up to 16 inches tall , but the spathe sits much lower to the ground , usually no more than 10 inches high . Jackin-the-pulpit does not have showy flowers to signal its presence , making it difficult to spot in the wild , but as the plant matures shiny red berries grow on the inside providing a food source mainly for birds .
If you get the urge to touch this plant or peek inside the cone , you might want to wear gloves since touching the leaves and fruit can irritate the skin .
n Chicory ( Cichorium intybus ) Ditches and open grassland in the countryside are often dotted with blue flowers early in the morning from late April through the Summer . Growing to almost four feet , one of the taller and easier to spot Spring flowers is the Chicory , which actually is not a single flower but rather a group of small flowers called florets . Each petal has five “ teeth ” on the outer edge which helps to provide some visual depth when looking at the plant . Early in the morning the buds develop a deep blue color before the sun comes up and slowly open as the sun rises in the sky . A single chicory flower generally blooms for one day attracting pollinators only for a short period of time because as the sun reaches the high point around noon , the flowers begin to lose their color through the remaining part of the day turning white / pale before sunset and eventually falling off the plant .
While the stems are picked to
provide unique backdrops in flower bouquets , for decades chicory has provided a source of food for those venturing into the world of wildflowers . The most famous concoction is probably the coffee made from roasted chicory root in New Orleans , but other parts of the plant such as young leaves and flower buds have made their appearance in salads at restaurants . If you choose to forage any parts of chicory for your own consumption , ensure you do your due diligence with research before trying and do not rely solely on this article .
n Garden star of Bethlehem ( Ornithogalum ) The Star of Bethlehem flower is a cluster of six white petals at the top of individual stems , usually no more than one foot tall with the blooms opening in late morning and closing around sunset . It ’ s a low growing flower that
often starts emerging by the end of March as ground temperatures rise . It grows in mostly sun to part shade , but in the wild I find them most often on the edges of forests or near trees dotting fence lines . As one of the early blooming flowers , day by day the white petals start to turn yellow and wither away as warmer temperatures become the norm . Usually by June there are no blooms left and the only remnants of the plant are thin grass-like blades that can be mistaken as weeds in traditional gardens if not marked .
Native to other parts of the world , star of Bethlehem is considered a noxious weed in most of the US and it spreads rapidly if not in confined areas . The flower has quite a storied past and been noted for more than 2000 years in various documents and paintings around the world .
Do your part this year to admire the beauty of the Loudoun countryside , especially in those small flowers you can ’ t see from the road . The rate of development in the western part of the county may someday make these common flowers all to uncommon .
Jason Donohue is a Midwest transplant who spent most of his childhood on a family farm raising cattle and growing corn and soybeans . Jason now lives in Loudoun with his wife and kids where they enjoy tending a garden , orchard , bee hives , and several acres of wildflowers . They are members of conservation organizations and remain passionate about sustainable agricultural practices and the preservation of wildlife / pollinator habitat .
wander I spring • summer 2022 47