A couple of days ago, I visited what might be the best and showiest woods for spring wildflowers that I have ever seen. Pete’s Woods of Arcadia Dunes Preserve is 135 acres in Benzie County. I listed 41 species, not including trees in this hilly deciduous beech maple forest. The one way1.5-mile loop trail meanders up and down hills, cuts back and forth with some switchbacks. The views of flowers are utterly amazing as much of the woods is covered in large colonies of White Trilliums as far as the eye can see.

Jack-in-the-Pulpits are scattered throughout the preserve, including some nearly white ones with darker markings. They are gorgeous! Hairy Sweet-cicely and Yellow Trout Lilies, Blue, Canada and Yellow Violets and Evergreen Woodfern are scattered all along the trail. Caroliina Spring Beauty, Squirrel Corn and Dutchman’s Breeches are common. Both species of leek are common, although Allium tricoccum is far more common than A. burdickii. Surprisingly I found one plant of each leek species with flower spikes developing. Downy and False Solomon’s Seals are common as are the Two-leaved Toothworts and White Baneberry. Early on I was excited to see Foamflower which was just beginning to bloom only to enjoy seeing much more along the trail. A few of the native Wood Poppy, Blue Cohosh, Wild Blue Phlox, and Bloodroot adorns the trail edges as well.

Not to far in, I noticed a Rattlesnake Fern and then another and another. Then there were large patches of maybe ten or twelve feet by twenty feet. I have never seen so many in my life, let alone in one colony, and there were multiple colonies like this. Another showy plant that was in good number throughout the woods and in very large colonies is Bellwort. At times, you walk through a colony only to enjoy the view for forty to fifty feet or more on each side of the trail. I would just stand in awe while taking in the beauty of so many in one place.

Mid way through I found a fleshly stemmed plant about six inches tall with four large pointed and toothed edged leaves unfolding. Each leaf appears to be divided into five to six parts. At first, I thought why is this Green Dragon on top of the hill, but it didn’t take long to notice that this was not Green Dragon and so far, I have no idea what it is.

Near the end of the trail on a hillside was a large patch of dark green leaved Partridgeberry with several bright red berries shining fourth. There was even a broken off Beech tree about a foot and a half tall that was in bloom. It’s closeness to the trail and location on the side of the hill made for easy photos of the flowers.

This place is amazing and amazingly beautiful with most of the forest floor covered in vegetation and beautiful wildflowers as far as one can see. I must say this is probably the most beautiful display of spring flowers I have ever seen.

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Asimina triloba or Pawpaw can be a rather unassuming small understory tree of rich low deciduous forests, especially near rivers or streams. They are easily recognized from above, looking down into the bottomlands by their large tropical looking leaves. The light green obovate-lanceolate leaves can reach nearly a foot in length. They are also said to contain a natural insecticide and smell like motor oil when crushed. This might explain why only Zebra swallowtail and possible two species of moth larvae eat the leaves.

This clonal tree reaches its northern limits in the lower third of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. It is the only member of the tropical custard apple group reaching this far north. One individual can form extensive colonies by sending up root suckers from the roots. While these colonies can become rather large in area, the trees are very slow growing. Some sources list fruit production as soon as ten years from seed, but I have been watching trees for over twenty years that have yet to bloom. The largest known Pawpaw tree in Michigan is in the town of Pawpaw in VanBuren county and measures 26.5 inches in circumference or nearly eight and a half inches in diameter. There is also one in Allegan County that is at least this diameter, maybe slightly larger. They are said to be a short-live tree, but there are a few of these larger trees that must be quite old.

The smoothish dark brown bark contains the alkaloid analobine, which was once used as a medicine. The wood is light, soft, weak, course-grained, and pale yellow to lightly golden color. The inner bark was used by the Cherokees to make strong ropes and string.

The dark reddish purple to maroon flowers appear in late May to June on short pedicels along the twigs before the leaves emerge. The species epitaph “triloba” refers to the three sepals surrounding the six petals. While older sources list flies as the main pollinator, the smelly flowers are now said to be pollinated by Sap-beetles.

The pollinated flowers give way to the largest native fruit in Michigan. These round, oblong fruit can be up to five or six inches long and weigh in at nearly half a pound when mature in September to October. The edible fruit is known by many names throughout the county, but here in Michigan, most know it as Pawpaw or Custard apple. Ripe fruits turn form greenish-yellow to dark brown or black as they ripen and are high in amino acids. The fruit is usually found in cluster of two or three fruits, but this fall I found one cluster with more than 15 fruits. 2024 has been a bumper year for the fruit, with larger clusters, more fruit per tree and more trees producing than normal in west Michigan. They can be eaten raw or cooked in various ways, including a delicious bread. I like to make it with the addition of the native Shagbark hickory nuts to keep it wild. Since animals relish the tasty fruit, it is best to shake the trees to release the near ripe fruit and let them set a few to days to ripen. Some Native Americans ate the fruit raw and some made small cakes from it the were dried for latter usage.

The large brown seeds make up most of the volume of the individual fruits. The flattened dark brown seeds resemble lima bean seed in shape and appearance. The seeds contain an alkaloid known as asiminine for which the tree is named. There are stories of drying and grinding the seeds into a powder which was used to treat for head lice.

If you plant Pawpaw in the landscape, give it some room for the future as it will slowly spread. The tree is a shade tolerant understory tree that likes rich soils for best results. You will also want to acquire plants from two different counties to help ensure cross pollination as it takes two clones to pollinate. They are virtually pest and disease free. The brown hairy buds can add winter interest and the large leaves will add summer interest to your landscape. In time you may even have fruit to eat.

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Just under a year ago I started working as the Greenhouse Manager at Hope College in Holland Michigan. We have a varied collection of plants including one unruly, sprawling Orchid Cactus. This past spring it put out a significant new branch and leaves. I have had to tie it to pipes above to keep it out of the way of the door. In early July it had a large flower bud appear, but it bloomed while I was out of town, so when another bud appeared in early August, we began to keep close ritual watch on it. Coming in on the weekend and days of to check the progress and try to guess when it would bloom, it finally showed white in the end of the bud on Thursday around noon. I went back that evening and watched and photographed it for over three hours. The images here were taken between 10:45 and 11 pm. The video is a time laps compilation of about 300 images, one taken every 30 seconds for three hours. The video can be seen at this link: https://youtu.be/OJ3435tV5bw. Below is a little information about the plant.

The cactus Epiphyllum oxpetalum is known by several common names, the most often used are Night Blooming Cereus, Dutchman’s pipe cactus and Queen of The Night. If you see the lovely five inch or larger white flower, you would agree that Queen of The Night is a very fitting name as the magnificent blooms demands respect.

This member of the cactus family is a type of orchid cactus and is related to the Christmas or Easter Cactus that many of us are familiar with. The large sprawling plant grows perched high among the trees of the rain forest of Mexico and Guatemala where this plant is native. It is a tropical epiphyte to lithophyte, an organism that grows on the surface of another plant or on rocks. The plant derives its moisture and nutrients from rain, the air and debris collecting on its large flat leaves.

The large white flowers open after dark, usually between 8 and 9 pm and is fully opened by midnight. At first the momentum is slow, but in the last hour the final unfurling of the flowers moves more quickly to reveal a gorgeous white flower. The flower releases a sweet fragrance that attracts bats for pollination in its native habitat. With the first light of dawn, the flower closes as each flower only last one night.

The plant has many medicinal uses such as to clear phlegm, to strengthen the lungs, for bladder infections, and rheumatism. The flowers are also edible and can be used in soups.

Was it worth setting there for over three hours and not getting a full night’s sleep? Absolutely!

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There has been much focus on landscaping to help pollinators in recent years. While this is all good, most of the information deals with the later, larger, showier flowers of summer and fall. I do not see much about the earliest plants and pollinators. If you pay attention as you walk thru the woods in early spring, and I mean early like March and early to mid-April you will see small flies active around early bloomers like Skunk cabbage. These small flies are attracted to the heat produced by the plant during the fourteen days of actual bloom when the pollen is present. Harbinger-of-spring which blooms from early March through April is visited by both bees and flies. Other early bloomers like Bloodroot and Hepatica also need bees and provide pollen for them.

Many of our native bees emerge in conjunction with a particular species or group of plants’ blooming. These timed emergences occur throughout the growing season. In some cases, it is important for the bees to not only emerge at the correct time of year, but to also be able to find the appropriate species of flower as some are specialist and only visit one or a small number of species.

The queen bumble bee overwinters in the leaf litter in the woods. As the days warm and she becomes active, she can be seen visiting early blooming spring ephemerals for food while searching for a place to build a nest for the coming brood. Another early bee is the ground nesting miner bee in the genus Andrena. These bees are active in my lawn in late March to early April. When the adults hatch out, you will see small holes in the ground surrounded by piles of sand. If you sit quietly and wait, you will begin to see them coming and going. Just do not get to close or they will retreat into the ground for protection.

Early blooming trees and shrubs like soft maples and willows can provide both nectar and pollen for bees. Willows are a great and first pollen source of the spring for honey bees.

When thinking of pollinators and looking for plants to add to your landscape, keep in mind the needs of early bees. Add early spring blooming flowers, trees and shrubs then continue the progression throughout the growing season.

Even though there has not been much research done yet, keep in mind that with some of these solitary bees nesting in the ground that pesticides you apply to the soil could have a negative impact on the developing larvae. If you find you have ground nesting bees in your lawn, consider not treating those areas of the lawn with pesticides of any kind. Native bees are important to native plants!

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On the final day of a recent trip to the Upper Peninsula, rain was in the forecast for much of the day. Not wanting to get our cameras too wet, I found a place just east of Roscommon that looked interesting to check out on the way back south. As we neared the Roscommon Red Pine Natural Area Preserve, the rains subsided and as long as you didn’t bump a tree, you stayed dry.

The 160 acre preserve is a National Natural Landmark which includes a 34-acre grove of virgin Red pine. There are also some sizeable White pines in the grove as well, the largest White pine that we measured was 44.8 inches in diameter. The grove once hosted a national champion Red pine which is said to have been about 15 feet in circumference, twice the size of the largest tree remaining today. The largest red pine that we measured near the trail was 29 inches in diameter or 7.5 feet in circumference. That is still a very large Red pine as most that we see or are harvested for timber today are only a fraction of the size. There are large Red pine trees that show the scars of past fires from 1798, 1888 or 1928. As fire has not been in the grove for almost 100 years, you will notice that Red maples and oaks beginning to come in as part of the natural succession towards a climax forest. In the openings where trees have fallen you will notice thick patches of young White pines which can germinate and grow slowly, waiting for sunlight to reach the forest floor. When the canopy opens and light is available, they grow fast, reaching for the light and out competing other trees.

As we entered the 34 acre grove area on the loop of the 1.4 mile trail, a sense of calm, peace and serenity were evident that I had never sensed in any natural area before. The closest was when I visited the Estivant Pines Nature Sanctuary area near Copper Harbor, which also has never been cut. There was a feeling of awe and wonderment at the old, large trees standing out in the open lower reaches of the forest. These old growth and virgin forest have an open lower forest layer as the thick canopy limits the amount of sunlight that reaches the forest floor, restricting what grows there. Even in these restricted growing conditions, I noted over 30 species of trees and other plants growing there.

If you are traveling in the vicinity of Roscommon, this is definitely a worth while place to stop, walk and spend some time in awe of these giant beauties.

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I am sure that most of us are aware that grasses and sedges or graminoids are a natural part of native plant communities. But, do we stop to consider why they may be important and even useful to restorations or our native plant gardens. I have told people for years to make wildflower or native gardens as natural as possible. This includes adding grasses and sedges to the pallet of plants. Besides the added beauty, there are many useful benefits of incorporating this group of plants to the landscape.

Graminoids have many benefits for the environment and even our quality of life. Many of our native grasses are deep rooted with two thirds of the plant’s biomass below the soil as roots. These deep, thick roots help hold loose soil in place, thus working to prevent soil erosion. Over the years of growing, dying and the decomposition of each year’s growth, these grasses improve the quality and richness of the soils. By absorbing and filtering water, they improve water quality and lessen water runoff. I have seen this at work in my own yard with heavy rain events. While my vegetable garden had standing water, the immediately adjacent prairie planting had zero standing water. When allowed to grow in thick densities as they would in natural areas, they can shade and out compete many weeds. Also, the older the planting, there should be less disturbance which is needed for many weeds to grow as many annual weeds need disturbance to germinate and thrive. Several of our native prairie grasses are also drought tolerant and thrive in dry conditions. This ability to grow in course droughty soils also means less water is needed and once established you should never need to supplement with artificial watering.

Native grasses sequester and store vast amounts of carbon rather than releasing it into the atmosphere. Larrabee and Altman noted in their book on prairies that “the simple act of plowing the grass under in such large quantities created the first appreciable increase in carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere. This historic increase seems to have begun at about the same time the prairies began disappearing around 1850.”

Grasses and sedges are also important to insects including some pollinators and predatory insects. There are 42 species of butterflies and skippers which the larvae feed on grasses in Michigan. This number does not include the many moths and other insects that also seek food, shelter and protection in the tall thick grasses. Years ago, I had thought that Satyrs and Wood Nymphs were butterflies of woodland edges as this is where I normally saw them. The truth is, that is where the grasses were along the edges of fields. When open areas are allowed to go back to grasses or are planted with native grasses, these butterflies move out into the open areas. They are laying eggs in the grasses and hiding from predators there as well. It only takes a few passes through these grassy areas with an insect net to see the high diversity of insects using and living on these plants.

If you are interested in adding native grasses to your property or garden, Little bluestem is a great species to start with. While many species of grasses and sedges are used by these insects, Little bluestem seems to be very popular with many species. Oh, don’t forget to add flowering forbes as nectar sources for the adults. By adding native grasses, sedges and flowering plants to the landscape, you may be amazed at the diversity of life you will be providing for.

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