Wildflower report

The gray and brown forest of winter is quickly turning green. The forest floor is beginning to feel shaded, and some spring ephemeral wildflowers have already bloomed and set fruit. Most trees are now either blooming or unfurling new leaves. Maple, Beech, and Tulip Poplar are all opening tender young leaves. There are lots of active songbirds throughout the day. Insects are becoming more and more numerous, and spider webs are beginning to appear across the trail. This has been a very early spring, one of the earliest on record, according to the phenologists.

Wildflowers currently blooming in the hollow:

Trillium recurvatum

• Common Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)
• Birdseye Speedwell (Veronica persica)
• Star Chickweed (Stellaria pubera)
• Field Pansy (Viola kitaibeliana) - lawn 
• Henbit (Lamium amplexicaule) - lawn 
• Purple Dead Nettle (Lamium purpureum)
• Bulbous Buttercup (Ranunculus bulbosus)
• Small-flowered Crowfoot (Ranunculus abortivus)
• Ground Ivy (Glechoma hederacea)
• Eastern Daisy Fleabane (Erigeron annuus)
• Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica)
• Common Blue Violet (Viola papilionacea)
• Round-leaved Violet (Viola rotundifolia)
• Celandine Poppy (Stylophorum diphyllum)
• Toad Trillium (Trillium sessile)
• Prairie Trillium (Trillium recurvatum) -- I have just realized that in years past I have not been distinguishing between  Trillium sessile and  T. recurvatum. I am pretty sure that T. sessile began blooming first, and T. recurvatum has bloomed within the last week.  T. recurvatum has distinctly stemmed leaves and downward drooping sepals.
• [Trillium cuneatum - I'm not sure, but this species may be here also. It seems to just be a bigger version of T. sessile, which is the smaller of the two with leaves only to about 3" long and flowers to 1.5". T. cuneatum has leaves to 6" long and petals to 3" long.]
• Mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum)
• Wild Blue Phlox (Phlox divaricata)
• Fern-leaved Phacelia (Phacelia bipinnatifida)
• Jack-in-the-Pulpit (Arisaema atrorubens) - just now coming up, only saw one in bloom
• Bedstraw (Galium aparine)

Showy flowering trees:

• Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida)
• Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis)

Fruiting / no longer in bloom:

• Harbinger of Spring (Erigenia bulbosa)
• Cutleaf Toothwort (Cardamine concatenata)
• Trout Lily (Erythronium americanum)
• Yellow Corydalis (Corydalis flavula)

Trillium recurvatum (left) and T. sessile (right)
(click to look a little closer)