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NATURE / OUTDOORS
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 What
Could Possibly Be In Flower Today?
Maryland
2/21/08
Mark Burchick
Winter Aconite
I sowed some wildflower seed today with the
expectation of snow tonight, and found not only
lots of snowdrop in flower, but also winter
aconite (Eranthus hymalis). These
little bulbs are the true harbingers of spring.
They thrust through matted leaf litter and mulch
with surprising gusto to carpet the ground with
color and catch the early-spring sunlight before
trees and shrubs have leafed out. Their arrival
depends on seasonal temperatures, but bloom time
can be anywhere from early February through the
end of March, depending on the region and
severity of winter.
 |
Often described as spring ephemerals,
the little bulbs thrive in the cool,
damp days of early spring and vanish
before other plants have upstaged them.
In their short life, they offer enormous
pleasure. |  |
The winter aconite greets you with
cheery, cup-shaped, lemon-yellow
flowers sitting atop collars of
frilly, bright green leaves. A
member of the buttercup family and a
native of open woodlands in southern
Europe, it grows four inches tall
from underground tubers. The knobby,
dormant tubers are tiny when
planted, but they quickly form large
colonies, particularly in
high-alkaline soils. |  |
I purchased 100 tiny bulbs from
Shemin's Nursery about 12-years ago
and had significant mortality
(probably due to our high-acid
soils), so it was nice to find a few
today. I found it in a
riparian woodland strip along our
stream in our back field in a place
where I will typically see
coltsfoot, spring beauty,
may-apple,Christmas fern and joe-pye
weed. |  |
I expect the six-petaled flower to
be under snow by tomorrow, but at
peak bloom within the next
two-weeks. Cool! |
Submitted by: Mark Burchick
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