The cold snap of two weeks ago has given way to relatively warm sunny weather and the magnolias have bloomed. The one in the above photo lives in a local park and is one of my favorites.
You can see just a little browning on the tips of this magnolia blossom’s petals due to the cold. It got well below freezing for two nights so we’re lucky to have any blossoms at all.
Shadbush (Amelanchier canadensis) gets its name from the shad fish. Shad live in the ocean but much like salmon return to freshwater rivers to spawn. Shad was a very important food source for Native Americans and for centuries they knew that the shad were running when the shadbush bloomed. In late June they harvested the very nutritious shad fruit, which was a favorite ingredient in pemmican, a mixture of dried meat, dried fruit, and animal fat.
Shadbush is our earliest native white flowered tall shrub, blooming along the edges of woods just before or sometimes with the cherries. Another name for it is serviceberry, which is said to refer to church services. One story says that its blooming coincided with the return of circuit preachers to settlements after winter’s end and the resumption of church services. Another name, Juneberry, refers to when its fruit ripens.
Exactly a week before this photo was taken wild ginger (Asarum canadense) was showing nothing but stems (Rhizomes) running along the soil surface under a collection of last year’s leaves. Scientists thought for years that wild ginger flowers were pollinated by flies or fungus gnats, but several studies have shown that they are self-pollinated.
A wild ginger flower has no petals; it is made up of 3 triangular shaped calyx lobes that are fused into a cup and curl backwards. You might think, because of its meat-like color, that flies would happily visit this flower and they do occasionally, but they have little to nothing to do with the plant’s pollination. It is thought they crawl into the flower simply to get warm. In this photo you can see that the flower was just starting to shed pollen.
The long rhizomes of wild ginger were used by Native Americans as a seasoning. It has similar aromatic properties as true ginger but the plant has been found to contain aristolochic acid, which is a carcinogenic compound that can cause kidney damage. Native Americans also used the plant medicinally for a large variety of ailments.
The hobblebush (Viburnum lantanoides) is one of our most beautiful native viburnums .It hasn’t quite blossomed fully yet but I decided to show this photo because it shows the inner cluster of fertile flower buds which are still green, and the just opened outer sterile blossoms which are a yellowish green. Soon both fertile and infertile flowers will be pure white and will grow into flower heads as big as your hand. They grow at the edges of woods and large groups all blooming at once can be staggeringly beautiful. Native Americans ate its berries and used it medicinally.
I have a small sunny embankment in my year that becomes covered with wild strawberry blossoms (Fragaria virginiana) each year at this time. The soil there is very sandy and dry so I’m always surprised to see such large amounts of blossoms. The fruits are very tasty but also very small so it takes quite a bit of picking for even a handful. My daughter and son used to love them when they were small.
I saw these pretty viola flowers while on a walk one day. I don’t know if they were pansies or large violets but since I loved their color and cheeriness I stopped to get a photo.
And I love this color too; nothing does blue better than grape hyacinths (Muscari armeniacum.) In the wild grape hyacinth is naturally found in woods or meadows. They prefer well drained sandy soil that is acid to neutral and light on compost and/or manure.
The lime green, sticky pistils of female box elder flowers (Acer negundo) appear along with the tree’s leaves, but a few days after the male flowers have fully opened, I’ve noticed. Box elders have male flowers on one tree and female flowers on another, unlike red maples which can have both on one tree. Several Native American tribes made sugar from this tree’s sap and the earliest known example of a Native American flute, dating from 620-670 AD, was made from its wood.
The male flowers of box elder are small and hang from filaments. Each male flower has tan pollen-bearing stamens that are so small I can’t see them. The pollen is carried by the wind to female trees. Once they shed their pollen the male flowers dry up and drop from the tree. It’s common to see the ground covered with them under male trees.
The flowers of Norway maples (Acer platanoides) appear well after those of red maples. These trees are native to Europe and are considered an invasive species. White sap in the leaf stem (petiole) is one way to tell Norway maples from sugar maples, which have clear sap. A few years ago I knew of only one tree but once I got to know it I started seeing them everywhere. Their brightly colored flower clusters appear before the leaves and this makes them very easy to see from a distance.
The last time I showed trout lilies I forgot to show the backs of the petals and sepals, which are my favorite parts. These flowers remind me of small versions of Canada lilies because except for their leaves, that’s just what they look like. Another name for the plant is fawn lily, because the mottled leaves reminded someone of a whitetail deer fawn. Native Americans cooked their small bulbs or dried them for winter food. Black bears also love them and deer and moose eat the seed pods.
I’m lucky to know of two places where trout lilies grow. In one spot they bloom later than the other by sometimes two weeks, so I can extend my enjoyment of them.
I couldn’t let early spring go by without paying another visit to the spring beauties I know of (Claytonia virginica). They’re in full bloom now and carpet the forest floor. Their scientific name is from the Colonial Virginia botanist John Clayton (1694–1773). They were used medicinally by the Iroquois tribe of Native Americans and other tribes used them as food.
Spring beauties are indeed very beautiful but with us for just a short time. If anything can stop me in my tracks it is this flower.
One of our largest and most beautiful native wildflowers has just started blooming. Purple trilliums (Trillium erectum) are also called red trillium, wake robin, and stinking Benjamin because of their less than heavenly scent. “Benjamin,” according to the Adirondack Almanac, is actually a corruption of the word benjoin, which was an ingredient in perfume that came from a plant in Sumatra. They’re very beautiful and will be at their peak of bloom soon. As they age each petal will turn a deeper purple.
There’s not one blade of grass, there is no color in this world that is not intended to make us rejoice. ~John Calvin
Thanks for stopping in.
You can’t beat magnolia in my opinion.
I love their fragrance!
When I was a child and living in Germany, I would often sneak out of the house at night and commit a bit of garden robbery to taste the landlord’s strawberries…such stolen sweetness!
I used to find wild raspberries and blackberries over there, too, but never wild strawberries.
Beautiful post, Allen…..
Thank you Scott. The forbidden fruit always seems to taste the sweetest, at least to a child.
We have quite a lot of wild fruits here but it’s hard to beat the taste of a tiny, sun warmed wild strawberry.
Trout lilies are available commercially, I’ve been meaning to add some to the garden for a while. We do have a little patch of red trillium in the shady back garden. I also love the blue of Grape Hyacinth.
Yes, a surprising number of wildflowers are available now. I’d love to have some white large flowered trillium but I haven’t done anything about it yet.
Of all the different series of posts that you do, I think the flowers are still my favorite. You capture the beauty of the flowers so well in your photos, and add all of the information that you have about them.
I know of several wild strawberry patches, yet I seldom get a chance to eat any of them. The birds, chipmunks and squirrels get there first.
Thanks Jerry! I think it all comes down to loving what you’re taking photos of. I’ve always loved all kinds of flowers and I think it just comes through in the photos. I look for their “best side” and take many shots of each one, using different settings each time. Then of course I have to come home and pick the best one, which isn’t always easy!
I know what you mean about the critters eating the strawberries. I’m lucky to get a taste of one or two and they grow in my own yard.
I have always wondered why the trout lily was called dogtooth violet because there is nothing violet-like about them at all. I love the furry stems of the wild ginger and the magnolia is magnificent!
Thank you Clare. I’ve heard the “dogtooth” part of the name comes from the root, which is actually a small bulb but I’ve never seen a violet with leaves like those.
It’s really amazing how fast the leaves and flowers appear on that wild ginger. From nothing to full grown plant in a week.
That magnolia tree is a beauty. It has to have some age I would think.
Yes it must be very old to have got to that size. I visited a garden some years ago that had been planted with many different magnolias in the mid 19th century and they were a similar size from the the look of your photo.
The place that it lives is now a park but I remember when there was a gas station there, and I think the spot where the tree is was paved. But that was 40 years ago.
You answered a few of my questions about shadbush, how it got its name and it is the same as Serviceberry. All beautiful photos, a lovely spring selection. The trillium was always a favorite of mine in spring. Stinking Benjamin is one name for that particular one I had not heard before. Stinking Willie is one of the common names for it I remember.
Being from New England originally, I miss the colors in the fall from the maples out that way. Our native maple here in this part of Oregon is the Big Leaf maple. Leaves on trees in general in this part of the country tend to turn yellow or brown, and slip away with the daylight hours.
Thank you Lavinia. The shad don’t run up the rivers like they once did but if they did it would be right now. Shad trees are blooming everywhere along the roadsides.
I’ve never heard purple trillium called stinking Willie but it’s still beautiful no matter whet we call it.
It’s too bad that you don’t have much fall color out that way. Maybe someday you’ll be able to come east in October. Last year the beeches and oaks were more colorful than I’ve ever seen them and it was beautiful.
Lovely spring flowers 🙂
25 years ago I ordered 10 sugar maple whips that we planted. They are now 30′ trees and I’ve long suspected that at least one was a Norway or at least a Norway cross. Your post today confirms I have 2! Now I know. Thank you.
You’re welcome Eliza, and thank you. I’m sorry to hear that there were invasives confused with the natives. They do look a lot alike when in leaf but the flowers are very different.
I guess that is what happens when you order seedlings instead of cuttings from the nursery.
Yes, I’ve worked in a few nurseries and you have to be on your toes, because it’s very easy to mix up plants and tags, especially seedlings and bare root trees.
Our magnolias gave suffered more badly from frosts than yours.
I’m sorry to hear that. Some of our earliest bloomers were browned considerably but I don’t take photos of them.
Some of my favourites here, Allen. That magnolia is a beaut.
Thank you Cynthia. I wish you could have smelled it!
Me too!
Another very interesting post full of beautiful photos.
Thank you. I’m glad you thought so!
I rejoice everytime there is a new posting….such a mentor and kindred spirit you are!….I got out into the day with eyes wider open…Thank you!
You’re welcome and thank you Jennifer. I’m happy to hear it!
Something new at every turn. Spring rocks!
Thanks Judy. I agree!
Reblogged this on Dawn of Divine Rays and commented:
Thank you, Allen. Lovely flowers indeed. We’ve trout lilies here and we didn’t know what they are … now we know because of your very informative blog. Once again much thanks, Allen. Happy Weekend. Namaste
You’re welcome and thank you. I’m glad that I could help with the trout lilies. You might also hear them called “dogtooth violet.” I don’t use that name because I think it’s a bit confusing because the plant isn’t a violet.
I hope you have a great weekend!
Thank you, Allen. Reiki Blessings.
You’re welcome. The same to you!
Lovely stroll with you again, Allen. I have also posted several of these recently – wild ginger today! – I’m having a hard time keeping up with the delights of spring. This time of the year, when the tree canopies haven’t filled out and the forest floor is washed with the strong spring sunlight (and no bugs yet!, is fleetingly glorious. I can understand how the Native people must have looked forward to this rush of beauty and provision here in the North Country. And it (and they) continue…
Thank you Rich. I’m glad we seem to be synchronized on both sides of the river for the most part-the black flies are out here. And ticks-it’s a great year for them!
It’s such a beautiful time of year that it can make your heart ache. I wonder, if I lived off the land like the Native peoples did, if I’d have time to enjoy it. I’m sure they saw spring much differently than we did but I’m also sure that it made them want to sing, just like it does us!
So many spring beauties! The male flowers of the box elder are really neat looking. Wild strawberries are so good, but you are right, it takes forever to pick a handful.
Thank you Laura. That is the only spot I know of where spring beauties grow and there are many thousands there.
We had a large box elder at the house I grew up in and I know they can be a messy tree, but the flowers are pretty.
As I said in my reply to Susan, I wonder if anyone sells wild strawberries. I guess if they did the price would be quite high since it takes so long to pick them, but it might be worth it. They sure are good!
Absolutely love that Purple Trillium!
Thanks! Coming upon them in the woods is always a treat.
Beautiful sights,delicious tastes and smells, what an inspiring Spring post. I love the taste of wild strawberries though it’s a long time since I have eaten one alas.
Thank you Susan. I wonder if they sell wild strawberries anywhere. I’ve never seen them but maybe in a specialty food store in spring.