Every spring, a miniature forest blooms on the forest floor in the window of warmth and sunlight before the woody giants put out their leaves. These are the spring ephemerals. Here one season and gone the next, you don’t want to miss them.
Their life’s strategy? Soak up all the light energy they need for the year in March, April, and May, then coast for the remainder of the year. They compete for resources with other plants by being small and fast, rather than trying to muscle others out of the way.
In doing so, they end up providing unique benefits to wildlife who are emerging from winter with a hungry appetite. For humans emerging from winter with a hunger for seeing green again, they provide a welcome amuse-bouche of beauty. Let’s meet 14 of these small plants having their moment in the (spot)light.
Sweet #1: Mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum)
Introducing mayapple, one of our most common and abundant spring ephemerals. In my mind, this ephemeral poetically resembles the tree canopy whose absence it is taking advantage of. Its name describes the timing of its blooms and their resemblance to apple blossoms. Each plant puts out just one white flower hanging from the junction between the two leaves. Once pollinated by a bumble bee, long-tongued bee, or some other pollinator, this flower turns into a yellow, spherical fruit which has been known to feed box turtles. Humans can eat the fruit too, but importantly, not the seeds which are poisonous. The flavor, according to the daring few who have given it a try, is like a combination of grape and pear with a hint of citrus.
Above: Four mayapples of different ages grow in a line. The biggest two are mature enough to sport two leaves, and therefore are able to produce a flower.
Striking #2: Trout Lily (Erythronium americanum)
The trout lily’s common name comes from its flower’s resemblance to true lilies and the similarity of its leaves’ splotchy coloration to trout scales. Other common names include dog-toothed violet, adder’s tongue, and fawn lily. It takes 4 or 5 years for an individual trout lily to mature and store up enough energy in its roots to produce a flower. Their flowers then get pollinated by native bees like bumble bees and Andrena miner bees, providing these insects with an important early food source.
Above: In this particular sea of trout lilies only two are mature enough to have flowers. But the flowers are worth the wait! You can see these and several other ephemerals on this list, like mayapple, at Heritage Conservancy’s Hart’s Woods Nature Preserve in Doylestown.
Delicate #3: Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica)
Appearing alongside the trout lilies and the mayapples is a more subtle and delicate flower: the spring beauty. This spring ephemeral’s tiny flowers range from white to light pink, typically with darker pink veins striping the petals. However, you’ll only get a chance to appreciate these blooms on sunny days, as spring beauty actually closes up its flowers on cloudy days and at night.
Tasty #4: Ramps (Allium tricoccum)
Silly #5 and #6: Dutchman’s Breeches (Dicentra cucullaria) and Squirrel Corn (D. canadensis)
These two Dicentra species are united in their strange-looking flower shapes and special relationship with ants. Once pollinated these pantaloon-shaped and heart-shaped flowers turn into seeds with a very special coating, called an elaiosome, that attracts ants. The ants will take the seeds back to their nest where they can eat away the delicious coating around the seed without damaging the seed itself. Eventually, when that nest is abandoned, the seed finds itself nicely buried beyond the detection of many seed-eaters and ready to germinate. Of course the seeds that make it to adulthood, still have other predators to worry about. In the case of squirrel corn, the plant’s tubers are a sought after snack for mice, and you guessed it, squirrels.
Above left: This specimen of Dutchman’s breeches is thriving, putting out lots of flowers and spreading its leaves wide to soak up as much light as possible. Comparing the Dutchman’s breeches’ leaves to the fallen oak, maple, and other trees’ leaves around it really drives home the feeling that everything about this species belongs to the miniature world of the tiny Dutch man whose breeches are hanging out to dry.
Above right: Compared to it’s close cousin, Dutchman’s breeches, the squirrel corn flowers look perhaps slightly more flower-like. These flowers might remind you of Bleeding Heart, a popular ornamental native to Asia. Bleeding Heart was once grouped into the Dicentra genus, but has since been re-evaluated and put in the Lamprocapnos genus. Photo courtesy of Flickr CC: https://www.flickr.com/photos/7147684@N03/4751215888/in/photostream/
Classic #7: Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica)
One of the largest and showiest spring ephemerals on this list, Virginia bluebells have long been a star in people’s gardens. In the wild, Virginia bluebells struggle to compete with the aggressive spread of lesser celandine, an invasive spring ephemeral introduced to North America in the 1800s. While bluebells can be a bit difficult to establish, if you can find a place for them in good soils under your backyard trees or woodland, they will reward you with great beauty and our native pollinators with an abundant source of early nectar and pollen.
Above: As you can see here, the lovely Virginia bluebells find themselves competing with a newcomer, the invasive, yellow-flowered lesser celandine. Bluebells may have a height advantage, but they get a late start compared to the lesser celandine. In places where both species are found, the sprouting bluebells have to push their way through the thick carpet of lesser celandine, a difficult task for a plant whose energy budget for the year is already tight.
Fuzzy #8: Hepaticas (Hepatica sp.)
There are two species of Hepaticas in this part of the world, one with rounded leaves conveniently named round-lobed Hepatica (H. americana) and one with pointy leaves called sharp-lobed Hepatica (H. acutiloba). Round-lobed Hepatica has a slightly higher tolerance for dry soils, but otherwise these two species are incredibly similar. Both are pollinated by a combination of bees and flies.
Above: Two round-lobed Hepatica leaves emerge from the leaf litter in March. A given for each of these spring ephemerals is the presence of leaf litter, a source of much-needed nutrients, water-retention, and protection and at the same time a barrier to growth that must be pushed past.
Vibrant #9: Wood Poppy (Stylophorum diphyllum)
Wood poppy’s yellow flowers stand out brightly in the understory from April through June, slightly later than the other species on this list. This spring wildflower is less ephemeral in wetter soil conditions than drier ones. Also known as celandine poppy, it is easy to confuse this species with the invasive greater celandine (a close relative of the aforementioned invasive lesser celandine). Learning to tell the difference between the native and the invasive species is important, as wood poppy has a lot more to offer our wildlife than greater celandine. For instance, wood poppy’s bristly seed pods hold a treat well-liked by chipmunks and mice.
Wood poppy often competes for space with the invasive garlic mustard. (You can find a recipe for Garlic Mustard Pesto in a previous Nature Note to make use of the garlic mustard you might weed out to help out our natives like wood poppy.)
Above: Photo courtesy of Flickr CC: https://www.flickr.com/photos/acrylicartist/7104035421
Some may quibble with me about including wood poppy in a list of spring ephemerals given that, under some growing conditions, this woodland species will bloom repeatedly throughout the spring and summer. To that I say boo! It’s close enough to a true ephemeral, its beautiful and it’s under appreciated, so I’m including it.
Unique #10: Jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum)
At first glance, you might mistake this spring ephemeral’s flower for the traps of pitcher plants. While Jack-in-the-pulpit is visited by flies and gnats, the same targets as pitcher plants, Jack’s visitors will leave with their lives and a smattering of pollen to take with them to the next “pulpit.” Some researchers theorize that Jack-in-the-pulpit is an example of an in-between stage in a species’ evolutionary path towards becoming a pitcher plant, but for now this plant is not carnivorous. The pollinated “jack” at the middle of the flower will turn into a bright red fruit by summer, the “pulpit” and the rest of the plant having faded away around it. This fruit is enjoyed by songbirds and box turtles.
Bold #11: Eastern Shooting Star (Dodecatheon meadia)
It is easy to see how this plant got its name. Like a “star” falling to Earth with a fiery trail, eastern shooting star’s yellow stamens point towards the ground with a crown of white or purple petals trailing behind it. The end result is a clear target for pollinators, like our many native bees, to aim for. This species, like the others on this list, does best in the partial shade of woodlands and likes rich, evenly moist soils; however, if trying to establish shooting stars in your own woodland garden, err on the side of drier conditions, as this one doesn’t do well with flooded feet.
Above: Photo courtesy of Flickr CC: https://www.flickr.com/photos/52421717@N00/4587297115/
Unless you know of a garden where this spring ephemeral is planted, this may well be the trickiest of the bunch to find. More abundant in the Midwest, but still native to Pennsylvania, eastern shooting star is the only species on this list that I’ve only seen in native plant nurseries and not yet in the wild.
Coveted #12: Trilliums (Trillium sp.)
The Trillium genus consists of 38 species in North America who all share a characteristic three “leaf” form. Their leaf-like structures are actually bracts, a modified petal, rather than a true leaf. Trilliums, like the Dicentra taking spots 5 and 6 in this list, use ants for seed dispersal, but also enlist the help of ground-nesting wasps. If you are interested in establishing a patch of trilliums yourself, be aware that deer love to eat them.
Above: This species of trillium is called yellow wakerobin (T. luteum), seen here growing at Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve in New Hope, a great place to both see trilliums and buy them for your own garden. Part of the success of trilliums at Bowman’s Hill can be attributed to the deer fences that keep those large, hungry herbivores away.
Tricky #13: Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis)
Bloodroot’s dramatic name comes from the red latex that quickly oozes to the surface when its roots are broken or damaged. That red latex has been used as a dye and as face paint. Its macabre aura is further accentuated by its toxicity to humans if ingested. Ants, on the other hand, like this plant, as this is the third entry on this list to entice ants into dispersing its seeds by coating them in ant food. To make those seeds, however, bloodroot tricks pollinators. Its large, beautiful white flowers look like they would hold a nectar treat for pollinators, but leave these insects high and dry and covered in pollen to carry to the next deceiving flower.
Above: Bloodroot’s flower is rightfully the star of the show in most depictions of the plant, but it’s nice to take a moment to appreciate its interesting leaves, shown here, as well.
Cute #14: Rue Anemone (Anemonella thalictroides)
This upland spring ephemeral is easy to confuse with many other flowers. Its common name is inspired by its leaves’ resemblance to those of meadow rue and its flowers’ similarity to those of Anemone species. The plant’s flowers also have a passing resemblance to fellow ephemerals spring beauty and the Hepaticas, but upon closer inspection, rue anemone has seven petals, whereas spring beauty and the Anemone species all only have five and the Hepaticas have six.
If you are interested in learning more about plant identification or otherwise want help with identification, check out apps like iNaturalist and Seek. These apps’ AI features can be very accurate and will at least offer good suggestions that, with some further research, will lead you to the right answer. Both draw on the same database, but iNaturalist allows other users to offer suggestions about the identity of your observations, while Seek lacks that feature but is more user friendly.
Above: This rue anemone stands out, cute and delicate among the leaves and the wild geraniums on the forest floor. Rue anemone can be hard to identify, especially when its flowers loose any of their characteristic seven petals as one of the flowers here has.
Closing Thoughts
Whether you have the time to search the forests for all 14 of these ephemerals this spring or simply find yourself spotting a few of them during your usual routines, thank you for noticing them. In our modern world where attention is a commodity, investing your attention in native plants is so valuable to the conservation of our natural biodiversity. These herbaceous friends won’t muscle their way into your mind the way a tree might with its massive presence, but they still have something worthwhile to offer: beauty, contrast, niche roles in the food web. May you feel inspired and nourished by these native plants this March, April, and May.
Author Katie Toner is a Land Conservation Easement Steward at Heritage Conservancy.