Spring ephemerals


Bloodroot (Saguinaria canadensis) a NYC native spring ephemeral, in Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx
April is the onset of our flowering season, and some of the earliest herbaceous bloomers are called "spring ephemerals." The term is appropriate, since their flowers are fleeting and the plants disappear in the heat of the summer. These species are found in undisturbed moist, rich woods, and have a small window in which to store up nutrients for next year's flowers. Leaf out of canopy trees curtails photosynthesis, so they enjoy full sun early in growing season, and are resigned to shade the rest of year. One of our earliest and loveliest is bloodroot (Saguinaria canadensis). Its porcelain white flowers are open and welcoming to early insect visitors. The leaves resemble large, scalloped satellite dishes, angled to soak up any spare sunlight that finds its way to the forest floor. The most phenomenal display of these lovely plants is in the eponymous Bloodroot Valley in the Staten Island Greenbelt. Here it is locally abundant, but in New York City bloodroot is somewhat rare; found in only six parks. As with other spring ephemerals, its seeds are dispersed by ants. Over a 1000-year period, such seeds may only travel 100 yards from the parent plant. This means the likelihood of recolonizing a forest once the plant has disappeared will happen exceedingly slowly if at all.

Dutchman's breeches (Dicentra cucullaria), a NYC native spring ephemeral, in Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx
Other New York City spring ephemerals include: wood anemone (Anemone quinquefolia), broad-leaved toothwort (Cardamine diphylla), spring beauty (Claytonia virginica), Dutchman's breeches (Dicentra cucullaria), trout lily (Erythronium americanum), and violets (Viola species).



trout lily (Erythronium americanum), another NYC native, covering the forest floor in Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx. Populations this large of the slow growing plant are many decades old.