent upper stems, whereas the upper stems of Bulbous Bittercress are hairless.

One of our most overlooked and underappreciated early-blooming plants is the native shrub American Hazelnut (Corylus americana, above), which can often be found flowering in early March.  As seen above, this shrub has female and male flowers in separate inflorescenses on the same plant.  In the foreground, you can see the fuschia-colored stigmas of female flowers, while the male flowers in drooping catkins can be seen in the background.

A shrub that is much more conspicuous when in flower in spring in mesic to damp forests is Spicebush (Lindera benzoin), shown above.  The yellow clusters of tiny flowers on this species are usually not evident in northern Indiana until early April.  Later in the season, these flowers are replaced by bright red berries.

Yet another species that can usually be found flowering in moist woods beginning in mid-March is Sharplobe Hepatica (Hepatica nobilis var. acuta), pictured above.  The leaves of this species are dark purple and persistent through the winter.

Mid-march in mesic forests also brings forth the blossoms of Cut-leaved Toothwort (Cardamine concatenata, above).  Typical of mustards, the flowers of this species have four petals in a cross-like arrangement.  Like many of the other spring wildflowers featured in this post, the flowers of this species arrive early to take advantage of the sunlight that can reach the forest floor prior to the overstory trees producing leaves.

Two species similar in appearance that are often mistaken for one another are shown above and below.  Above is Rue Anemone (Thalictrum thalictroides), a solitary plant of slightly drier woods and slopes that usually begins flowering towards the end of March.  Below is False Rue Anemone (Enemion biternatum), a colony-forming wildflower that usually begins flowering in moist woods in late March.

The stunning Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis, below) usually starts flowering in late March at the earliest, but we saw several nice colonies of this plant on 18 March this year.  Like many other spring wildflowers, the seeds of Bloodroot bear sugary, fleshy appendages known as elaiasomes; as a result, the seeds are dispersed by ants that are attracted to the elaiasomes.

Lindsay and I were pretty shocked to find some Dutchman's Breeches (Dicentra cucullaria, below) in bloom, since it normally doesn't begin flowering until the very end of March.  Lindsay really liked the photo below, as it shows a tiny ant on the uppermost flower.  Dutchman's Breeches is similar to another moist forest species, Squirrel Corn (Dicentra canadensis), which begins flowering just a tad later.

One of the most striking spring wildflowers has to be Marsh Marigold (Caltha palustris), shown below.  The bright yellow blossoms of this buttercup family species can start to show as early as mid-March in normal years.  You can find this one in wetter, mucky areas and along streams, nearly always associating with Skunk Cabbage.

In addition to these native species, we also saw a couple of sedges (Carex communis and Carex pensylanica) in flower, as well as some willows (likely Salix discolor).  To not discriminate against some of the showy non-native species that are in flower right now, below are three that we noted along the woodland trails.

Common Periwinkle (Vinca minor), pictured above, is often regarded as a highly aggressive species.  I won't go so far as to say that it isn't, but I don't know that I've ever seen this species away from a home site, or away from a planted colony for that matter.  It certainly spreads by rhizomes from its originally planted location, and I wouldn't recommend planting it, but I personally don't put it in the same class as invasives like Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata) or Multiflora Rose (Rosa multiflora).

Similarly, Daffodils (Narcissus pseudonarcissus) will persist for many years after planting, even in at least partly shaded conditions.  I definitely don't consider them invasive, though, as they don't seem to spread and definitely don't outcompete native species, at least in this part of the world.

It is difficult not to have a special place in your heart for the crocus (Crocus spp.), as their opening flowers simply seem to exude spring. 

As you can see, although several plants are flowering prematurely this year, many are within their known flowering periods, albeit at the very beginning of those known flowering periods.  With this extended warm... no... hot stretch, it will be interesting to see how the spring progresses.  I expect that we will still have another snowstorm before we get consistently warm spring weather, but this stretch has sure been pleasant.  If you haven't already, I hope you get a chance to get out there soon to experience the spring flora.

Fear Not, Northerners!

Although the calendar indicates that winter has officially ended, the weather in northern Indiana during the past few days hasn't felt very spring-like... and it doesn't appear that the temperature will increase much in the next week or so. Believe it or not, though, the spring wildflowers are preparing to do their thing. There has been an increase in wildflower posts on the blogs that I follow from southern Indiana, southern Ohio, and Missouri in the past couple of weeks, indicating that the spring flora is maturing in those areas. Unable to wait, I headed out in the field both of the past two weekends to see what I could find. On March 13 in Culver, Indiana, Lee Casebere, Scott Holaday, and I saw the spathe and spadix inflorescences of Skunk Cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus, below), our earliest flowering native plant in this part of the state.


There wasn't anything else in bloom in these northern Indiana woods, so the next weekend (March 19) Lee and I drove to southeastern Indiana, primarily in search of Snow Trillium (Trillium nivale), by far our smallest, cutest, and earliest flowering trillium.


We weren't disappointed! After just 30 minutes or so of taking photographs of Snow Trillium, I told Lee that it was already worth the 4 hour drive to the site from my house.


A few of the plants, like the one below, had lightly pink-tinged petals.


Snow Trillium wasn't the only plant in flower in these woods. The diminutive and inconspicuous Harbinger of Spring (Erigenia bulbosa, below) was also in bloom.


Another early season bloomer, Sharplobe Hepatica (Hepatica nobilis var. acuta, below) was also in flower. However, we had to wait until later in the day to see the inside of the flowers, as they close up at night.


Finding these species in flower was not unexpected in southern Indiana in mid-March, but the next few surprised me. A few plants of Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis, below) had started to open.


Another plant that I hadn't expected to see in flower so early in the year was Virginia Springbeauty (Claytonia virginica, below). I can't find much information about the pubescence of the species, but one source that I found said that the stem and leaves are supposed to be glabrous. The plant in the photograph below is distinctly pubescent.


Although not yet in flower, Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica, below) already had visible flower buds.


Finally, although it won't be in flower until much later in the year, we saw several plants of Crippled Cranefly (Tipularia discolor, below), an orchid that is found more easily in winter (when the leaves are present) than when the nearly invisible flowers are present (and leaves are absent) later in the year.


Note the green, wrinkled top surface of the leaf (above) and the strongly purlish undersurface (below). This orchid is much more common in the southern half of Indiana than it is in the northern part of the state, so I never tire of seeing it.


So, for those of you north of here that still have snow on the ground, and for those at this latitude who are itching to get out and see plants blooming, hopefully this gives you some hope that shortly after we get past this cold stretch, the forests will be exploding with color.

Change You Can Believe In

No... nothing political. The change I'm referring to here is change that happens in the Midwest every year around early March. This change is the dreary winter waking and rubbing the crust off its eyes as we transition into the budding spring that is full of life. I had seen a few signs of this transition in late February (the return of a few Red-winged Blackbirds, early insects crawling around, increasing hours of daylight, etc.). But with the 60+ degree temperatures this weekend, numerous drastic changes were evident, making me think that we've almost turned the corner. Below are seven signs of spring that I have noted in the past few days.

1. On Friday, while in a meeting in my office, I was distracted by the obnoxious but welcomed "kill-dee... kill-dee..." song of the Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus), our earliest arriving shorebird; I observed several Killdeer while driving yesterday between North Liberty and LaPorte, Indiana.

2. Saturday and Sunday, the reverberating "kar-r-r-r-o-o-o" of Sandhill Cranes (Grus canadensis) could be heard nearly wherever you were. These huge birds were present in many of the corn fields I drove past, and I even observed the flamboyant mating dance while I passed at 55 mph. Sandhill Cranes can also be seen soaring overhead throughout northern Indiana this time of year.
3. While we have been seeing Red-winged Blackbirds (Agelaius phoenicius), Rusty Blackbirds (Euphagus carolensis), and Common Grackles (Quiscalus quiscula) since early February, they have seemingly exponentially multiplied in the past week. It is rare to be outside and not see Red-winged Blackbird males scouting out territories right now, though I don't think the majority of female Red-winged Blackbirds have made their arrival yet.
   
4. Friday and Saturday afternoons, the "c-r-r-r-r-r-r-e-e-e-e-e-e-k" calls of Western Chorus Frogs (Pseudacris triseriata) echoed through wetlands and surrounding uplands. What a welcome and beautiful call!
5. In LaPorte County on Saturday, I came across a very cold and nearly immobile Eastern Gray Treefrog (Hyla versicolor) on the ground. I had never seen a representative of this species this early in the year.

6. The silver maples (Acer saccharinum) in our yard have begun to bloom. Most people I talk to who aren't botanists are surprised that trees even have flowers. If you look closely this time of year, you will see the spreading yellow stamens and reddish pistils of these small clusters of flowers.
7. Finally, yesterday at Kankakee Fen northwest of North Liberty, I saw skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus) in bloom. This is our earliest blooming wildflower in this part of the world, as the plant is capable of producing heat (a process called thermogenesis) that allows it to thaw surrounding frozen ground and push its floral structures through to the surface, even if snow still covers the surrounding landscape. The flowers of this species are located on a spadix that is hidden within a splotchy maroon- or green-colored spathe. If you're wondering why this plant is called skunk cabbage, try breaking a spathe or a leaf (which appears later in the year, as the flowers wither away). Your nose will quickly give you the answer. This "foetid" odor benefits the plant by attracting pollinators such as flies and bees.

The extended weather forecast shows colder temperatures and the potential for snow later this week... but, not to fear... spring will undoubtedly be here soon. During the unchartered and difficult times currently facing our nation and the world, no one yet knows if we will truly see the change promised us by our new leader. However, I can guarantee that if you look around outside, you will see the blossoming of a new and uplifting season.