Last weekend was another where I had no set plan and just rambled here and there to places I had seen wildflowers in the past.
One of the places I went to was a beaver swamp. I call these swamps because “pond” isn’t really accurate in this instance. Though we have plenty of beaver ponds, this land is more like a flooded forest than anything else, and the water is quite shallow.
False hellebore (Veratrum viride) loves to grow in low, swampy ground along with skunk cabbage, trout lily, marsh marigold, and many others plants. It is also quite toxic and should not be eaten.
Many ferns also like boggy ground. Here are some fiddleheads just out of the soil. Fiddleheads from the ostrich fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris), which are considered a spring delicacy by many, are the only ferns safe to eat. They like to grow on river banks, pond edges, and other wet places and are often completely under water in early spring.
Most Willows (Salix) prefer moist places and I regularly see them growing in water. Here pussy willows grow along with Vinca in the background. Vinca will grow just about anywhere and doesn’t mind moist soil.
Once I left the swamps and found some dry ground I also found bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis). Bloodroot doesn’t mind moist soil but it doesn’t like it saturated. This one has shed a lot of pollen and I think its blooming season is just about over. 
Even with a touch of color blindness I could tell that this trailing arbutus (Epigaea repens) was pink instead of the white that I had been seeing. A couple of posts ago the blogger from Plants Amaze Me asked why they had pink trailing arbutus in Michigan and we had white here in New Hampshire. We talked about how certain minerals in the soil can have an effect on color as it does with pink and blue hydrangeas. I wasn’t sure then if that’s what caused the color variation in trailing arbutus and I’m still not sure, but these pink ones were growing in the center of a large colony of white ones so I doubt that the soil is the cause. One more thing: If you aren’t reading the blog by Plants Amaze Me you’re missing out on a treat-they post some of the most beautiful and varied wild flower and landscape pictures that I’ve seen.
One day I came across a small group of dried Indian pipe (Monotropa uniflora) plants from last year on the side of a trail. I have since looked at several other pictures of Indian pipes in this stage and they all show the cups (or “bowls” of the pipe) upright, but every time I see them growing the cups point downward. I wonder what makes the cups point skyward as the plants dry out.
I had to stand in the bed of my truck with one hand holding onto the branch and the other snapping pictures on a day with what seemed like hurricane force winds to get this picture of staminate (male) Norway maple (Acer platanoides) flowers. If the photo isn’t quite as sharp as it should be, that’s why. We’ve had strong winds here every day for over a week. The European Norway maple is considered an invasive species in many states. The easiest way to check for Norway Maple is to break a leaf stem (petiole). Norway maple is the only one that will show white, milky sap in broken leaf petioles.
Our native wild raspberries are just starting to leaf out. It’s going to be awhile before we see fruit, but I’m anxious to taste them again.
I found hundreds of these tiny violas growing in a local park. These are the smallest I’ve ever seen; each flower was smaller than a pencil eraser. I have since learned that a viola known as the dwarf or field pansy (Viola kitaibeliana) is quite tiny and thought to be a native of North America, but I don’t know if that is the same plant that is shown here. I had to lay flat on the ground with my chin in the grass to get a picture of this tiny plant that wasn’t more than a half inch high.
I love Scilla (Scilla siberica) so last year I planted quite a few of the small bulbs. This is my return on that investment-beautiful color! There are over 100 species of scilla and some are called wood hyacinth or wild hyacinth. They spread quite quickly so before too long I expect to have large drifts of them. The best part is they need no care whatsoever. They do need to be planted in a spot where their leaves can mature in the sun without being mowed off.
This is just a bit of last weekend’s journey. Thanks for stopping by.
Another walk filled with lovely and interesting things!
I don’t know the mechanism for the Indian Pipe flowers turning upward, but my understanding is that the buds remain pointed downward to protect the nectar from rain. But once the flowers start to open, they turn partially upward to make them more easily detected by pollinating insects.
I’ve never heard that-it’s really interesting and makes a lot of sense. Thank you for passing it on!
Interesting post, the beaver pond looks like a place you might find orchids. Or near the beaver pond. I still haven’t spotted hellebore, even though I have checked many Skunk Cabbages. Violas always one of my favorites. Oh and the Pussy Willows with the Vinca behind it, beautiful. Thanks for the “plug” to my blog, that was nice of you. I have been outside so much this week I haven’t had much time for the computer, that is both good and bad. New Hampshire is looking good, thanks for sharing. 🙂
It could be that hellebore just doesn’t like your area-not impossible. I haven’t seen any orchids yet. We’re still getting cool nights and very little rain. Glad you liked the post. Thanks for stopping in.
I’ve not seen any violas blooming yet this year. I also think it’s cool how Indian pipe weed will straighten up as it matures. My blackberries are starting to leaf out, and I’ve seen the sugar maples starting to bloom now.
I’m still looking for ostrich fiddleheads – I have a new book that tells me how to distinguish them from other ferns in the fiddlehead stage. My inability to do that in the past is what has prevented me from harvesting any. Of course knowing what to look for and actually finding them are two different things!
The only violas I’ve seen blooming so far were in a park. The ones in my lawn aren’t even budded yet. I haven’t run into any sugar maple flowers yet.
I’m not a fan of asparagus and fiddleheads are said to taste like it, so i’ve never had the urge to try them. The only way I’d eat them is after I had positively identified the ferns as ostrich and then marked the spot so I’d know where to go the following spring. Ostrich ferns are BIG and really stand out in the woods.
The fiddleheads are not wooly, and they have a groove in their stem’s “belly” like celery. I guess if they’re fiddleheads, the groove would be on the “fretboard”. I’m fairly confident I could ID them in that stage if I come across any.
I bought some at a supermarket a couple of years ago and they gave me some pretty severe stomach cramps. Those were covered in wool and had no grooves. So – just because you get them in a supermarket doesn’t mean they’re the right ones!
Yes, your description is good. They grow near water and are quite often covered with water during spring snow melt. This water is from rivers and swamps and isn’t the cleanest water to be had so washing them well is very important. I know someone who picks and cans many jars of fiddleheads each spring and as far as I know he has never had a problem. He knows what he’s doing and that makes a big difference.
Fiddleheads and stomach cramp stories abound and I wonder if it’s because people are eating the wrong fern or if the ones they are eating aren’t being cleaned well.
I might have to take a walk along some creek beds this weekend then.
I’m convinced that my episode was due to eating the wrong species. It’s a mistake I will not repeat.
I don’t blame you. Some can be quite dangerous.
Stick to the floodplains where things that like wet places grow.
Great shots! I’ve seen Bloodroot and some ferns here in the Ohio woods, and Scilla in selected wood edges.
Thanks! It’s going to be interesting seeing how much sooner things like lilacs bloom in your part of the country.
The only reason that I know “Hellebore” is because that’s the word that Neil Kadakia missed at the 1999 National Spelling Bee. He spelled it ‘Helebore’ and ended up coming in 9th.
I can imagine how he he must have felt. Usually when I re-read what I’ve written about it, I find that I’ve spelled it hellbore, with a missing E.
Thank you for attempting to educate this old fart once again, I do try to remember the names of the plants you identify in your posts, I really do. But when I see the flowers in my area, I revert back to my “Oooo, pretty flower, must take photo” mode, then, when I want to post the photo, I can’t remember what they were. Have you thought about doing a series of wildflower identification pages, you could copy and paste from your posts so far. Then, people like me wouldn’t have to try to remember in which post of yours it was that you identified which flower. Just a thought.
You’re welcome. I understand your plight with flowers, because I’m the same way with birds-I only remember the names of a few.
I have thought about doing something like you mention, but it hasn’t gotten out of the thought stage yet. I think if I do an identification section it will be kept as simple as possible. Maybe grouped by flower color with the common name, scientific name, and where they are most likely to be found.
Thanks for reminding me of that back burner project. It’ll take awhile, but maybe I can set it up so people can still use it as it (slowly) grows.