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| May Apple |
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| Spring Beauty |
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| Large Flowered Trillium |
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| Wild Ginger |
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Spring begins under the winter snow.
As the days get warm, the woodland wildflowers wake from their winter dormancy. They must complete their
annual cycle of growth, flowering, and seed production before the maple, oak, and other leaves fill in the branches overhead,
blocking their energy source (the sun), and casting shade across the forest floor. These photos introduce the story of the
Woodland Spring. On this page, I will show and tell about the changes in the season, and I will introduce some of the more
common wildflowers in the eastern temperate forest.
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| About the size of a US quarter, Spring Beauty sprouts in the melting snow (March 10, 1996). |
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| March 9, 2007 Smoky Mountains |
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| April 28, 2007 Smoky Mountains |
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| April 7, 2007 Smoky Mountains |
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| June 13, 2007 Smoky Mountains |
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They're called spring ephemerals because they are fleeting, making only a brief appearance each spring.
Under the late winter snow, woodland wildflowers wake from dormancy. The sun's energy (warmth and light) fuels their
growth and reproduction--and beautiful boquets. But they need to work fast.
Once the leaves sprout on the trees, each passing week brings more shade, until finally, there are merely specks of
light moving across the forest floor. In the relative darkness, most wildflowers wither and go dormant for nearly a year.
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The Wildflower's Point of View
What would a wildflower see if it had eyes and looked toward the sky? This is an important question
because sunlight provides the energy for its growth and reproduction, and the amount of sunlight varies with location and
time of year. While working on my graduate research in ecology, I needed to estimate the relative amount of sunlight
that reached the forest floor. So I borrowed my advisor's fisheye lens, camera body, and tripod equipped with a level. I snapped 360-degree views of the sky every week during
the spring at each of the plots where my wildflowers grew.
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| Early Spring (March 7, 1987) |
This shows early spring in eastern Iowa. Around this time, the last remnants of snow have pretty much melted,
though that depends on the year and the landscape. By now, the weather is warm enough for the wildflowers to emerge and begin
their short season of growth and reproduction. Skunk cabbage is typically the first wildflower to bloom, followed by
hepatica and bloodroot (see below).
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| Mid Spring (April 25, 1987) |
By mid April, spring is well underway. Spring beauties are in full bloom, along with phlox, Dutchman's
breeches, wild geranium, May apple, and solomon's seal. The earliest flowers are done blooming, and are busy making seeds.
Time is running out. The leaves overhead are filling in, producing more and more shade, and blocking the energy
of the sun.
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| Late Spring (May 12, 1987) |
By mid May, most of the spring wildflowers are done blooming and many are done making seeds. There is very
little light on the forest floor. It feels damp and relatively cool. Also, the mosquitoes have arrived! Most of the spring-blooming
wildflowers (also called ephemerals) turn yellowish brown and whither away. Being perennials, however, they will return with
the thaw of the following spring.
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Skunk Cabbage Symplocarpus foetidus
Skunk Cabbage is one of the first wildflowers to bloom, often melting its way through the snow. The "ball"
inside the hood holds many flowers, which can eventually produce many seeds. I got these pictures during March near Floyd,
Va and also along the Blue Ridge Parkway near Mabry Mill.
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| Skunk Cabbage |
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| Skunk Cabbage |
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| Skunk Cabbage |
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| Skunk Cabbage Very Close |
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| Skunk Cabbage Withering |
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| Skunk Cabbage Closeup |
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Hepatica Hepatica acutiloba and Hepatica americana
Another of the first wildflowers to bloom each spring, the two species of hepatica can be distinguished
by their leaves. H. acutiloba has pointed tips on its leaves, while H. americana has rounded lobes. Hepatica
is a member of the butterup family. Its flower is the same shape and size as a common buttercup. Hepatica flowers range from
white to pink to pastel purple and sometimes a hint of blue.
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| Hepatica Bud Emerging |
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| Hepatica in Full Bloom |
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| Leaves Emerging |
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| Hepatica Bud |
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| H. acutiloba leaf from Last Season |
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| Hepatica Flowers Close Up |
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| Flowers and Buds |
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| Leaf from Current Season |
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| Life on the Forest Floor |
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Bloodroot Sanguinaria canadensis
Bloodroot is another of spring's earliest wildflowers, and this one doesn't last long. I love the way the
bloodroot first emerges from the ground, like a little spear, with its leaf rolled up tightly to protect the bud underneath.
Gradually the leaf loosens its grip and the flower begins to open. Once open, the flower fades quickly. Timing is important
with these wildflowers because rain and wind can knock the white petals to the ground. Here are a variety of shots I got of
bloodroot during two consecutive springs. For a white flower like bloodroot, I find that soft (diffused) side lighting works
well.
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| A Single Bud |
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| A Young Flower Opens |
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| A Young Flower |
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| Side View of Two |
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| The Bud Gradually Opens |
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| Bloodroot Flowers with Soft Light |
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| Side View of a Group |
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| Closeup of Leaf |
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| Mature Leaf in Late Spring |
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| The Flower Blooms |
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| A Flower in Its Prime |
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| Side View Early Flower |
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| Side View Mature Flower |
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| Fading Flower |
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UNDER CONSTRUCTION. PLEASE BE PATIENT.
I plan to continue the pattern above, in which I present a variety of images for each type of wildflower
or fern... It will take a long time to finish this job.
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| Large White Trillium |
This is called Trillium grandiflorum, or large flowered trillium. This plant can reach a height
of 8-12 inches. The flowers always have three petals. The stem has a whorl of three leaves. I got this shot in mid April in
southern Virginia, using my Nikon D70 and 200 mm micro lens.
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| Cinnamon Fern |
During mid May, I found this fiddlehead of Cinnamon Fern, still wrapped rather tightly. I used my Nikon
D70 and 200 mm micro lens to focus closely on this fiddlehead. I opened the aperture a bit to make sure that the background
was thrown out of focus.
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| Showy Orchid |
I found this showy orchid near the Greenbriar area in the Smokies. It was the first week of April 2007,
and the temperatures fell with the snow. As a result the freeze, few wildflowers bloomed in the Smokies that spring. I
used my Nikon D200 and 200 mm micro lens.
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| Large Flowered Trillium |
stay tuned
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| Wild Ginger Flower Closeup |
stay tuned
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| Spring Beauty |
stay tuned
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| May Apple Flower Just Opening |
May Apples bloom toward the middle and late spring... more to follow.
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| May Apple Flower Closeup |
stay tuned
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| Bloodroot Flowers with Soft Light |
Bloodroot blooms during early spring... more to follow, stay tuned.
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