UGA Cooperative Extension

Union County Extension Office:
Agriculture & Natural Resources

Native Plants Bloooming

PLANTS BLOOMING APRIL 28th, 2010

Week of April 28th, 2010

1. Fraser Magnolia, Magnolia fraseri, is recognized by deciduous leaves that are rounded at the base. Flowers are white to cream colored and fragrant. Trees can grow to more than 65 feet. Trees can be found in rich woods along streams. They are especially common on mountain slopes.

2. Mountain Bellwort, Uvularia puberla, is an erect perennial herb, 6-18 inches tall with stems having fine hairs and shiny leaves. Prefers drier upland woods. Flowers are pale yellow and about 1 inch long. Found in the Appalachian Mountains from New York to Georgia.

3. Pink Lady’s Slipper, Cypripedium acaule, is a perennial herb with leafless flower stalks. There are 2 basal leaves, 4-10 inches long and densely hairy. Flowers are pink and moccasin shaped. Found in mixed coniferous and hardwood forests that are recovering from fire and logging. Usually found in acidic soils. This photograph was taken at an elevation of 2600 feet. These plants can be found from Alabama to Minnesota and eastward.

 

4. Wild Comfrey, Cynoglossum virginianum, an erect, unbranched hairy perennial herb 15-30 inches tall. Basal leaves are thick and hairy, 4-8 inches long. Stem leaves are alternate, sessile and get smaller as they one travels up the stalk. Flowers are light blue and whitish. Plants can be found in upland woods in the eastern USA. This photograph was taken at 2300 feet.

5. Indian Cucumber Root, Medeola virginiana, is an erect perennial herb, 12-30 inches tall. The stems of this plant are thin, wiry and have sparse clumps of cottony hair. The leaves are located in 1-2 whorls. On flowering plants the lower whorl has 5-11 leaves and the upper whorl has 3 leaves. The flowers of the plant are greenish yellow and 3/10 of an inch long. These plants can be found in mesic hardwood and mixed coniferous forests from Canada to Georgia. The plant has an edible rhizome tasting similar to cucumbers. This photograph was taken at an elevation of 2000 feet.

6. Squaw Root, Conopholis americana, is a yellowish brown perennial root parasite with unbranched stems, 2-8 inches tall. The leaves of this plant are overlapping, brown, fleshy and lacking chlorophyll. Flowers are whitish to yellowish. It can be found in rich woods from Nova Scotia to Florida. The plant was a food source for Native Americans and bears.

7. Flame Azalea, Rhododendron calendulaceum, is a much branched mountain shrub up to 10-15 feet tall. The leaves of the plant are alternate and about 3 inches long when fully mature. The flowers appear as the leaves are expanding. The flowers are brilliant yellow to deep orange. The flowers have 5 reddish, thread-like stamens extending well beyond the flower tube. The plant can be found in the southern Appalachians from West Virginia to Georgia. This photograph was taken at an elevation of 2500 feet.

8. Violet Wood Sorrel, Oxalis violacea, is a low growing, stemless perennial, 4-8 inches tall. The leaves of this plant are basal, trifoliate, ½ inch long and notched at the tip. The flowers of the plant are purple and have 5 petals. The plant is found in dry woods and rocky places throughout the eastern United States. This photograph was taken at 2,000 feet in elevation.

9. Broadleaf Toothwort, Dentaria diphylla, is a perennial with stems 8-16 inches long. Basal leaves are evergreen with 3 broad, toothed, prominently veined segments. There are 2 stem leaves are also toothed.  Flowers are white with 4 petals about ½ inch long and born in terminal clusters. The plant grows in rich woods from Canada to Georgia. The roots and leaves of this plant have a flavor similar to raw turnips with a peppery bite. This photograph was taken at 2400 feet in elevation.

10. Umbrella Leaf, Pixie Parasol, Diphylleia cymosa, is a smooth perennial herb that is 12-36 inches tall. The plant usually has 2 leaves that are 12-24 inches across. Plants that have only 1 leaf are non-flowering. Lobes on the leaves are pointed. Flowers are white and born in a cluster up to 4 inches wide that extends above the leaves. The plants are found in rich moist coves and on seepage slopes of the Blue Ridge Mountains from Virginia to Georgia. Cherokee people used the roots to make a tea to induce sweating. This photograph was taken at an elevation of 2800 feet.

11. Catesby’s trillium, Trillium catesbaei, is an herbaceous perennial growing up to 16 inches tall. The plant’s leaves are uniformly green, with a purplish tinge in sunny locations. The flower stalk is bent downward below leaves. Flowers are white to pink. Pollen sacs are dark yellow. Plants are found in acid soils of mesic woods and slopes of the mountains. Plants can be found from the Carolinas to Alabama and Tennessee. This photograph was taken at an elevation of 2,000 feet.

12. Sweet White Trillium, Trillium simile, is an erect perennial herb growing from 12-20 inches tall. The plants leaves are in a whorl of 3. The plants flowers are white and have a green apple fragrance. The flowers are stalked and held above the leaves. The plants can be found in cove hardwood and hemlock-silverbell forests in the southeastern Blue Ridge Mountains. This photograph was taken at an elevation 2500 feet.

13. Smooth Solomon’s Seal, Polygonatum biflorum, is a perennial herb with a single arching stem that is 12-48 inches long. Leaves are opposite in 2 rows and are 2-6 inches long. The leaves have prominent parallel veins. The flowers are tubular and about ½ inch long. The flowers are greenish when young but, turn white with maturity. The plants can be found in rich moist woods throughout the central and eastern United States. This photograph was taken at an elevation of 2000 feet.

 

14. False Solomon’s Seal, Smilacina racemosa, a perennial herb growing from 16-36 inches tall with unbranched, erect and arching stems. Leaves are alternate in 2 rows and finely hairy beneath. Leaves also have prominent, parallel veins. Flowers are white and are born on a dense terminal panicle. Plants can be found in moist deciduous woods throughout the United States. This photograph was taken at an elevation of 2,000 feet.

 

15. Blue Cohosh, Caulophyllum thalictroides, is a grayish green, smooth perennial 12-36 inches tall. The plant has a single large 3-ternately compound leaf above the middle of the stem. The plant usually has 1 and sometimes 2 smaller but similarly compound leaves below the flowers. The oval leaflets are 1-3 inches long and irregularly lobed above the middle. The flowers are yellowish green and borne in 1-3 panicle-like clusters. Found in rich woodlands from the north eastern United States to Georgia and Alabama. This photograph was taken at an elevation of 2400 feet. Native Americans used the root to make a tea to aid in child birth.