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Home Crow’s Nest wildflower walk recap

Crow’s Nest wildflower walk recap

April 17, 2023
By Natural Lands

By Daniel Barringer, Preserve Manager.

Small clusters of flowers on Virginia pennywort

Photo: Daniel Barringer

We had a lovely Hepatica Hike on Saturday. The rain held off and we saw all the flowers on our checklist except one: the Virginia pennywort (Oblaria virginica), above, didn’t show up until today, Monday. We call the  event a “Hepatica Hike,” and we did see some hepatica, along with bloodroot, spicebush, and trout lily, but these plants were nearing the end of their blooming period as others were just starting.

Small white 5-petaled flowers of wood anemone

Photo: Daniel Barringer

We were able to see abundant wood anemone (Anemone quinquifolia), above, and distinguish it from rue-anemone (Thalictrum thalictroides), below. Both are delicate, lovely flowers with similar common names.

Small white six-petaled flowers of rue-anemone

Photo: Daniel Barringer

Hidden under foliage and lying along the ground, the beautiful flowers of wild ginger (Asarum canadense), below, are pollinated by ants.

Maroon 3-petaled flower of wild ginger growing along the ground under the leaves

Photo: Daniel Barringer

We found the delicate flowers of sessile bellflower (Uvularia sessilifolia), below, blooming in several places.

Nodding pale yellow bell-shaped flower of sessile bellwort

Photo: Daniel Barringer

It wasn’t all about flowers. We also saw the distinctive leaves of downy rattlesnake plantain (Goodyera pubescens)…

Dark green leaves with pronounced light green veins of downy rattlesnake plantain

Photo: Daniel Barringer

…and last year’s leaves of putty root (Aplectrum hymale). Both of these are orchids with subtle flowers that I usually miss in mid-summer.

Leaf with parallel light veins of putty root

Photo: Daniel Barringer

We also heard a few American toads trilling—though not many I guess because it has been so dry lately. We  also heard a gray tree frog calling. And a participant with sharp eyes found this box turtle on the forest floor.

Box turtle from above

Photo: Daniel Barringer

We also saw the round clusters of flowers on dwarf ginseng (Panic trifolius), below.

Dwarf ginseng flowers, rounded cluster of tiny white flowers

Photo: Daniel Barringer

We also stopped to see one of the very few plants of trailing arbutus (Epigaea repens) on the preserve.

Small white flowers of trailing arbutus

Photo: Daniel Barringer

Of course, later in the day I had to stop to admire the clusters of flowers on a branch of a redbud (Cercis canadensis).

A hot pink branch of redbud flowers against a cloudy sky

Photo: Daniel Barringer

And I also admired this miniature forest of field horsetail (Equisetum arvense) with droplets of fog on it at the side of the road.

A tiny forest of field horsetail with drops of fog condensed on it

Photo: Daniel Barringer