Tempted by a Tasty Treat

There is this magical, ephemeral time just as winter winds down when the ground is no longer frozen and the sun still reaches the ground; before the trees leaf out and gobble up all the sunlight. This is the time when wildflowers can catch some sun and do their thing! 

  

On the first days of spring, out in the forest, Trillium start to break ground in my neck of the woods. All winter long, a rhizome persists underground (think: a skinny potato lined with layers of tissue paper). When the ground warms enough, an extension of that rhizome breaks through the ground, pushes through the leaf litter, and sprouts one of our earliest spring wildflowers. 

Trillium cuneatum

This species of Trillium is Purple Toadshade or Trillium cuneatum. (Some call it Sweet Betsy, but I prefer Purple Toadshade since it never fails to conjure a picture of a little toad taking shelter under the leaves.) The genus name Trillium refers to the three leaves. The species epithet “cuneatum” refers to the leaf shape, which is wedge-shaped or ‘cuneate’. 

Trillium cuneatum leaves

Another Trillium that us southerners are treated to is Southern Nodding Trillium (Trillium rugelii). Each year I revisit the places I have seen it grow in past years, waiting, hoping. If I’m lucky enough to spot the leaves, I will watch it over time in hopes of getting to catch the flower. More often than not, the deer get to the flower before it can bloom, but sometimes - just sometimes, the flower wins and so do I. Fingers crossed for an opportunity for a better photo this year. 

  

Now here is the really cool part! These plants have found a way to get their seeds couriered away, without using any fancy wind dispersal methods. These plants have found a way to temp ants into carrying the seeds away. They give ants a little gift – a tasty treat - in exchange for some help  dispersing seeds. Who among us isn’t tempted by a tasty treat? Each seed has a tasty morsels (an elaiosome) attached to it. The elaiosome and seed together are called a diaspore. The ants carry the diaspores away and bring them underground. There they eat the tasty bit and toss the seed aside (or take it back above ground). Ant fed. Seed (likely) planted. Win-win.  This crazy friendship is called myrmecochory, for all you word nerds. (I am having a heck of a time trying to pronounce this one.

In 2001, researchers discovered that Yellow Jackets (Vespula spp.) also carry off Trillium diaspores. It’s thought that the Yellow Jackets carry the diaspores even farther from the parent plant than ants. 

While I have yet to witness any ants or Yellow Jackets making off with diaspore, I love seeing all of the Trillium breaking ground. GO OUTSIDE! Go in the forest! Look for wildflowers. If you’re lucky (and find yourself around some rich soils), you might just get to see some TRILLIUM!  

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Cotterman, L., Waitt, D., Weakley, A. (2019). Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast. Timber Press.

Spira, T.P. (2011). Wildflowers and Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont: A Naturalist’s Guide to the Carolinas, Virginia, Tennessee, and Georgia. University of North Carolina Press. 

Zettler, J. A., Spira, T.P., & Allen, C.R. (2001). Yellow jackets (Vesplua spp.) disperse Trillium (spp.) seeds in eastern North America. The American Midland Naturalist, 145(2), 444-446.

Spring in February!

If you woke up from a winter's sleep, you would never know it was snowing two weeks ago. Today, signs of spring were around every corner. As soon as I stepped outside, the resounding songs of Upland Chorus Frogs (Pseudacris feriarum) was front and center.

                                               

As I walked the trail to the pond and the breaks between my sneezes started to disappear, Hazel Alder (Alnus serrulata) catkins came into view, blowing in the breeze.

(Alnus serrulata)

These long delicate catkins are the male flowers. The female flowers are smaller and more compact. Hazel alder grows along streams and wetlands, and produces miniature cones. The cones in the picture below are still hanging on from last year.

(Alnus serrulata)

Spring is when trees really come alive; even the lichen start to move! Winter time is a great time to get to know lichen, since they brave the cold temps. But this tree, oh this tree has more than just lichen. At first glance, you may not see it.

But, if you stand and stare at the tree long enough and you get lucky, the lichen may start to move. Green Lacewing (Chrysopidae) larvae cover themselves in lichen to hide from hungry predators. This allows them to wander up and down a tree looking for tasty treats, like other lacewings or red mites.

And the signs of spring continue! Down on the ground Trillium are breaking ground.

Trillium is one of the first wildflowers to break ground in Georgia. The species that is most common in and around the Atlanta area is Trillium cuneatum, which grows up to about 6 inches tall and has up to three large, green, speckled leaves. Technically, they are not leaves, but they look and act like them.

These three-leaved flowers grow up from the same rhizome (tuber-like root system) each spring. Each year a new layer grows on the rhizome. So, the age of the plant is revealed by counting the layers. One flower can be decades and decades old. Last year, I dug up a Trillium of another species (T. underwoodii) and counted 32 rings! And it all starts with three little leaves.

(Trillium cuneatum)