Flowers aren’t the only beautiful things to appear in spring. Fern fiddleheads can also be beautiful as this lady fern fiddlehead (Athyrium filix-femina) shows. Lady fern is the only ferns I know of with brown / black scales on its stalk. This fern likes to grow in moist, loamy areas along streams and rivers.
I came very close to stepping on this small garter snake because I didn’t see it until the last moment, but it didn’t move. In fact it let me take a few photos and walk away and when I went back later it was still there soaking up the sun. It’s a good thing my grandmother wasn’t with me because she would have been up the nearest tree, so great was her fear of snakes. She knew garter snakes weren’t poisonous, but she was still afraid of them.
Garter snakes might not be poisonous but false hellebore (Veratrum viride) certainly is. In fact it’s one of the most toxic plants to grow in a New England forest and people have died from eating it after mistaking it for something else. Even animals won’t eat them, but certain insects or slugs will, and usually by July the plant’s leaves look shot full of holes. I think the deeply pleated oval leaves are quite pretty when they first come up in spring.
It’s hard to believe that a plant with flowers that look as delicate as those on heartleaf foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia) can make it through a winter but these plants are evergreen and because of that are photosynthesizing far ahead of their competition. Their pretty 4 inch tall racemes of small white flowers will appear in mid-May. Sometimes these leaves are mottled with purple or have dark purple veins. Some Native American tribes used the mashed roots of foamflower in a poultice on wounds and used an infusion of the dried leaves to relieve sore eyes.
Japanese knotweed can be quite beautiful when it starts to unfurl its leaves in spring but Americans have no love affair with it because it is an invasive weed that is nearly impossible to eradicate once it becomes established. I’ve seen it killed back to the ground by frost and in less than 3 weeks it had grown right back. I’ve heard that the new spring shoots taste much like rhubarb, so maybe we could defeat it by eating it.
Speaking of rhubarb, it has just come up. This one was just unfolding a new leaf and had a tomato red bud just waiting. Rhubarb is a native of China, and though its leaves are poisonous it was used medicinally there for centuries.
Though these plants looked like ferns I’m not sure if they are. If they are they’re the earliest to leaf out that I’ve seen.
Beaver brook wasn’t showing any signs of new leaves on the trees that arch out over it but I don’t think it’s going to be long before they appear. We saw 90+ degree temperatures this week.
While at beaver Brook I visited the plantain leaved sedge (Carex plantaginea) to see if its flower buds had opened. They were open but only the cream colored male stamens were showing. This is odd because female sedge flowers usually appear first. In any case I’m sure it knows what it’s doing better than I and I would bet that by now the female flowers are out and waiting to be pollinated.
How I wish you could have heard all the spring peepers chirping and trilling away in this beaver swamp. It’s a sound that many of us here in New England long to hear once March and April come along. For those not familiar with them, spring peepers are small frogs with a loud voice and sometimes a pond full of them can be almost deafening on a warm spring evening. They are brown with a darker X shape on their backs and large toe pads for climbing. The “peep” is a mating call that comes from the male, which of course is trying to attract a female.
I went to the beaver pond looking for the bloodroot flowers that grow there but they hadn’t come up yet. Instead I saw some of what I think were Pennsylvania sedge (Carex pennsylvanica) flowers. It’s too bad that many people never see these tiny blooms. They stand about 4 inches tall and grow from a clump of what looks like coarse grass, but what is actually a sedge. Creamy yellow male staminate flowers release their pollen above wispy, feather like female pistillate flowers. The female flowers usually open first so they can receive pollen from another plant and avoid self-fertilization. As the plant ages the male flowers will turn brown and the female flowers, if pollinated by the wind, will bear seed. Though it looks much like the plantain leaved sedge flowers we saw earlier these flowers and plants are much smaller.
What look like giant pussy willow catkins are actually the catkins of quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides.) Quaking aspen is the only poplar tree with catkins like these that doesn’t also have sticky bud scales. If the shiny brown bud scales were sticky it would be a balsam poplar(Poplar balsamifera.) These long catkins fall from the trees and get stuck in other tree’s branches and in shrubs. They can make quite a mess for a short time.
Though these tiny stigmas looks like the female flowers of American Hazelnut (Corylus americana) they are actually the flowers of the beaked hazelnut (Corylus cornuta,) which grows in areas north and east of Keene. Beaked hazelnuts get their name from the case that surrounds the nut. It is long and tubular and looks like a bird’s beak, while the nut cases of American Hazelnut have two parts that come together like a clamshell. The best way to tell the two apart is by looking at the new growth. On American hazelnut the new twigs will be very hairy and on beaked hazelnut they’ll be smooth like the one shown.
White baneberry (Actaea pachypoda) is an extremely toxic plant but I love the movement that its new spring shoots have. Every time I see them I think how nice it would be to sit beside them and draw them, but I never seem to find the time. Native Americans brewed a tea from the roots of this plant and used it medicinally to treat pain and other ailments, but no part of it should ever be ingested. In late summer it will have bright white berries with a single black dot that give the plant its common name of doll’s eyes.
When you see white fur like that in this photo appear on female silver maple buds, this means the seeds (samaras) are just about to appear. For just a very short time they’re deep red with a furry white fringe, and they’re beautiful enough to watch each day so you don’t miss them. I hope to have a chance to catch them in all their glory this year.
The stamens of male box elder flowers (Acer negundo) hang down from the buds on long filaments and sway in the breeze. Box elder is in the maple family but its wood is soft when compared to other maples. Several Native American tribes made syrup from its sap and the earliest example of a Native American flute, dating from 620-670 AD, was made from its wood.
Once the leaves start to show on a box elder it’s time for the lime green female flowers to appear.
Here’s a closer look at the female box elder pistils just starting to show. They’re very pretty things but they don’t last long. Soon the seeds will form and there will be no need of flowers.
The flower buds of the American white ash (Fraxinus americana) appear before the leaves and can be colorful sometimes and at other times be as black as blackberries. The Native American Wabanaki tribe made baskets from ash splints and some tribes believed the wood was poisonous to rattlesnakes, and used canes made of ash to chase them away.
The beautiful pink and orange buds of striped maple (Acer pennsylvanicum) have appeared but I was a little late in seeing them because many had already opened so the leaves could unfurl. Their opening signals that it’s time to now watch beech buds, which should open at any time. Beech bud break is another very beautiful forest treat that many people miss seeing.
I meant to do my work today, but a brown bird sang in the apple tree, and a butterfly flitted across the field, and all the leaves were calling. ~Richard le Gallienn
Thanks for stopping in.
Thank you for the le Gallienne quote; it is from a poem I knew well when I was young but had forgotten all about.
I cannot choose between all these glorious shots, Allen; they are all equally beautiful. Beaver Brook and the beaver swamp look wonderful at this time of year!
You’re welcome Clare. It’s a poem I’ve never seen; that’s the only part of it I’ve ever read. It’s enough though because it describes perfectly how I’ve felt so many times.
Anywhere near water is glorious at this time of year as long as you use insect repellent!
“and all the leaves were calling”
🙂
Wishing you a happy Springtime!
Thank you Ben, and the same to you.
Those leaves still are calling!
On Sunday the cherry tree across from our house reached its glorious annual peak. Today there are petals everywhere.
You’re a week or two ahead of us I think. Ours have just started blooming!
I’m hoping to get out in the woods today to check for trillium status among many other plant-related things, but my gosh, the black flies are horrendous! I’m already covered in bites from one day of garden work, despite frequent applications of a non-DEET repellent. Any tips for preventing bites, or reducing the itching/swelling misery after the fact? I took a “non-drowsy” antihistamine one day because the itching was unbearable, but it made me into such a zombie I won’t do it again. Thanks for any tips!
I hope you found some trilliums!
The only thing I’ve found that works for me is Deep Woods Off, but of course it has DEET in it. I work outside so it’s either that or a mental institution.
Yep. When I worked in the woods, I used the same, every day. Now I try a new herbal alternative – or several – every year. But sooner or later, usually in the thick of mosquito season, I pull out the DWO if I’m going to be outside for hours. Still, hope springs eternal…
I hope you’ll let me know if you find something.
Thanks for the information on hellebores… my neighbour has since mentioned that she came out in a rash from the leaves. Maybe a plant to be tucked away in the back of the garden!
You’re welcome. Hellebores don’t get very tall so you’ll want to plant shorter plants in front of them.
Those are ferns in photo 7 but I don’t recognize the genus. One fern that I like seeing in the early spring is sensitive fern (Onoclea sensibilis). Its emerging fronds often have scarlet stems.
Thank you Gary. I think that’s the earliest fern I’ve seen.
I know where there are a lot of sensitive ferns but I haven’t noticed any fiddleheads yet. Thanks for the tip. I’ll take another look this week.
You always have the most amazing photos with the best information. I look at everything with new eyes since enjoying your blog. The medicinal uses of plants fascinate me. We have some dandelions in bloom and although it might not excite many, I am thrilled to see any signs of spring.
Lots of big rattlesnakes around here but I am not overly afraid of them since I was raised in rattlesnake country. I always look where I step and learned not to sit on any rocks before checking.
Thank you Penny. I love to hear that people are seeing things they haven’t seen after reading this blog. That’s one of the main reasons it’s here.
I’m with you on the dandelions. I love seeing them.
I never put my hands in holes in the ground but other than that I don’t take any special steps to avoid snakes. I’m sure I’d do more if I lived where you do.
Love the fiddleheads. Don’t mind the garter snakes, though Judy loathes them.
Yes, a lot of people do!
Lovely to see your spring arriving…I was interested to see that false Hellebore (Veratrum Viride) is poisonous …are other Hellebores poisonous? I was thinking of planting some but have a little grandchild, who will soon be wandering in the garden.
I enjoyed your quote as always..
Thank you. Yes, hellebore is in the buttercup family and they are poisonous, but the toxicity is said to be more in the roots than in other parts of the plant. Also, people have reported being burned after prolonged skin contact but I’ve touched the plants many times without problems. I’m guessing some people are sensitive to them while others are not. I’ve heard the same thing about prolonged skin contact with geraniums.
I would think, as long as your grandchild didn’t get into the roots, they would be fine. I found with my own children that if I warned them about eating plants early on they left them alone, but of course it’s always wise to keep an eye on them!
Once again you are a mine of information as well as providing a delight to the eye. Thank you.
You’re welcome, and thank you.
The things that you find to photograph always amazes me, and at no time of the year is that more true than in the spring!
And, you’re able to photograph all the things that you find so well that you bring them to life for me. Your love of spring, plants, and nature comes through in your images.
I’m not going to comment on any one single thing, other than the garter snake, as it’s too cute not to comment on, but all the other subjects I love equally, so to comment on some of them would give short shrift to the ones I didn’t mention.
I also liked the quote very much, as I’m getting ready to go to work, it’s tempting to take a day off and see what I could find around here, but I won’t.
Thanks Jerry! Spring is the easiest season because everything is so easy to see with no leaves in the way. It gets tougher as soon as they appear.
I’m glad to hear that my love of nature comes through. That’s what it’s all about and I hope it proves to be extremely contagious!
That was a cute snake. Not very big, I’d guess maybe a foot long. I’d also guess that it had never met a person. It had no fear.
I wish you could play hooky for a day or two when you had nice weather, but I probably wouldn’t either.
You are sure right that flowers are not the only pretty things out in spring. I loved your photos!
Snakes are out here now too. I saw a very pretty bull snake yesterday, a quite large one. Also took my dog in for his snake vaccine shot (we have a lot of rattlers around here).
Thanks Montucky! I keep hoping to show all the things that people who go out looking for just flowers are missing!
I didn’t know you had rattlesnakes there, or I had forgotten. That must make hiking more interesting. I didn’t know there was a vaccine for dogs either. That’s pretty amazing, but I hope he never needs it.
Thank you for all your research and photos, Allen! I learn so much. My sister (Plants Amaze Me) and I spend days enjoying the wildflowers here in wonderful West Michigan. I keep saying Bud Break! M 🙂
You’re welcome Marie, and thank you! Yes, I still read the blog but blogger makes it so hard to leave a comment for some reason that I gave up trying. I wish you and Chris would vacation out here for a month or two. You find such beautiful flowers. I can’t wait to see those amazing trilliums in Aman park!
Bud break is upon us, so no wonder you keep saying it! I saw some beech buds breaking today.
I would have been with your grandmother up that tree.Snakes! Yikes!
I think she would have appreciated the company!
Tee-hee! Silly to be afraid of snakes in northern New England. But there you go. Fears are often not rational.
We do have timber rattlers but they’re as rare as hen’s teeth.
With me it’s rats. Rational or not they do it to me.
Many of us have phobias. I am very sympathetic when it comes to other people’s fears.
I try to be, too. I hope the snakes that you’re afraid of eat the rats that I’m afraid of, then neither one of us will have anything to fear!
😉
Reblogged this on Poltrack Pix and commented:
Instant summer, where is Spring?
I wish I could answer that. It sounds like we might get a taste of spring next week.
Your temperatures seem to vary wildly. I loved that fern fiddlehead and all the other signs of nature bursting out.
Thank you Susan. Yes, the temperature has been all over the place this year. 80 one day and 50 the next!