SPRING
Long to wait, the forest slowly stirs from a deep sleep. The first blooms come quickly, much anticipated, here, then gone. A hue of light blue. It was worth the wait.
— William Sullivan, 1994
SPRING
Long to wait, the forest slowly stirs from a deep sleep. The first blooms come quickly, much anticipated, here, then gone. A hue of light blue. It was worth the wait.
— William Sullivan, 1994
“ They eat rapidly, rushing to get through the meal … before the branches overhead block out the light. They require bright sunlight to sustain this gluttony! Their hyped-up bodies cannot tolerate shade,” he says.
It’ s the trilliums that grow at a slower rate, another much admired spring flower. The toadshade trillium, not as common I find as the prairie or sessile trillium, is accompanied by a trio of dappled leaves, found among the hepatica and spring beauty. But it is not in the race. Toadshade trillium’ s leaves have few enzymes with which to harness sunlight, so they cannot match the ephemeral growth rate. The lesser numbers of enzymes require less energy, though, so it can persist into the shade of late spring.
Research on the wildflower community reveals more nature relationships. This information, once thought as trivial, can and does affect us gardeners, amateur horticulturists, and plant lovers who attribute soil health to overall forest health. Flowers create more than beauty.
Their growing roots reinvigorate the dark soil, absorbing and holding nutrients that might be removed by spring rains. Each root tip secretes a nutritious gel that collects on
hairy fibers. Bacteria, fungi spores, and singlecelled organisms exist here, creating food for nematodes, mites, and microscopic insects. These are fed on by larger insect predators like centipedes and pill bugs, eaten by mice and shrews. These healthy creatures provide food for the larger wildlife: foxes, hawks and owls, coyotes, snakes, and raccoons. The food chain involves a variety of plants and animals; and in diversity, states a biologic axiom, lies stability.
The window of time between snowmelt and when trees leaf out is unpredictable, often uncertain. Some years it can last weeks— then warming temperatures can quickly move into heated days. The ephemerals die back in the heat of summer, retreating underground until next year. These plants bloom, undergo pollination, and produce seed— the destiny of all plants— in a very short time.
My native plant order includes both seeds and ephemeral rootstocks, clumps of intermingled roots. They appear healthy and are promoted to survive shipment and growth. I learn that if I plant them upon arrival, they are likely to go into dormancy without flowering. If I plan for the order to arrive in fall, the roots will have time to become established and emerge to bloom in spring. Either way, it’ s a bonus to this young forest that would otherwise take much longer to produce these fleeting beauties of spring. •
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March / April 2021 • Our Brown County 39