Forest
Stewardship News Release
March
22, 2005- For Immediate Release
Contact: Allyson
Muth , Phone: 814-863-0401 E-mail: abm173@psu.edu
Wildflower Season is Starting
As this spring arrives, enjoy the wildflowers that emerge in our forested landscape. Take the time to visit old and favorite haunts. But also get out now and witness the early showing of the hidden skunk cabbage, or the less conspicuous flowers on many of our native trees. There is a lot to explore and observe in the springtime forest and if you dally too long you might miss some of the show.
After a long winter, one of the first blooms of the season is already up and waiting for adventurous folks to enjoy its uniqueness. Where do you look?
You will find this first spring flower along the margins of streams and in wetlands. In mid to late February, even when snow is still on the ground, in these “wet” areas you might have seen the emerging green, maroon, and brown hoods of skunk cabbage flowers. The hoods, which are modified leaves, are themselves beautiful and interesting. They can be a solid color or mottled with shades of yellows and greens.
The actual flower is hiding inside the hood. Be curious. When you find hoods that might appear as a collection of gnomes or monks, bend down, and peer into the slit on one side.
Inside is a round feature called the spadix or the flower head. This head contains many tightly packed flowers. Erupting from the spadix surface you might see the stamens that release yellow pollen. Because this is an early pollen source, you might observe considerable insect activity. Press you nose a bit closer and you will likely “sense” the plant’s characteristic smell - something that reminds you of decay or rot. There is lots of activity around this early spring find.
You might wonder about skunk cabbage’s early appearance. Science tells us that this plant has the ability to create its own heat. Uniquely, skunk cabbage is able to store and then metabolize starches to create a warm environment for its flower. The temperatures inside the hood are capable of reaching 65 to 75 degrees, enough to melt the snow around them. Touch the spadix on a cold day and you can sense the warmth.
Take your camera with you when you search for skunk cabbage flowers. If the light is right, you can create interesting pictures. The hood’s color, the yellow stamens and emerging insects provide interesting and striking compositions and memories of early spring walks where flowers melt the snow.
Flowers in the spring are an outside draw. Skunk cabbage is large, easily found, and early to emerge. Already you can look across the landscape and see signs of spring coming to the forest. Red maples are taking on a brighter red as their buds swell and are likely evident in the skunk cabbage wetlands and across the hillsides. Maple’s delicate flowers are easy to observe when they burst forth. Black birch is also starting to show the colors of swelling buds and new growth. The difference in color becomes evident once you learn how to look – red maple looks more reddish and black birch looks purple. Aspen will soon be showing swelling buds and elongating flower catkins, which extend down 1 to 3 inches, adding a variety and interest to their crowns.
Our state’s trees and wildflowers are ready to begin growth anew. Remain inquisitive and look not only for the showy and familiar flowers, but seek out the less obvious and obscure. The rewards can be many. Even though we’re still holding on to our hats, gloves, and scarves, the forest is already preparing itself for the spring. Skunk cabbage, red maple, black birch, and aspen are some of the earliest to herald a new season and are not difficult to find. What else is happening in a forest near you?
The Pennsylvania Forest Stewardship Program provides publications on a variety of topics related to woodland management for private landowners. For a list of free publications, call 1-800-235-WISE (toll-free), send e-mail to , or write to: Forest Stewardship Program, Forest Resources Extension, The Pennsylvania State University, 320 Forest Resources Building, University Park, PA 16802. The Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry and USDA Forest Service, in partnership with the Penn State's Forest Resources Extension, sponsor the Forest Stewardship Program in Pennsylvania.
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