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Early Spring Botanical Notes Welcome back In a few short weeks, six weeks according to Punxsutawney Phil, who made his forecast on February 2, our annual and perennial friends should be returning. As temperatures reach 41 degrees F and bees begin activity, and 55 degrees F and insect pollinators become active,1 our early spring wildflowers will emerge. These familiar species are adapted to the shifting temperatures of early spring and they require the sunlight permitted by the still unfilled canopy.2 The earliest to appear include the familiar Skunk Cabbage which blooms in February and then in early to mid-March, Harbinger-of-Spring, Spring Beauty and Hepatica.
Doug Ripley Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica) ID notes: pink/white flowers with dark pink veins, ½-¾" wide, narrow leaves. Newcomb’s, 270.
Doug Ripley Harbinger-of-Spring (Erigenia bulbosa) identification notes: close to ground, not over 10” high; flowers white with red-brown anthers; one or two stem leaves are compound and divided into narrow or oblong segments and often not developed when plant begins to flower. Newcomb’s, page 224.3
Peter Whitney, 04-03-03 Round-Leaved Hepatica (Hepatica Americana) ID notes: Also called Liverleaf. From 3 to 6 inches tall; flowers have 6-12 petal-like blue (sometimes pink or white) sepals, beneath which are 3 green bracts. Newcomb’s, p 338. Leaves were thought to have a medicinal value for treating liver ailments. Other widespread species . . . These include Cut-Leaved Toothwort, Slender Toothwort, Bloodroot, and the Bluebells that cover some of the campsites that the C&O Canal Association uses on the through hikes.
Doug Ripley Cut-leaved toothwort Dentaria laciniata ID notes: White or pink flowers, ½ - 1” wide, in a small terminal cluster; stem leaves 3, lance-shaped, deeply serrated or lobed, attached near the middle of the stem; no basal leaves when in flower; laciniata = torn into divisions. Newcomb’s, p 162.
Peter Whitney, 04-03-03 Dutchman’s Breeches (Dicentra cucullaria ID notes: racemes of dangling white flowers, with 4 petals, wide spurs at the top of the flower (kentron-spur, cucullaria-hoodlike). The flowers look like pantaloons hung out to dry. They are found in rich woods and often on the sides of hills. Newcomb’s, p 34.
Peter Whitney, 04-02-03
Peter Whitney 04-02-03
Peter Whitney, 04-05-03 Virginia Bluebells Mertensia virginica ID notes: flowers pink when young then blue, showy, nodding, trumpet-shaped; plant disappears above ground after spring. Newcomb’s, p 196.
The species and their annual, perennial return Just as a “shotgun wedding” is a “must-make choice of wife or death,” so the anthers’ pollen must make the stigmas for the cycle to be repeated each spring. Botantists are not certain why some species seem to be more successful than others, but it is clear that some particularly aggressive species tend to crowd out the more traditional species. One theory postulates that since invasives are relatively new to an area that they do not yet have predators that have adapted to consuming them. These invasives are especially noticeable in disturbed areas, e.g. along the canal, at entry points to the canal, near to parking lots, places where the ground has been trampled on or dug. So in addition to these incredibly beautiful native plants, spring greets us with a number of both handsome and not-so-handsome non-natives, How most botantists feel about them is clear from the other common names for non-native plants such as “invasives,” conjuring up occupied territory, or “aliens,” from a different country or planet. Another term is “exotics.” Are botantists drawing parallels to exotic dancers with their forward approaches? In informal plant inventories I have done, such as the one for the 1999 C&O Canal Association through hike and one I did on Potomac border parkland on the Virginia side of the river for a botany course, I found that roughly 20 percent of the identified species were non-native. I don’t know how good such an estimate is of the true value. If individual plants were counted, rather than the number of species identified, the percent might be much higher. What is certain is that a few of the invasives are spreading and crowding out native species quite steadily. Since our association is dedicated to preservation of the C&O Canal Park might we be able to help? Perhaps in the same way that level walkers remove trash, a few select, easily identifiable, and particularly pernicious, invasives could be torn up when we see them. Before we were to embark on such a program we would need to check carefully with the Park Service. One problem is that some valuable and not-too-common, even endangered, species might be residing right in a patch of non-native plants, and pulling out the non-natives could inadvertently destroy plants that are struggling. Also, not all non-natives spread like wildfire and truly “invade” and destroy everything else, and plant spreading across boundaries is often natural. One preliminary thought might be to discuss two possible candidates for removal with the Park Service. These are widespread, are sharply reducing species diversity and, importantly, are both shallow-rooted and with care could be extracted easily with less likely damage to other plants. Two candidates which come immediately to mind are Alliaria petiolata or officinalis (Garlic Mustard) of early spring and Microstegium vimineum (Japanese Stilt Grass) which does not reach its full bloom and fruiting until late summer. In the case of stilt grass, a removal program can only be a good thing because once it starts, it spreads seemingly without interruption. Large areas of native plants on parks in our Piedmont area have been replaced by this pernicious alien. In the case of Garlic Mustard, perhaps it is best to make use of it when found outside of parks or other lands where plant removal by visitors is prohibited. In an early spring hike, pack a ham sandwich, and when you come across a freshly emerged Garlic Mustard, take a handful of its leaves and put them on your sandwich, and you will have a wonderful substitute for mustard.
Garlic Mustard ID Alliaria petiolata or officinalis
Ted Brodner, National Pak Service Japanese Stilt Grass Microstegium vimineum ID notes: pale green, lance-shaped leaves, about 3” in length, with distinctive silvery stripe of reflective hairs down the middle of the upper leaf surface. A single plant can produce 100 to 1,000 seeds that remain viable in the soil for up to three years. It germinates readily following soil disturbance. Some of worst outbreaks occur in areas where there are many deer. With their sharp hooves, they both tear up the ground and spread seeds. Since the grass is shallow-rooted it can easily be pulled up.4 List and some observed flowering dates for species shown in this article
-- Peter D. Whitney Notes: 1 Marion Lobstein, John DeMary and Suzanne Lohr, “Spring Wildflowers of the Mid-Atlantic Region,” text of video, Botanical Views, LLC, 1998, p 2. The source of this article is Along the Towpath, Vol. 35, No. 1, March 2005, published by the C & O Canal Association. |
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