Spring Ephemerals Are Blooming Now. Enjoy Them Before They’re Gone!

Text and photos by Caroline Haynes.

In this time of “physical distancing,” while on a solitary walk in a natural area or in your own native plant garden, keep an eye out for some of Virginia’s beautiful spring ephemerals. Ephemerals bloom for a fairly short time early in the spring and take advantage of the sunlight before the trees leaf out and block the light on the forest floor. Here are several of the lovely, transient flowers that you may encounter for just a while longer.

One of the showier species is Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica). With the pink and blue buds, and blue to purple flowers, they are easy to identify and are typically found along rivers and floodplains. 

The bright yellow of the Golden ragwort (Packera aurea) is also out in full bloom now. Golden ragwort is a prolific spreader, thrives in moist, shady locations and is found in low woods, ravines, and along streams and rivers. Once the flowers fade, the basal leaves provide an attractive ground cover for most of the growing season and extending into mild winters.

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Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis), with its distinctive shaped leaves with five to nine deep lobes and showy single flowers, is in the poppy family and can be found in rich woods.

Moss phlox (Phlox subulata) is also blooming now, with shades of pink to blue to purple to white. Moss phlox is very tolerant of hot sun and dry soils and can be found on rock ledges and other open, sunny locations. It also looks pretty in the winter as leaves turn purple with the cold.

Spring beauties (Claytonia virginica) have narrow leaves and delicate pink to white flowers that are out during the day, but close up at night. They’re common in rich woods and wetlands; look for them along trails, too.

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Early saxifrage (Micranthes virginiensis), with tiny white flowers in branched clusters can be found tucked among rocks and along shaded banks.

Dutchman’s breeches (Dicentra cucullaria), so-called because they resemble a pair of pantaloons hanging upside down, are especially rewarding with these quaint flowers and delicate foliage. Look for them in moist shady areas.

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And while these bloomers bring a lot of joy to the human eye, they have a much more important purpose. If you stop and linger on a sunny day, you may be rewarded with the variety of native insects feasting on the nectar of these early spring flowers.