Some of our spring ephemeral flowers are finishing up and others, like goldthread, are just starting. Goldthread (Coptis groenlandicum) gets its common name from its thread like, bright yellow roots. This plant usually grows in undisturbed soil that is on the moist side. I like its tiny styles curved like long necked birds and the even smaller white tipped stamens. The white, petal like sepals last only a short time and will fall off, leaving the tiny golden yellow club like petals behind. The ends of the golden petals are cup shaped and hold nectar, but it must be a very small insect that sips from that cup. Native Americans used goldthread medicinally and told the early settlers of its value in treating canker sores, which led to its being nearly collected into oblivion. At one time more goldthread was sold in Boston than any other native plant, and it was most likely sold under its other common name of canker root. Luckily it has made a good comeback and I see lots of it.
New goldthread leaves are a bright, glossy lime green but darken as they age and by winter will be very dark green. They’ll hold their color under the snow all winter and look similar to wild strawberries until late April or early May when new leaves and flowers will appear. Their leaves come in threes, and another common name is three leaved goldthread.
The rain and cool weather is keeping dandelions (Taraxacum officinale) blooming in numbers I haven’t seen in a while. I wonder how many realize that each “petal” in a dandelion “flower” is actually a tiny flower (floret) by itself, and what we call the flower of a dandelion is really a flower head, made up of hundreds of individual florets. Before the 1800s (before lawns came along) people would pull grass out of their yards to make room for dandelions and other plants that we call weeds today.
The strange flower heads of sugar maples (Acer saccharum) aren’t as showy as other native maples but they must do their job, because we have a lot of sugar maple trees. These are the male (staminate) flowers in this photo. Sugar maples can reach 100 feet in height and can live to be 400 years old when healthy.
Magnolias seem to be having a great year and I’m seeing them everywhere. Their fragrance is amazing.
Bleeding hearts (Dicentra spectabilis) grow naturally in forests so they are plants that like cool, shady locations. They’ll go dormant quickly when it gets hot and they can leave a hole in the garden but that trait is easily forgiven. It’s one of the oldest perennials in cultivation and it is called old fashioned bleeding heart. I’ve always liked them and they were one of the first flowers I chose for my own garden.
The wild plum (Prunus americana) grows in just a small corner of south western New Hampshire, so you could say they are rare here. I’m fortunate to have found three or four trees growing under some power lines, but a few years ago when the powerlines were cleared I didn’t think I’d be seeing them for long. The power company clears the land regularly and cuts every plant, shrub and tree down to ground level. Except these plum trees; they were left alone and unharmed, even though everything around them was cut. I wonder how the power company knows that they are rare enough to leave standing.
How I wish you could smell these plum blossoms. The fragrance is wonderful, and so unique that I can’t think of any other flower fragrance to compare it to. It’s very different than the fragrance of apple blossoms.
I’ve been smelling plenty of apple blossoms too, because old, “wild’ apple trees line our roads and even grow in the forests. In fact entire abandoned orchards, left behind when farms were abandoned in the industrial revolution of the 1800s, can sometimes be found off in the middle of nowhere, still blooming beautifully and still bearing fruit. Apple trees can regularly live for 100 years but 200+ year old trees have been known. There is at least one tree that was planted in 1809 that still lives. These days most of the apples from the old trees are enjoyed by deer and bears in this area.
I wonder if people realize that every apple tree in this country (except crabapples) has been imported from somewhere else or was planted by seed; either by man, bird or animal. That’s why John Chapman (aka Johnny Appleseed) did what he did. There are four species of crabapple native to North America; they are Malus fusca, Malus coronaria, Malus angustifolia and Malus ioensis. I planted the example in the photo but I’ve long since forgotten its name. The crab apple is one of the nine plants invoked in the Anglo-Saxon Nine Herbs Charm, recorded in the 10th century. The nine herbs charm was used for the treatment of poisoning and infection by a preparation of nine herbs. The other eight were mugwort, betony, lamb’s cress, plantain, mayweed, nettle, thyme and fennel.
Our native cherries are also blossoming but I liked the red stars in the blossoms of this cultivated variety.
These pretty viola flowers were quite large and I don’t know if they were escaped pansies or large violets but I loved their color and cheeriness so I stopped to get a photo. Violets are native To North America but plant breeders have made significant changes to color, size and fragrance.
Boxwood is called “man’s oldest garden ornamental.” The early settlers must have thought very highly of it because they brought it over in the mid-1600s. The first plants to land on these shores were brought from Amsterdam and were planted in about 1653 on Long Island in New York. There are about 90 species of boxwood and many make excellent hedges. I found this one blooming in a local park. I don’t think most people pay any attention to its small blossoms.
It’s already just about time to say goodbye to the trout lilies (Erythronium americanum.) Their stay is brief but spring wouldn’t be the same without them.
Trout lily flowers have three petals and three sepals. All are yellow on the inside but the sepals on many flowers are a brown / maroon / bronze color on the outside. No matter how you look at it it’s a beautiful little thing, but I think it’s even more so from the back side.
Unfortunately it’s also almost time to say goodbye to the beautiful spring beauties (Claytonia virginica.) I doubt I’ll see them for another post but you never know; this cool, rainy weather is extending the bloom time of many plants. I’m still seeing forsythia that looks like it just opened yesterday and they’ve been blooming for weeks.
Winter cress, also called yellow rocket, (Barbarea vulgaris) has just started blooming. This plant is native to Africa, Asia and Europe and is found throughout the U.S. In some states it is considered a noxious weed. In the south it is called creasy greens. It is also known as scurvy grass due to its ability to prevent scurvy because of its high vitamin C content. It is very easy to confuse with our native common field mustard (Brassica rapa or Brassica campestris.) Winter cress is about knee-high when it blooms in spring and it stays green under the snow all winter. This habit is what gives it its common name.
What a show the grape hyacinths are putting on this year. Since blue is my favorite color, I’m enjoying them.
Dwarf Ginseng (Panax trifolius) has three leaflets which together make up part of a whorl of three compound leaves. Dwarf ginseng doesn’t like disturbed ground and is usually found in old, undisturbed hardwood forests. I usually find it growing at the base of trees, above the level of the surrounding soil. It is very small and hard to see; the plant in the photo could have fit in a tea cup with room to spare. It had two flower heads, and this is the first plant I’ve ever seen with more than one. It is on the rare side here and I only know of two places to find it. This is not the ginseng used in herbal medicine so it should never be picked.
Individual dwarf ginseng flowers are about 1/8″ across and have 5 white petals, a short white calyx, and 5 white stamens. The flowers might last three weeks, and if pollinated are followed by tiny yellow fruits. Little seems to be known about which insects might visit the plant.
Almost every person, from childhood, has been touched by the untamed beauty of wildflowers. ~Lady Bird Johnson
Thanks for coming by.
A lovely parade of spring flowers, Allen! Many old friends in these photos, and I am glad the power company left a stand of wild plum.
I love the quote from Lady Bird Johnson about wildflowers, and I remember “Keep America Beautiful” and photos of highways lined with wildflowers because of her. Out here in Oregon, roadsides are now heavily sprayed with herbicides, and I have to file periodically for a permit to keep the county from spraying along where my property meets the road. Some counties have quit this toxic practice and have returned to using mowers. We need another Lady Bird.
Thank you Lavinia. I remember Ladybird well. She certainly did a lot for wildflowers and I agree that we could use another Ladybird.
I’m surprised that they use so much herbicide in what I’ve always heard was a very environmentally conscious state. Hopefully more counties will see the light!
It goes county by county. I live in a conservative, red-voting county.
That’s too bad.
Another wonderful post. Thanks so much. I just wish I could remember the names when I’m out hiking. When cell reception is good, I’ve scrolled through your various post trying to find your photos and descriptions to aid with identification. Can you recommend some good field guides for both regional wild flowers and trees?
Cheryl
Thanks very much Cheryl. You might want to know that I split each month’s flowers into early, middle and late. That means if you’re out in mid May, for instance, you can just type “mid may flowers” in the search box in the upper right corner and you’ll see every mid May flower I’ve found.
For a very long time Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide has been the go to book for identifying wildflowers and it’s a great one, but I also like “Wildflowers of New England” by Ted Elliman and the New England Wildflower Society.” I find the color photos are a big help, and not just because some of them were taken by me!
Happy hunting. I hope this helps.
The Claytonia have such a dainty beauty. Never heard of Goldthread, but I am familiar with Dandelions!
Yes, spring beauties are one of my favorites. They’re prolific in colonies but I know of only one colony, so Id say that they’re rare.
I think we all know dandelions!
What beauties! The dwarf Ginseng is lovely but so small it is probably missed by many people. Our flowers have had a prolonged flowering because of the cold weather. Usually they are only blooming for a few days and then the heat finishes them off.
Thank you Clare. The dwarf ginseng is also so rare that it’s one of those that you have to stumble upon to find, so I too doubt that many see it. And it is tiny! The entire flower head in that last shot is probably barely a half inch across.
Our flowers are doing the same. We had a few warm days in April but so far May has been cool, and it looks to stay that way for most of the month.
Your closeup photographs are so good, I liked the goldthread best.
Thank you Susan. That one took 3 or 4 tries so I’m happy that you like it. Every time I wanted to get a shot of it, it rained!
How annoying!
How beautiful! Thank you so much! I was just introduced to your blog this morning, and it’s a treasure! There are so many wonderful plants that I’ve seen for so long without really knowing much about them. I’m going to be a faithful follower from now on!
You’re welcome Ann, and thank you very much. And welcome to the blog! I’m glad you’ve already been able to put a name to some familiar plants. You’ll see more each week throughout summer, so stay tuned!
My goodness, you have a lot of flowers blooming now! Beautiful! Ours seem to be on a holding pattern at the moment because of the weather. It was in the 30’s this morning and supposed to get up to 80 today. The plants can’t seem to figure it out.
Thanks Montucky! We’ve gone cold again too. Yesterday morning it was only 33 degrees here. We’ve also had cloudy skies for over a week now and they say more of the same next week, so I’m sure some plants will be held back.
Just as you say, they don’t know what to do.
My mother used bewail the absence of Goldthread in pharmacies. She said it was a common plant and medicine when she was a girl, but I never saw either one. I figured the medicine was outdated, but hadn’t realized the plants had been so severely over-gathered. No wonder I never saw one. Thanks for the pictures and description. Don’t worry. I won’t pick them.
Thank you Cat, that’s very interesting. I’ve never heard from anyone who has actually used it. I wonder if it’s still used in today’s canker sore medicine.
I’m glad you aren’t going to pick them but I think the root is what was used. The flowers are very small, about the size of a star flower maybe, but I look for the shiny leaves, which are bigger. I find them almost always near water, usually by swamps. I think they must like moist / wet ground.
The gifts of Spring! I noticed that the magnolia around here have remained in full bloom, too, as the cool weather is kind to them. We drove to see some in the historic neighborhood nearby and some were taller than houses and in full bloom.
They must have been fantastic. I know of one old tree that big and it puts on quite a show!
They are fantastic and still blooming!
The cool weather is good for some plants, but I wouldn’t plant tomatoes yet!
Nectar for my a.m. coffee, What a privilege. Thank you
You’re welcome Lynne, I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Reblogged this on Dawn of Divine Rays.
Thank you Agnes!
You’re very welcome, Allen. Wishing you a beautiful weekend. Namaskar
Thank you, and the same to you!
Thank you for taking me around and entertaining me with interesting information.
You’re welcome Ben!
Reblogged this on Poltrack Pix and commented:
May Flowers
Thank you John.