On Your Mark
Shared by Melissa Donahue, Naturalist
melissa.donahue@nashville.gov
Photos courtesy Warner Park Nature Center archives and the authoress
Spring Beauties along the Mossy Ridge Trail
I saw my first spring beauty this year on Thursday, February 25, at 12:36 p.m. The spotting of the year’s first spring beauty is the beginning of a spring ritual. It’s time to pull out the nature journal, dust off the wildflower book and plan a few excursions to my favorite trails. My goal is to see as many spring wildflowers as I can. These spring ephemerals are also in a race. They are trying to complete their lifecycle before the leaves bud out on the trees. The race is on and I’m ready.
Harbinger of Spring
Harbinger-of-Spring or salt and pepper is the first of the spring ephemerals. Blooming in early February, the tiny blossoms are found peeping out among the fallen leaves.
Spring Beauty
These small flowers range in color from white to pink. One of the earliest bloomers, they are pollinated by more than 71 different species of insect pollinators. When in full bloom this flower covers a hillside, giving the illusion of snow.
Cut-leaf Toothwort
Although there are 3 species of Toothwort (Dentaria) found in the Park, this is the most common. Look for these blossoms, white to light violet, standing above the spring beauty.
These two wildflowers are often found growing close together. Although they resemble each other, there are some differences. For example, the Rue Anemone has 5-10 showy white to pinkish petal-like sepals. False Rue Anemone has only five white petal-like sepals. (Easily remembered because five and false both start with a F.)
Early Saxifrage
Often seen growing on rock ledges, Early Saxifrage rises out of the center of a basal rosette of leaves. Upon close observation you’ll notice that Early Saxifrage's flower stalk has many hairs – they are sticky, and this is thought to deter ants from taking nectar from the flowers. Because of this the flower will attract more efficient pollinators.
A stunning spring ephemeral, Bloodroot blooms for a short period in mid-March. The flower, with eight to sixteen white petals and sunny yellow center, appears on a stem from a single-lobed leaf. The flower gets it’s name from the rhizome which has an orangish-red fluid or sap.
So put your hiking shoes out and see how many of these lovely spring flowers you can find! If you want to know more about these spring ephemerals, visit our webpage and sign up for a naturalist-led wildflower hike.
No comments:
Post a Comment