In the Observation and Restoration post I wrote in February, I detailed a hike down the West Palisades Trail to the Chattahoochee River to see the spring bloom start. I took a little hike back down this past weekend to see what was blooming a month later.
Dimpled Trout Lilies (Erythronium umbilicatum) are still blooming, but I think the peak has past (already!).
Most of their leaves are large enough to compete with the flowers for your attention.
There were several nice large patches of Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) in bloom.
The flower stalk emerges first with the leaf folded/rolled around it. As the flower fades, the leaf unfolds and takes on an interesting lobed appearance.
Speaking of interesting leaves: a Toothwort (Cardamine diphylla) starting to bloom.
The trilliums (Trillium cuneatum) are still not quite ready to bloom, but there are so many more leafed out than when I went last month. It’s going to be quite a show soon.
This was one of the very few that has opened.
Word of the day: Myrmecochory (mer-me-ceh-cor-y) – Seed dispersal by ants. A lot of the liles, trilliums, bloodroot, hepatica, and wild ginger that are blooming now or soon use this method of seed dispersal.
I found an interesting Youtube video from a user named mrilovetheants (whose other interesting looking videos I’ll have to browse later) about this process. It also has a great tangent about why you should only buy nursery propagated trilliums, lilies, etc. to protect wild populations.
Happy Trails!
