Now You See Me, Now You Don’t: Spring Ephemerals

We’ve enjoyed a fairly mild spring and are seeing many of our plants come into bloom; many of them are early! With all the attention on our flowering bulbs, you may have missed seeing our spring ephemerals. Spring ephemerals are plants that have adapted to bloom and set seed before they are shaded out by the forest canopy. This short blooming event only lasts a few weeks and then the plants die back and go dormant until the next year. Pollinators tend to take advantage of this early food source, as these spring ephemerals create a great resource for native insects. These early blooms are a great first sign of spring and are something to look forward to every year. Here at Wellfield Botanic Gardens, we have almost twenty different native spring ephemerals, most of which are in the Woodland Conservation Garden.

Trillium (Sessile, grandiflorum, recurvatuma) Trillium sessile is an ephemeral that starts to bloom in April with green mottled, modified leaves also known as bracts. This type of trillium reaches up to a foot tall with varying color from dark red to a brown/purple. Trillium prefers a woodland environment with partial to full shade, just like most other spring ephemerals. By mid-summer, the plant will die back until the following year.

Trillium grandiflorum is a larger trillium that can reach up to 1.5 feet in height with fully green bracts that can be as long as 6 inches in length. Blooming in April with large 3.5 inch white flowers that can develop a pink hue as they age. 

Trillium recurvatum can reach up to 15 inches in height with 4 inch dark green bracts. The flower that blooms in April to May almost reaches 2 inches and is a dark purple to brown color. This, like the trillium mentioned before, will spread slowly if left alone. 

Virginia Bluebells 

Mertensia virginica, is a spring ephemeral that can grow up to 2 feet tall with blue, trumpet shaped flowers that start to bloom in April. When the flowers start to bloom they start as pink and then change to blue as they mature.

Jack in the Pulpit 

Arisaema triphyllum can reach up to 2 feet tall and consists of a green to purple pulpit that opens to form a hood over the spadix. Male flowers are solely produced in the first few years of growth and then turn to hermaphrodites as they age, with both male and female parts. These ephemerals tend to grow in clusters, with the hermaphroditic plants producing a cluster of bright red berries in late summer before going dormant.

Mayapple 

Podophyllum peltatum grows up to 1.5 feet tall and has up to two palmately-lobed umbrella-like leaves. This spring ephemeral only flowers when the plant has two leaves, producing a white flower that eventually becomes a mayapple (the fruit of the plant). This mayapple is the only non-poisonous part of the plant and is only edible when the fruit ripens and turns a golden color. 

Dutchmans Breeches 

Dicentra cucullaria is a spring ephemeral that can get up to a foot tall with fern-like foliage and distinct white flowers with yellow tips. These flowers resemble upside down pantaloons, with multiple flowers per stem. Bloom time begins in March for this ephemeral and dies back by the summer. 

Large Flowered Bellwort

Uvularia grandiflora grows up to 2 feet tall and consists of bell-shaped drooping yellow flowers, containing twisted tepals (similar to petals). This spring ephemeral starts to bloom in April and becomes dormant by summer, until the following spring where it blooms again.

Bloodroot 

Sanguinaria canadensis can reach up to 10 inches tall. As these ephemerals bloom, each flower is wrapped by a basal leaf that unfurls to reveal the 2 inch white flower. These flowers are short lived, only blooming for two days. The common name ‘Bloodroot’ comes from the red sap that is revealed when the plant is cut. Even after the flowers are done blooming this ephemeral leaves behind attractive foliage until its dormancy. 

Rue Anemone

Thalictrum thalictroides can grow up to 9 inches tall and consist of white flowering blooms containing upwards of 10 sepals. These flowers rise above the tri-lobed dark green leaves. Bloom time begins in April and lasts until May for this spring ephemeral.

Yellow Trout Lily 

Erythronium americanum can get up to 6 inches tall and take up to 5 years to flower from seed. Once this ephemeral blooms, it has yellow bell-shaped flowers. The leaves of this plant are a rather distinct dark green with mottled brown. 

Shooting Star 

Dodecatheon meadia is commonly called shooting star, and can get up to 18 inches tall. On each stem of this flowering plant can have up to 20 individual flowers, with purple petals that are swept upwards. The common name refers to the flowers appearing to look like shooting stars. 

Spring Beauty

Claytonia virginica can be up to 9 inches tall and blooms in April. These clustered flowers have five petals and consist of white to pink blooms. The foliage of this plant continues to grow after the flowers are spent, and can get up to a foot tall before dormancy. 

Round-lobed Liverleaf 

Anemone americana, can get up to 9 inches tall. This ephemeral has anemone-like flowers that vary from light blue to light purple with 6-10 sepals. This plant was formerly known as Hepatica americana. 

Ramps 

Commonly known as a ramp or spring onion, Allium tricoccum, grows from conical bulbs with 2-3 leaves per bulb. As the leaves die back, white flowers begin to bloom. After the flowers are spent, seeds turn black once matured. The leaves and flowers of this spring ephemeral have an onion-like smell. 

Look for these plants during your next walk through our Woodland Conservation Garden on the north side of our property.

Ariana Guerrero

Horticulturist

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