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Co-authored by Elena Leonard & Henri de la Vega
Ephemeral: noun
something that lasts for a very short time : something ephemeral. specifically : a plant that grows, flowers, and dies in a few days.
Ephemeral wildflowers are some of nature’s best and brightest, and their short lifespans are just part of what makes them so beautiful–and such a rare treat to see! Spring ephemerals are plants that emerge, flower, and go dormant during the spring months, and most commonly have rhizomous, tuberous, or bulbous root systems. They rely on the cycle of the deciduous forests they predominantly live in, emerging while there’s still plenty of sunlight to go around and going dormant once the trees have fully leafed out. As pollen producing plants, they also play an important part in the ecosystem as an early-spring food source for pollinators like bees and flies. Aside from being early bloomers, all of the featured plants below share an interesting trait that is somewhat uncommon in the plant kingdom, they are all myrmecochorous, meaning they have adapted a special relationship with ants. Each plants seed has nutritious, fleshy appendage which is a favorite food of the ants who carry the seeds below ground, inadvertently planting them in their compost chambers.
Whether you plan to join us on one of our many spring adventures or plan to explore on your own this season, here are 5 spring ephemerals to look for the next time you’re out exploring in the woods!
Claytonia carolinia ‘Carolina Springbeauty’
(early March - May)
Claytonia carolinia is commonly called ‘Carolina Spring Beauty’ or simply ‘Spring Beauty’. This delicate plant is abundant throughout its range in eastern North America, and are commonly found in our forests and along forest edges. The Spring Beauty emerges in early spring, growing approximately 6-12 inches tall sporting opposite, elliptical shaped leaves and multiple pale pink or white flowers. Each flower has five petals, with dark pink veins and pink stamen. Its close cousin, Claytonia virginica, the ‘Virginia Spring Beauty’ looks very similar, the primary key distinction being that it has smaller, grass-like leaves.
Fun fact: The starchy roots of the Spring Beauty were widely used by the Iroquois for medicinal and food purposes while the starchy corms serve as an early season food source for chipmunks and mice.
Trillium erectum&
Trillium undulatum
Red & Painted Trillium
(early-march - mid-June)
*Painted trillium pictured above with ephemeral definition
Blooming from early spring to early summer depending on the weather, Trillium species come in many varieties, oftentimes with very minute differences. Despite this, Trillium species share a commonality in that they grow their parts in sets of three, with groups of three leaves, three sepals and three petals. Two of the most common varieties that you’re likely to find in New York are Trillium erectum ‘red trillium’ and Trillium undulatum ‘painted trillium’. Red trillium has a wide range within North America, and can even survive temperatures down to -31 degrees Fahrenheit. Painted trillium prefers strongly acidic soil, often found alongside eastern white pines, red maples, red spruce, and balsam firs.
Red trillium has vibrant red to deep maroon petals that stand out amongst the forest, and conspicuous, deeply ridged ovaries in the center of each flower; Painted trillium has darker green leaves and wavy-edged white petals with purplish-pink Vs at the center and produces a small, round, bright red, seed pod after flowering.
Fun fact: Red trillium is a carrion-scented flower–often described as smelling like wet dog–which gives it its alternative common name, ‘stinking Benjamin’.
Sanguinaria canadensis ‘Bloodroot’
(mid-March - mid-April)
Sanguinaria canadensis or ‘Bloodroot’ is named for the orange-red color of its root sap. This spring ephemeral is a sight to be seen with its many-petaled white blossoms and its wide, round, deeply clefted green leaves. Preferring the moist woodland soil near wetlands, shores, and streams, Bloodroots can be found blooming between March and April. The flowers and leaves grow in single pairs, emerging together with the leaf wrapped around the delicate white flower. The flowers have 8 to 12 white petals surrounding many bright yellow stamen, and often open before the leaf fully unwraps, rising up to ten inches on a smooth, reddish stalk. The leaves are thick and rounded, with distinct veins and multiple lobes, and will remain until mid to late summer.
Fun fact: Bloodroot was used by Native Americans as a both dye and paint as well as for many medicinal purposes.
Erythronium americanum ‘Trout Lily’
(late March - mid-May)
Erythronium americanum, common name Trout Lily, is named after its distinctive grey-green leaves that are mottled with brown to purple spots, resembling the coloring of brook trout. Preferring the rich soil of wooded forests, the trout lilies mottled leaves are basal–meaning they stem from the ground–and have elliptic or lanceolate–lance shaped–leaves. Trout lilies don’t flower for the first 4 to 7 years of their life, making a trout lily flower sighting that much more special, so make sure to count the leaves if you see a patch of trout lilies! Plants ready to flower will have two leaves, while non-flowering plants will only have one. The flowers bloom in early spring, emerging from a single stalk that can be up to 8 inches tall. The flowers are a gorgeous bright yellow and complex in shape, with six lanceolate petals in two sets of three, which tend to bend backwards in full bloom, exposing the pistil and stamen.
Fun fact: Trout lilies spread both by seed and by “runners”, often forming large colonies. If you find a large colony with many flowering plants it could be hundreds of years old!
Dicentra cucullaria
‘Dutchman’s Breeches’
(late March - early May)
Named for the pants-like shape of its white flowers, dutchman’s breeches (Dicentra cucullaria) can be found in moist wooded areas, in most types of light. It has fern-like, trifoliate–leaves in sets of three–basal leaves that emerge in early spring, followed closely by a thin flower stalk that can be up to a foot tall.
Duchman’s breeches provide an important food source for freshly emerging queen bumblebees. The queens have just enough strength to pry open the pedals to access the plants nectar, collecting and moving pollen from flower to flower in the process.
It’s similar looking cousin, Dicentra canadensis or ‘Squirrel Corn’, has more heart-shaped, pink tinged petals. While beautiful to look at, be careful when touching dutchman’s breeches as it can cause mild skin irritation in some people.
Fun fact: Duchman’s breeches has also been nicknamed ‘Staggerweed’ by ranchers due to the effect it has on livestock that consume it.
Dicentra canadensis - Squirrel corn
