Black Bears and Bear corn

Hiking in the Smokies in early June, I came upon a young black bear foraging in the woods. Partially hidden behind a large dead hemlock tree, and with a pair of binoculars in hand, I watched the bear consume the fruits and shoots on multiple clumps of bear corn, a process that went on for nearly an hour (and delayed quite a few hikers, too). A subsequent look at the literature revealed that the flowering and fruiting structures of bear corn are an important part of the diet of black bears. White-tailed deer as well as smaller mammals such as squirrels, chipmunks, and mice also feed on the flowers and fruits. In addition to obtaining nutrients, it's thought that bears seek out squawroot to stimulate bowel activity, particularly after emerging from hibernation.

What about the plant? Does it benefit from this interaction with mammals? As you may have guessed, the answer is yes, as viable seeds of bear corn have been recovered in the scat of black bears and white-tailed deer. While the tiny seeds of bear corn can be transported short distances by rainwater flowing across the soil surface, black bears and other mammals feeding on ripe fruits play an important role in dispersing the seeds over a larger area. This increases the chance that at least some seeds will be deposited in close proximity to the roots of a suitable host plant, required for successful establishment as bear corn is an obligate root parasite (mainly on oaks). 

There's a human connection to bear corn as well in that Native Americans of eastern North America used it as a medicinal plant.

Sassafras Arching Trunks

Trees such as sourwood, black gum, and river birch often having a pronounced bend to their trunks. I've always assumed that it is a phototrophic response whereby the stems are simply growing towards the area where light is most readily available. But in the Sassafras trees growing in our home landscape (Clemson) something else seems to be going on. In the last 5 years or so there have been two years in which the female trees have had a super abundant fruit crop and the weight of all those developing fruits caused the stems to bend downward during the several weeks that the fruits matured. These periodic heavy fruit loads, I believe, contribute to the permanent bend often seen in Sassafras trunks. Additional support for this hypothesis is that male trees, which lack the burden of producing weighty fruits, generally have much straighter trunks than do the females, at least in our landscape. It would be interesting to see if this pattern holds true for Sassafras "in the wild".

Black cohosh

Black cohosh (Actaea racemosa) is currently in flower off the Blue Ridge Parkway. It's easily recognizable by its 3-8 ft tall flower stalks with tassel-like white flowers and coarsely toothed leaflets. The fetid smelling flowers attract carrion flies and beetles which function as pollinators. In a pinch, you can rub the flowers on your exposed skin to ward off mosquitoes; however, in so doing you may attract carrion flies and beetles which think you're dead meat (not to worry, they don't bite).

Fire pink (Silene virginica)

Fire pink (Silene virginica) tends to be restricted to relatively open areas (such as rocky slopes with shallow soils) as it is a poor competitor. So, if you add this plant to your garden, you'll want to prevent neighboring plants from getting too close and overtopping it.

Fire pink is a classic hummingbird-pollinated plant as it has tubular red flowers with abundant nectar, no landing platforms (as is typically found in bee or butterfly-pollinated plants) and no detectable floral odor. The flowers depend on hummingbirds to transfer pollen from the anthers of one flower to the stigma of another for successful fruit and seed production.

Mountain laurel

Mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia) is currently in flower off the Blue Ridge Parkway in the mountains of North Carolina. Look for the white to pink bowl shaped flowers in dense showy clusters. While plants can be found both in open sunny areas and in shaded sites under a forest canopy, it's those plants that receive more sunlight that flower most prolifically.

Listen to Rudy Mancke discuss my new wildflower book

Rudy Mancke did a nice audio piece on Nature Notes about Wildflowers and Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont, UNC Press.

Sweet Betsy flower color morphs

The flowers of Sweet Betsy (Trillium cuneatum) are usually purple in color, but some plants have yellow or greenish flowers. Here, we see the purple and yellow flower morphs on adjacent plants. The flowers often have a faint spice-like odor, but you usually have to get your nose up close to the plant to detect it.

Bloodroot in bloom

It's hard to resist taking a photo of bloodroot, especially when they've just emerged and are so fresh-looking with gobs of golden pollen. The flowers lack nectar, so it's pollen alone that attracts (and rewards) bees and flies that function as pollinators. If the flower fails to attract a pollinator within 3-4 days, the anthers curl into the stigma brushing pollen onto its surface, thereby self-pollinating the flower, a useful backup mechanism since low temperatures and wet conditions frequently reduce insect activity in early spring .

Halberdleaf yellow violet

An early spring wildflower in deciduous forests of the eastern United States is halberdleaf yellow violet (Viola hastata). Look for its arrowhead-shaped leaves (the upper surfaces typically mottled with silvery blotches) clustered towards the stem tip and bright yellow flowers. When two or more species of violets occur in close proximity, it's not unusual for hybrids to form. Because hybrids have traits of both parental species, identification to species can be difficult.

Bloodroot in fruit

Already, bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) is going to fruit here in the piedmont of South Carolina. Most bloodroot flowers successfully mature fruit because if cross-pollination fails to occur, the flowers can self-pollinate. Once the fruit (an elongate green capsule) matures, the ripe seeds are usually quickly carried off by ants which utilize a lipid-rich food body attached to the seed and drop the seeds unharmed, usually near their nests. So, when you see bloodroot, think too of the ants, which play a key role in dispersing the seeds of this plant.

Tag alder in flower

Another late winter flowering shrub is Tag alder (Alnus serrulata). This wind-pollinated plant produces long narrow male catkins that release enormous amounts of pollen from March to April, depending on elevation and latitude. The attached photo shows both a male (pollen producing) catkin and several female catkins with tiny red hair-like structures (the stigmas) whose function is to catch wind-blown pollen. If all goes well, the female catkins eventually mature ripe seeds within small cone-like structures.

Spicebush in flower

One of the first shrubs to flower in spring is Spicebush (Lindera benzoin). It produces tiny yellow flowers in clusters that are visited and potentially pollinated by flies and small bees. Because plants have either male or female flowers, the species is considered to be dioecious. Look for this widespread shrub in moist forests and bottomlands in the eastern United States .

Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica)

This low growing perennial is a classic example of a spring ephemeral as it emerges in late winter, grows vegetatively, flowers, and produces seeds all within just a few weeks. The remaining weeks (about 48) each year it persists underground as a dormant plant.

By emerging in late winter, spring beauty (Claytonia virginica) is able to take advantage of the high light levels reaching the forest floor. Once the trees leaf out the forest becomes shaded, after which its ability to photosynthesize and grow is diminished, causing spring beauty to go dormant.

Other spring ephemerals include trout lily (Erythronium species) and Dutchman's britches (Dicentra cucullaria).

The conspicuous pink veins on spring beauty's flowers guide small bees and flies to the nectar at the base of each petal, increasing the likelihood of successful pollination.

Enjoy this plant when you come upon it because next time you visit it's likely to be gone, at least until next year.

Yellow buckeye

Yellow buckeye (Aesculus flava) is beginning to bloom, at least at lower elevations in the southern Appalachians. In rich cove forests and northern hardwood forests at higher elevations, flowering is probably a couple of weeks or more away.

This medium to large tree has palmately compound leaves and yellow tubular flowers that are actively visited by bumblebees and occasionally by hummingbirds, both of which function as pollinators.

While the flower clusters (inflorescences) typically have numerous flowers, relatively few mature fruit. Two main factors limit fruit set -- the unusually large fruits are energetically expensive to produce and most flowers within an inflorescence are staminate (only produce pollen).

Buckeyes make attractive landscape plants. Once established they can tolerate relatively dry conditions due to a deep taproot.

The unusually large seeds are considered a good luck charm.

Carolina jessamine (Yellow jessamine)

Carolina jessamine (Gelsemium sempervirens) is a twining vine with dense clusters of yellow tubular flowers with shiny evergreen leaves.

Currently in bloom in many parts of the Southeastern United States, the fragrant flowers depend on various bees (bumblebees, carpenter bees, and blueberry bees) for cross-pollination in order for fruits and seeds to mature.

Look for it along forest edges, roadsides margins, and on rock outcrops.

It's also a popular landscape plant due to its colorful long-lasting flowers, shiny evergreen leaves, and its ability to tolerate drought.

Carolina jessamine is the state flower of South Carolina.

Bloodroot in bloom

Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) in bloom is one of the early signs of spring, a wildflower that plant enthusiasts seek out and cherish. Each solitary flower has 8-24 large white petals with numerous golden anthers.

Bees and flies visit the nectarless flowers for pollen and in the process often pollinate the flowers. On cloudy days and at night the flowers close up tight (perhaps because pollinators aren't active then).

At the base of each flower stalk is an upright blue-green leaf with a deeply lobed margin. As the growing season progresses the leaf gets larger and usually takes on a horizontal orientation.

Why the name bloodroot? Its thick rhizome oozes an orange-red juice when cut. Native Americans used this juice as body paint and as a dye for clothing.