Questions in my head about identification of the yellow Violet drove me back down to The Pocket today. I’ve decided I’m going with Viola pubescens var. scabriuscula – Smooth Yellow Violet (syn. Viola eriocarpa and Viola pensylvanica among others. ) But there were a couple of noteworthy additional species to last Friday’s list. Firstly, the first of the Wood Poppies (Celandine Poppy) have started to bloom.
Wood Poppy – Stylophorum diphyllum
Here’s what I found blooming beyond the last report (3/5) – I didn’t do a full inventory, so I’m not going to list everything. Go to the last report if you want the full list – those 21 species plus the ones below.
- Wood Poppy, aka Celandine Poppy (Stylophorum diphyllum) – Just one plant blooming, and a second just about to bloom
- Bellwort (I think Large-flowered, Uvularia grandiflora) – Also a single plant blooming, and I didn’t notice foliage-only plants elsewhere.
- Trailing Trillium (Trillium decumbens) – These are starting to bloom; just a few really open.
- Plantain-leaf Pussytoes (Antennaria plantaginifolia) – Many plants up, but I only found one blooming.
Large-flowered Bellwort – Uvularia grandiflora
Other notes:
- Trout Lily has come into its own; many beautifully blooming.
- Bloodroot is probably at peak.
Looks like many things have popped open in just two days. I was there on Sat the 4th and no poppies or bellwort open. Trilliums looked almost ready but none actually open yet. Several trout lilies were open, but just one clump of Dutchmen’s breeches – one year when I went it cover the entire bank but did not see that much foliage this time.
I suspect that lone Bellwort is a one-off; foliage of those weren’t obvious. I almost missed it – along the creek in the first section of the boardwalk. The wood poppy was almost alone – there was a nearby one that may be open now; it was pretty close yesterday. Very few Trilliums open; you had to really look for them. The Trout Lilies have come on strongly, though, with quite a few along the boardwalk, and a bit patch with many blooming plants across the creek at the north end of the parking lot. I only spotted four Dutchman’s Breeches plants blooming; two more small ones about 15′ up the bank from the “two clumps” right by the boardwalk.
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