Trout Lily © 2010 Bo Mackison
One of the earliest ephemeral spring flowers in Wisconsin is the trout lily. Large colonies of this flower appear in woodlands, as hundreds, even thousands of the lilies pop up from the forest floor in late April. The flower probably gets its name from the unusual brown mottled markings on its large leaves which resemble the brook trout. It also has several other common names, including Fawn Lily, Adder’s Tongue, and Dogtooth Violet, although the flower is a member of the lily family, not the violet family.
It blooms early in the season before the trees have leafed out and while the sunlight still reaches the floor of the forest. I saw large stands of it on Sunday while hiking the Woodland Trail in Governor Nelson State Park. This state park is an urban park located on the shores of Lake Mendota; downtown Madison and the Capitol building can be seen looking across the lake from the park’s shores and bluffs.
Jack in the Pulpit © 2010 Bo Mackison
Spring is for real when I can walk in the woodlands and see the first wildflowers in abundance. Today on my Sunday hike I counted thousands of trout lilies, a few buttercups, and hundreds of patches of sweet violets, Confederate violets and white violets. I only saw one Jack in the Pulpit. It’s a bit early for the Jacks, but they’ll be covering the woodland floor in another week.
I love these early spring wildflowers.
Final Bit of Fall Color
I was out exploring the local Arboretum, simply to see what I could see. In all the many layers of November browns, there was this bit of color – one last stand of Purple Asters still sporting a few blossoms of bright purples and yellows.
Trillium at UW Arboretum
In all my years of tramping through Wisconsin’s forests, this is the first set of prairie trillium I have seen. I could not find this particular species of trillium in any ID book, except for the local book Spring Woodland Wildflowers of the University of Wisconsin Madison Arboretum by Andrew L. Hipp. A rather thin book, with a narrow focus, but of great value when checking out the lesser known flowers in this particular arboretum.
The prairie trillium, also called the red trillium (trillium recurvatum). Most often found in forests, but can be seen in savannas and prairies. This trillium was found in the Arboretum, though Madison is at its extreme northern limit. Also seen in southern and southeastern Wisconsin. It is on Wisconsin’s list for species of special concern.
A Species of Concern in Wisconsin
Here is a photo of the entire plant. Gives a better perspective. I found a group of seven plants all huddled together, but none anywhere else in the woods.
Not to be confused with the purple trillium (trillium erectum) which grows in nearby Illinois, but not in Wisconsin. It is distinguished from prairie trillium by its flowers which are stalked and nodding. It also has leaves which do not bend backwards like the prairie trillium, but are held erect.
Wild Columbine
This showy wildflower is found in woodlands and the fringes of open spaces from late spring to mid-summer. It is pollinated by hummingbirds or moths which can reach deep into the cups of the flower. It is sometimes called a dove plant–when turned upside down some say the flower resembles a flock of doves in a circle.
Another of the many wildflowers I see at the Uniersity of Wisconsin Madison Arboretum. The arboretum is especially great because, even though it is huge, it is an urban park and easily accessible. Though it is not located on the University’s campus, it is an easy bike ride or walk, and the road is often crowded with runners and bicyclists. It ‘s also convenient to many of Madison’s public schools, and makes for a nice end-of-the-school-year field trip. When I was there yesterday, a group of about 80 second graders unloaded n front of the Nature Center. I watched in amusement as the adults tried to corral all the kids in one general area.
I now remember why schoolteacher never made it onto my possible careers list. I love being a mom of three, but I think a classroom full of kids would do me in!
Jacks - Everywhere I Looked
The forest floor was covered with jack in the pulpits and wild geranium, three varieties of violets – yellow, purple and white, quite a few stands of the large white trillium. It’s been a late spring, but the quantity of flowers has been almost worth waiting for.
Pretty in Purple
The wild geranium marks the boundary betweem spring and summer, so says my reference book, Spring Woodland Flowers of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Arboretum. There is a profusion of purple along the paths of the Noe Woods in the Arboretum. Guess we’re on the boundary, so spring lasted about four weeks this year? Sounds about right.
remembering summer
I’ve been working on my photography portfolio and wading through thousands (yes, thousands) of images, deleting most and working on a few. This is one of the photos that caught my eye, I think because the leaves of the plant seem almost like a shadow.
It’s nice to be going through summer photos right now. I am trying to take each day as it comes, and appreciate February as it is, but I do admit my heart and soul are waiting for warmer weather and the appearance of wildflowers and color again.
The photo of the clover was taken last summer in Door County, one of my favorite places in Wisconsin, and where I go when I want to get away.
New England Asters
The last show of wildflowers in the prairies are in bloom. The prairies are full and thick, now beginning to yellow a bit. The New England Asters are easily cultivated, and found in many gardens, but they are especially handsome in the thickets of grasses on the prairie.
Rosin Weed
What a name for one of the most perfect prairie wildflowers I’ve seen in a long time! Rosin Weed is an excellent flower for the prairie, and used extensively in prairie restorations as it is attractive to bees, butterflies and birds. Its sap contains resin which was once used as a chewing gum. (Ick – I’d rather have peppermint myself.)
Blue Vervain
This would be an easy flower to miss, except it grows so tall the flowers tend to stick out over many of the shorter grasses. The Blue Vervain flowers themselves are tiny – less than 1/4″ wide – but the plant stands up to 6 feet tall.
Vervain was a popular plant, well-known for its many medicinal uses – made into a brew and used as a tonic, an aphrodisiac, and a sedative. Centuries ago it was hung on European peasants’ doorways to ward off the devil and other evildoers, and it was worn as an amulet to bring good luck.
Path through a Tall Grass Prairie
A path leads through a small segment of a tall grass prairie. Oak savannas are spreading into the prairie in the background. This prairie will have a prescribed burn next year.
Fire plays an important role in managing prairies, just as it has been a natural and frequent occurrence on the grasslands for thousands of years. The prairie flowers, grasses and animals all rely on the burning, which prevents invasion by larger shrubs and trees, and removes most of the accumulation of mulch that typically smothers the growth of the small prairie plants, some nearly microbial in size.
Marsh Gay-feather, A.K.A. Marsh Blazing Star
This late season prairie wildflower, Liatris spicata, blooms from the top down, instead of the more common bottom to top growing pattern. It is a favorite of many species of butterflies. It is a rather spectacular plant, ranging in height from 2 to 4 feet tall. In fall, the deep brown seedhead attracts dozens of yellow finches for a dramatic show. It is more common the further east you travel, though it was once abundant in southern Wisconsin.
Native Americans and early settlers considered the plant an important commodity due to its medicinal properties as well as its nutritional use. The Lakotas ground its roots to make an appetite stimulant, and also ate the entire plant to treat heart ailments. it was said to strengthen the “bound muscle with poor rhythm.” The plants’ corms were also used the Lakotas, as well as by other tribes and early settlers, as winter food.
Big Bluestem Grasses
The big bluestem is the tallest of the grasses, waving upwards of 8 to 10 feet tall. It is also referred to as turkey-foot grass, as the grass often splits into threes near its top.
There are five very well adapted perennial grasses which predominate the tall grass prairie or grassland biome: big bluestem, little bluestem, Indian grass, switch grass, and prairie dropseed. This woven masterpiece of fibers, which thread themselves together in a protective matting, allows the prairie and its smaller plants and animals to survive threatening winds, fires, drought, and prolonged, harsh winters.
I think there is nothing lovelier than walking through a tall grass prairie at this time of year, the winds gently pushing the tall stems above my head, and searching in the yellow-brown for purple asters, sunflowers and other late wildflowers – the harbingers of autumn.
Sweet Coneflower
This is a close cousin of the black-eyed Susan, the foliage is firmer and the plant tends to grow taller, up to 4 1/2 feet in height. The name comes from the plant’s perfumery – rather a sweet anise- or vanilla-scent lingers when the leaves are crushed.
