1st Wood Poppy of the Season
Cindy wasn’t able to get down to The Pocket on Saturday, and suggested that we might go down there today. With the change to daylight savings time, we had an extra hour of daylight, so shortly after 5 pm we headed down. It was another great day for the wildflowers of The Pocket.
Looking to the left into the forest just before getting to the bridge onto the Shirley Miller trail, the ground was alight with white blossoms. I initially thought they were Hepatica, and there were many, but a closer look showed many (most of the closer ones) to be Bloodroot. Two days made a huge difference in the number of those yellow-centered white blossoms showing. Additionally, there were a few Trout Lily blooming near the creek.
Quickly moving onto the boardwalk, we dicovered that many of the Virginia Bluebell plants were sporting open blossoms. The Toothworts continue their show, and then looking off to the right I spotted a brighter yellow than the Trout Lilies. There was a Wood Poppy almost, but not quite, fully open. I didn’t spot any others besides the single blossom. Trout lilies continued to increase in number as we walked, and before we got to the junction of the other part of the boardwalk we spotted an area with dozens in bloom. The Trout Lilies are now “in season.”
There were some great clusters of Bloodroot along the creek, and the Trillium flexipes or Trillium simile (I’m still trying to figure out how to tell the difference) were showing up everywhere. Some of the “trailing trillium” were forming stalks – indicating that they were really toadshade instead. As we were observing these trillium, Cindy spotted a single Bellwort beginning to flower.
Many, many Hepatica continue to bloom along the boardwalk and the trail up to the falls, and I shouldn’t fail to mention that the Spring Beauties are very numerous, with many of them fully open while many also still closed buds. Toward the end of the boardwalk the buds on the Dutchman’s breeches plant I spotted Saturday continue to develop, but that was the only Dutchman’s breeches plant with buds that we were able to spot (Cindy is calling them “Dutchmans’ Diapers.”)
There was a new flower that I passed by thinking it was another Hepatica, but Cindy called me back to look closer. It was something else, which I haven’t been able to identify yet. Photo to the left; email me if you know what this is. (Note: Cindy and I have subsequently confirmed that this is an early Rue Anemone.)
Close inspection of some of the plants growing on the rocks near the falls show buds on the Phacelia, but on the same rocks I don’t see signs of buds on the Columbine plants. At first glance these two plants look similar and could be mistaken as the same, but closer inspection shows the clear difference – the Columbine are in threes – three leaves each on three stems. The Phacelia has a ‘sharper’ leave, and there is an opposing pair on the leaf stem before triple-leaf at the end of the stem.
On the walk back there were many spicebush branches with their yellow clusters of tiny blossoms near and overhanging the boardwalk.