Category: Spring in Morris Park

The patient pollinator:  A bee waits for the flower to open. These pictures were taken at lunchtime.  With the cool weather, the flowers have been opening only in the afternoons.

This specific patch of Bloodroot  consistently  staggers its blooming flowers over  a two week period.  Since the Sanguine Root Environmental Restoration Team has removed the thick matte of the invasive exotic Lonicera japonica (Japanese honeysuckle), this patch has tripled in size. In the spring of 2007, this patch was only a few flowers.

It was a cold morning, but the sun was out. At ten the Bloodroot was still tightly closed up.  After lunch, the flowers were opening in a festive manner.  They really like the sun. Their overall location is dependent on dappled shade after the trees leaf out. The leaves cannot survive in the full sun. This is truly a forest flower, blooming in the sun of the early spring, before the trees leaf out, but photosynthesizing in the late spring and summer, even through the fall, in the dappled shade of oaks and hickories.

This patch is on the other side of the path. Bloodroot is a highly variable species, and the deeply incised leaves of the specimens of this patch are much different than the leaves of other patches in the immediate area.  The other patches have more rounded lobes on their leaves.

BLOODROOT BLOOMING IN MORRIS PARK, MAYAPPLES RISING OUT THE EARTH IN WEST FAIRMOUNT PARK. SANGUINE ROOT SPENDS DAY ENJOYING FLOWERS, REMOVING INVASIVES AND EXPLORING NEW AREAS OF FAIRMOUNT PARK.

What are those little green umbrellas?

Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) patch just beginning its bloom season.  These guys waited with tightly closed flowers for the past few days during the cold spell.  This afternoon’s warm sun encouraged a few of them to let loose and do some blooming while the other wallflowers remained tightly closed.  The afternoon between 2 and 4 is the best time to catch a bloom, as long as the sun is out and the temperatures are above 45 degrees. These days, Bloodroot is not a morning riser. There are some populations of Bloodroot that have not even come up yet.  The staggering of blooming is a great thing here in Morris Park. The bloom season lasts almost three weeks!  We will keep you posted on the bloom times and the final bloomers and stragglers.

Spicebush (Lindera benzoin) in full bloom here in Morris park.  This specimen is on a steep hillside that gets lots of sun, and is blooming earlier than other specimens.  We are starting to see the pretty yellow haze of a forest full of blooming Spicebush.

This Bloodroot flower was right underneath the above photographed blooming Spicebush.

A happy day.  Taking a break from a couple of hours of removing the invasive exotic Euonymus alatus, the Burning bush, a problematic shrub that crowds out native species and creates a negative impact on the forest.  Just a few weeks ago, the Sanguine Root environmental restoration team had removed a thick matte of the invasive exotic Lonicera japonica (Japanese honeysuckle) from the entire area , right where these bloodroot plants are now flowering.  Now we can just sit back and enjoy the flowers.

Podophyllum peltatum

We didnt want to to work too hard today and decided to quit early and explore a different section of Fairmount Park.  Isabelle wanted to see a happy place, a part of the park without an overwhelming presence of invasives. We both agreed, however, there is no guarantee when we go to a place we have never been to before that we will find such a place. Today, we did find the happy path, a bicycle route north of the Belmont plateau in West Fairmount Park was the ticket.  We Found Mayapples (Podophyllum peltatum) rising up from below the leaf litter, a happy forest of little green umbrellas.  We were interested that we were only about 100 feet or so lower in elevation than our area of Morris Park, where there are no Mayapples to be seen, and here there they are, coming right up, in West Fairmount Park.  It is so interesting to witness different micro-climates within the City Of Philadelphia. We expect that within the next week, the Mayapples in Morris Park will begin to emerge as well.  What can be more heart-warming than the emergence of a fresh colony of Mayapples on the hillside in the springtime?

 

We found a very small and isolated colony of the rare Crane-fly orchid (Tipularia discolor) on our walk. What a pleasant surprise.  We will have to come back when it blooms.

We waited all morning for the flowers to bloom. It was a cold morning, but the sun was out.  We could relate to their trepidation. We waited and waited and the flowers remained closed. Our reputation was on the line. We anticipated a Sunday the 20th bloom and published this assertion.  We were correct – the flowers bloomed at 1:30. We sat and watched them open. There is something to be said about patience. For the first time  in our experience, the flowers have a pinkish hue.

There is so much variation in the species. This specimen has close to double the amount of petals.

The Staff of the Sanguine Root have been wanting to see something special for several years now and have always been at the wrong time.  In the summer of 2009 we found a whole hillside in Pennypack Park, near the Pennypack Park Environmental Center full of Bloodroot plants. We came back in the first week of April 2010, to hopefully see this one hillside of Bloodroot in bloom, only to find them fully leafed out in the seed production stage. No problem for us, we love to see the plants in all stages of  life.  We were at that point very satisfied with the beautiful blooming  Trout Lilies we had viewed in the area.

However, The Sanguine Root is persistent and does not easily give up. We decided to come extra early this time and catch those blooming Bloodroot flowers. Our roll of the dice was right on, and we were greeted with a breathtaking display of Sanguinaria Canadensis flowers.  The whole hillside in bloom this afternoon!

For the record: On March 20th, 2011, at 3:00 pm, the hillside of the  middle trail, just North of the Pennypack Park Environmental  Center is awash in the most beautiful inflorescence of Bloodroot we have ever seen.

From the Pennypack Environmental Center parking lot,  a trail leads to the center, where you will encounter a fantastic museum and interactive  exhibition featuring a live turtle and a host of educational displays about the woodland area of Pennypack Park. A knowledgable and friendly Philadelphia Parks and Recreation staff will answer any questions and enthusiastically guide you through the exhibition. We were welcomed to Pennypack Park in the most grand manner!  We can only dream  of welcoming any newcomer to Morris Park in the same gesture.

The path leading north from the environmental center will go down a hill. Take the right-hand most path. You will pass a disturbing invasion of Privet and Amur Honeysuckle . They are trying to eradicate these invasives, but it is not an easy task. Next, just keep going. There will be alot of the invasive exotic Ranuculus ficaria, Lesser Celandine.  This plant has shiny and small (a half inch) leaves and yellow flowers.  In two or three weeks we anticipate a discussion of this menacing invasive.   After a good walk you will see on the right a hillside that is not covered with lesser Celandine and is covered with the native wildflower Bloodroot. A beautiful white flower that has the ability to capture the imagination.

Today, March 20, 2011, a Sunday, we wanted  to see  and we found native wildlfllowers blooming.

Isabelle Dijols,The hillside of Sanguinaria canadensis, Pennypackpark, Philadelphia

 

Early spring, a hillside in the woods – look and you will see.