UGA Cooperative Extension
Union County Extension Office:
Agriculture & Natural Resources
Native Plants Bloooming
PLANTS BLOOMING APRIL 21st, 2010
WEEK OF APRIL 21, 2010
1. Rue Anemone, Thalictrum thalictroides, is a perennial herb growing less than 10 inches tall. Basal leaves are divided into 9 toothed, rounded leaflets. Upper leaves in a whorl divided into 3 leaflets having 3 rounded lobes. Flowers are ½ to 1 inch across with 5-10 showy white to pinkish sepals. Widespread across Eastern U. S. This photograph was taken at and elevation of 220 feet. Native Americans are said to have used the plant to treat vomiting and diarrhea.
2. Little Brown Jug, Hexastylus arifolia, var. ruthii, is a stem less perennial herb with leaves coming from a rhizome. The leaves are smooth, shiny, mottled, and evergreen. Flowers are brown and jug shaped. The flowers are hard to find and many times covered with leaf litter. Found in rich woods in the Eastern United States. This photograph was taken at an elevation of 1900 feet.
3. Dwarf Crested Iris, Iris cristata, is a low growing perennial herb 4-6 inches tall. The leaves are light green, broadly linear, 4-8 inches long. Flowers are showy pale to deep lavender with 3 unmarked petals and 3 sepals with a fluted yellow crest, bordered by white. The plants can be found on moist hillsides, ravines, and ledges in rich woods from Pennsylvania to North Georgia
4. Common Cinquefoil, Potentilla simplex, is a small plant that resembles wild strawberry, except for flower color. The plant forms wide mats. Leaves are alternate, with leaflets palmately compound. Margins are toothed 2/3 of the way from the tip Flowers are yellow. Found in dry woods and fields throughout the Eastern United States.
5. Showy Orchis, Galearis spectablis, is a showy, smooth, perennial growing from 3-10 inches tall. The flowering stalk is sharply ridged and short. There are 2 basal leaves that are nearly opposite, thick and glossy. The flowers are pink to lavender with a white lip. The plant can be found in rich hardwood forests near streams or at the bottom of slopes. Found from Canada down to Northern Georgia. This photograph was taken at an elevation of 2400 feet.
6. Wild Geranium, Geranium maculatum, is a common woodland perennial growing from 12-24 inches tall. The leaves are dark green with 3-5 narrow lobes which are deeply toothed at the tips. The flowers are showy pink to purple. The plant was used by Native Americans to stop bleeding and to treat venereal disease. The plant can be found on open wooded slopes throughout the eastern United States. This photograph was taken at 2400 feet.
7. Carolina Silverbell, Halesia tetraptera or carolina, is a shrub or tree that will grow up to 85 feet tall. The bark on small branches has distinctive white streaks. The leaves are oblong and ovate and 3-6 inches long. White flowers resemble hanging bells. The trees can be found in rich soils on wooded slopes and along streams in the southern Appalachians. This photograph was taken at an elevation of 2300 feet on a north facing slope.
8. Three-parted Yellow Violet, Viola tripartita, is a perennial herb growing between 4-10 inches tall that has 2-4 alternate leaves 1-3 inches long at the top of the stem. Each leaf has 3 narrow segments which are truncate or wedge shaped at the base. Yellow Flowers have 5 petals with brown to purple lines near the base. Found in rich woods from Pennsylvania to Georgia. This photograph was taken in a rich cove at an elevation of 2000 feet.
9. Perfoliate Bellwort, Uvularia perfoliata, is an erect colonizing herb, 8-16 inches tall with branched stems. The leaves of the plant are alternate, perfoliate (stem pierces the leaf); 2-3 ½ inches long and smooth beneath. The plant has 1-3 flowers that are straw yellow and nodding. This plant is found in hardwood forests and lowlands on less fertile acidic soil. This photograph was taken along a small stream at an elevation of 1900 feet.
10. Sweet Shrub, Calycanthus floridus, is a deciduous shrub 3-6 feet tall. It has opposite leaves with smooth margins. Flowers are purplish brown. All parts of the plant are aromatic smelling like allspice. The plant can be found from Pennsylvania to Florida. This photograph was taken at an elevation of 1900 feet. The plant was found growing alongside a small stream in poor and heavy soils.
11. Spring Avens, Geum vernum, a low growing perennial plant with variable leaves often with deeply cut lobes. The leaves of this plant are alternate and have 3 toothed leaflets. Flowers are yellow and about ¼ inch across. The plant can be found in rich woods and borders in most of the eastern United States. This photograph was taken in a cove at 1900 feet in elevation.
