bloodroot

Bloodroot.  Thick juicy underground stems. Sap of blood red. Sanguinaria, its fitting Latin name, meaning blood red.  But walking in the woods, you'll see innocent white flowers on pinkish stalks with a bright attractive center.  The stem, leaf, and flower bud (in a neat wrapped bundle) are pushed up together through early Spring leaf litter.  The delicate flower only lasts a day or two.  Bees pollinate bloodroot.  Once blossoming, it develops pod-like capsules that contain seeds.  Ants harvest and spread the mature seeds.

Jack in the Pulpit

 The Jack-in-the-Pulpit plants in the wild wild woods have finished flowering.  The 1/4" berries cluster and will stay on the stalk until they ripen to red in the autumn.  Since there are many young plants around the mature ones, it seems the self-seeding process has been successful in recent years.

Trout Lily emerging

This native ephemeral flower is so anxious for Spring that it pushed right through a dried leaf to get some sunshine!  The Trout Lilies Erythronium americanum that grow in the wild wild woods are known by several names. "Trout Lily" comes from its gray-green leaves mottled with brown or gray, which allegedly resemble the coloring of brook trout.  "Dogtooth Violet" refers to the tooth-like shape of the white underground bulb. These wildflowers bloom in the wild wild woods in early spring.  They grow in large colonies; each bulb sends up one nodding one-inch yellow flower on a single stem with a pair of leaves. 

Jack blooms in the woods

The Arisaema triphyllum plants are blooming in the woods. Also known as Jack-in-the-Pulpit, Bog Onion, and Wake Robin.

Bloodroot blooms in the woods

The Bloodroot Sanguinaria canadensis flowers are open all across the shady floor of the woods.