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Late Spring
Wildflowers
 Bunchberry
Cornus canadensis
Bunchberry is a shorter (three to nine inch) fruit bearing wildflower
found in open woods and lowlands. The bunchberry blooms in June
with four white petals surrounding a cluster of tiny greenish
yellow flowers. The petals are actually leaves and the tiny flowers
in the center are actually the fruit, which is an orange-red
color. Birds eat the fruit and scatter the large seeds.
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 Columbine
Aquilegia canadensis
The Latin meaning of the columbine is "dove" because
many believe the tube-like nectaries or spurs resemble dove
heads in a circle; however, the genus name Aquilegia means "eagle" because
others think the spurs look like eagle claws. However the columbine
is interpreted, it is an elegant flower often found in rough
terrain on slopes. Columbine has tall stems, often two to three
feet high and the flowers are red and yellow. The two-inch
flowers, which bloom in June, hang down from the stems and
the spurs point upward. Hummingbirds and hawkmoths sip nectar
from the tiny bulbs at the end of the spurs, while bees may
bite a hole in the bulb and take the nectar that way. |
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Early Meadow-rue
Thalictrum dioicum
Blooming from April to May this early-blooming plant has
distinctive, fragile looking flowers and foliage. One to two
feet tall, this wildflower can be found in forests of the north
woods. |
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Canada Mayflower
Maianthemum canadense
Canada mayflower is found in the south and northern parts
of the Midwest in sandy soils and swampy areas. It grows to only two to six
inches and has only two or three shiny heart-shaped leaves that grow on a crooked
stem. The Canada mayflower is also known as "wild lily-of-the-valley" because
the leaves are very much like the domestic lily-of-the-valley, and also "beadruby" because
of its deep red fruit found from July through September.
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Blue Flag Iris
Iris versicolor
The blue flag iris is a wetland plant with long leaves that can
grow up to three feet. The flashy violet-blue flowers are almost
flat. The blue flag iris does not provide very much value as
food or cover for wildlife. Indians used the roots for leg sores
or as a laxative.
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 Starflower
Trientalis borealis
The starflower resembles a star with its five to seven white petals and
seven slender stamens rising from the center, looking like sharp-pointed stars.
The starflower is only between three and nine inches high and is found deep
in the woods. It has only two delicate "stars" per plant, but the
blossoms last until July. The starflower does not produce any new leaves or
flowers after it comes up in spring and by August, they are dead, and by October,
the plant is no longer visible. However, it has produced several identical
plants underground through the process of a rhizome.
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