Hudsonville Nature Center

Tag: Hudsonville Nature Center

Spring Blooms and Color in December

December

False Rue Anemone

I usually tell attendees on spring wildflower walks that if you come back around Thanksgiving and look, you may possibly find a couple of False Rue-Anemone, Enemion biternatum in bloom again. All of the photos (including the flowers) with this entry were all taken this morning, December 3 at the Hudsonville Nature Center. Usually in November a few can be seen, but this year there are more than normal and with a warm forecast for the next week there will be more as there are several unopened buds still to be found. Not every clump will have flowers, but it is worth looking for the ones that are there and enjoy them since they are usually under snow by now. This flower has lobed leaves and flowers with no petals as the sepals take on the color and are petal like.

Goldenrod

Other things to look for this time of year are the usual left over flowers like goldenrod or aster, berries still hanging on, insect galls and leftover bird’s nests. With the lack of snow lower plants in the woods like Blue Cohush and Leek seeds can easily be found. There are also some great moss colors with all the moisture we have had and still some fungi showing up. Normally I focus on tree buds a little later in winter but they are in good shape, identifiable a quit colorful now.

Bitternut Hickory

The mild weather is making many things visible and accessible to those willing to get out and look. Get out and enjoy the warmer weather we are having.

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Spring Treasures

April

Cut-leaved Toothwort

As I walked the trails in the Hudsonville Nature Center yesterday afternoon, the temperature was in the mid 60’s and sunny. During this walk I was able to find and photograph nearly 20 species of spring flowering plants, 12 of which I am including in the gallery with this entry. No, none of them were blooming, but some are less than 2 weeks away if the weather stays warm. Some like the Woodland Phlox and Hepatica are easier to find and identify with last year’s leaves still showing. As exciting as these can be to find many others are beginning to grow and rise above the fallen leaves that carpet the woodlands. Most of the Cut-leaved Toothwort that I found were purple and curled under, not yet exposed to enough sun light to begin photosynthesis and thus turn green. But on the southern facing slopes, some of these plants are quit far ahead of the majority, the leaves are opened and green with flower buds well exposed.

Wild Ginger

For those who have been on some the winter nature hikes I lead, you will know I enjoy identifying plants year around a much as possible. As I have pointed out numerous times on these walks, if you become intimately familiar with the plants when in season, you can often identify them when out of season. By learning the leaf shape and configuration on the stem as well as the plants characteristics in general, you can at least get to the genus many times. Many spring wildflowers are fairly easy to identify as soon as they are visible in the woods and wetlands. Pay attentions to the conditions they are growing in and look at the leaves as they begin to unfurl. It does help to know what was growing in a particular spot last year but with some practice you can learn to identify them anywhere. Remember that each of these plants are unique in appearance and some of those coming soon like the Blue Cohush, are especially interesting. Don’t wait for the flowers to bloom to get out and start enjoying the spring wildflowers, go see how many you can find now and then go back when they are blooming to check you success.

Mourning Cloak

On the way out through the woods from the prairie to the parking area at the HNC I saw 3 for sure and I think 4 Mourning Cloak Butterflies. These butterflies overwinter as adults in Michigan and are a joy as well as sure sign of spring.

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Learn To Look

June

Marsh Marigold Seed Pod

In a talk I gave this past March at the Wildflower Association of Michigan’s annual conference, I talked about being a Naturalist. One of the things I focused on to help us see the world around us better was to look for what is different or out of place to us. As our eyes and mind get used to and expects to see certain things in certain environments we need to look for what is not so familiar to find new and exciting things. Look for colors or shapes you may not be familiar with or readily recognize and take time to explore them. You’ll be amazed at what you are missing in the world around you and you might be surprised as to how many species new to you that you’ll find. As a naturalist who is familiar with many species of plants and birds, I am always excited to find something new to me and the rarer the better. While the Marsh Marigold seed pod above is not uncommon to me I can see artist patterns in them and a different beauty than the yellow flowers of early spring. I am including this in the flower identification section as some may find it and think that it is a blooming flower.

Mutated Wild Geranium

While in the Hudsonville Nature Center I noticed some different Wild Geraniums. Upon further examination, I found two different mutated petals. The one is not very different but was a little smaller, almost waxy looking and white in color. The other one was obviously different. It had narrow greenish with pink petals, not the showy pink we now this plant for.

Another find came as I was driving through part of the Allegan State Game Area looking for flowers to photograph. I noticed several large clumps of long basal leaves in a clearing. They looked like American Columbo, a long lived plant that fascinates me. Upon further investigation I was correct and there were several plants, including a few which are sending up flowering stems. In with the Columbo I also found a new plant for me, Rock Sandwort. It is a very delicate looking plant with small, dainty white flowers. I also noticed a different group of plants along the road in the woods and yes another new one for me, Figwort. The plant almost resembles Stinging Nettle at first glance, but has whorls of curious looking brown and green flowers. Figwort likes road edges and openings in the woods.

Figwort

So remember keep your eyes open and pay attention, especially for things that look different to you.

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Prairie Burn

April

A controlled burn was conducted as one of the maintenance tools for the six acre prairie at the Hudsonville Nature Center. While conditions were slightly less than optimal, we still were able to get in a good and successful burn. As a result of the humidity being at 59 percent and a light sprinkle of rain there was more smoke than in some past burns.

Someone asked why we do a controlled burn? Good question. The main reason is that a timely fire will help kill unwanted cool season weeds, some unwanted perennial weeds and help control woody plants that may be coming in. Since a prairie is made up of grasses and some flowering forbs, we don’t want trees from the surrounding woods to establish or else we will loose the openness of the prairie and they will eventually shade out the sun loving prairie plants. Any prairie plants will tolerate the heat of the fire and recover quickly. Since most of the prairie plants are warm season plants, there is not much new growth this early in the season. Any of the prairie plants that are showing green growth will fully recover and in a couple of weeks you will not see and damage to them. A burn also helps to release the nutrients from old plant material more quickly into the soil and thus making it available to the plants sooner. The prairie as a whole will be healthier and have much better growth this summer.

Additional measures such as cutting or brush hogging the sumacs and other trees or shrubs is also being done. The goal is to have an open prairie and maintain it as such.

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Jewels of Spring Beginning to Bloom

April

Early spring wildflowers are beginning to bloom in the Hudsonville Nature Center and in woods around the area. If the weather cooperates, this looks to be an excellent year for spring wildflowers. Flowers such as Hepatica, Bloodroot, Marsh Marigold, Cut-leaved Toothwort, Spring Beauty and Harbinger-of-spring are all blooming. Many other spring species are also identifiable.

Bloodroot which is currently blooming for a very short time is a lovely white flower with the deeply lobed leaves often curled around the stem when in bloom. This plant gets its name from the red juice in the root. The juice will stain and was once used as a dye. It is reported the properties of this plant fight tooth plaque and some skin cancer. Don’t eat it as it is poisonous.

Not only are flowers beginning to bloom but angle wing and Morning Cloak butterflies have begun emerging as well. Birds are also migrating through and summer residents are showing up. Some mushrooms are also appearing.

I have included a couple of moss pictures with this entry to try to show you an example of the many wonders to be found in the moss world. Although I cannot identify very many species yet, they are always interesting and worth looking at. Mosses are often at their best in spring with the moisture and their Sporophytes visible.

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Coming to a Woods Near You – Really!

April

Skunk Cabbage

It has been a long cold winter and some of us are skeptical that spring will ever come this year, but spring is happening around us. A couple of nights ago while driving through Riverside, I heard frogs for the first time this spring. Many birds such as Red-winged Blackbirds, Grackles, Killdeer and Sandhill Cranes have all returned from their wintering grounds and can be heard singing from morning till evening. And yes the spring wildflowers are beginning to expose themselves in the woods and wetlands.

Toothwort

While at the Hudsonville Nature Center today I could identify some early spring flowers that I found. The Skunk Cabbage has already bloomed and beginning to send up the bright green leaves; although still small they are a welcome sight this spring. Wild leeks are also showing rolled leaves, Spring Beauty is leafed out and showing little round balls of flower buds. Toothworts are showing up as curious little purple plants just poking through the leaf litter in the woods and Marsh Marigolds are unfolding their leaves. As we have warmer weather over the next few weeks there will be flowers blooming and many more plants coming out from a long winters nap.

While you are out in the woods, keep in mind that with the moisture of spring the mosses are worth looking for as well as the beloved flower of spring. With some warm sunny days ahead get out and see how much you can find.

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What’s Blooming April 30

April

This looks to be one of the best showing of spring wildflowers in some time. The next two weeks should be great in West Michigan. Below is a listing of flowers currently blooming at the Hudsonville Nature Center.

Spring Beauty, Cut-leaved Toothwort, Geranium, Twinleaf, Bloodroot, Early Meadow Rue, Blue Cohush, Yellow and White Fawn Lily, Marsh Marigold, Spicebush, Trillium, and False Rue Anemone

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Two True Harbingers of Spring

April

As the weather finally shows promise of warming this spring, there are early spring ephemerals beginning to appear in West Michigan woods.

Snow Trillium

First a threatened species of Trillium, Trillium nivale or Snow Trillium blooms in early April each year. This very small Trillium was thought to be extirpated or extinct from Michigan for 35 years until the late Fred Case rediscovered it along a river bank. In the early 1900’s this plant was well know in the Grand Rapids area at locations along the Grand River, but today is nonexistent in these locations. Nivale means “of the snows”, which is appropriate for this small flower as it will bloom in the snow and subfreezing temperatures without much damage to the plant. Snow Trillium looks like a miniature version of the Great White Trillium we are so familiar with in this region. As you can see from the photo below, a dime next to the plant shows that it is only a fraction of the size of the larger Trillium; making easy to overlook while in the woods. The leaves also have a more fleshly appearance to them and narrower petals. I stopped and checked on them this past Saturday and they are blooming nicely. As I only get to the one location I know of about once every 4 or 5 years it is good to see the population increasing and clumps becoming larger.

Snow Trillium

Another early flower that blooms in Southern Michigan from March or April to May in some years is the Harbinger-of-Spring or Erigenia bulbosa. It is found in rich, moist deciduous woods on hillsides and flat ground. This member of the parsley family is another small and inconspicuous species which can be easily over looked amongst the leaves. The leaves of Harbinger do resemble those of parsley as they mature. The white petals contrast with the dark anthers leading to another common name of “Pepper-and-Salt”. This flower can be found in the Hudsonville Nature Center and at Hagar Hardwoods Park in Jenison.

Harbinger-of-Spring

It is time to get out and begin enjoying the early and spring flowers here in Michigan. Over the next few weeks the number of species and abundance of blooms will continue to increase, peaking around Mother’s Day.

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