Spring Happenings Volume 1

Spring is here, and all around the preserve, wildflowers are taking note. March 29^th saw our very first bloodroot and spring beauties open for the sun, but others have been in bloom for some time. Carmen’s vinca, glory of the snow, and many different daffodils litter the property and offer a cheery expression, even on wet, cloudy days, while the native skunk cabbage beckons the careful observer.

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Skunk cabbage (above), at first glance, looks little like a typical flower – if there is such a thing – but a closer inspection will reveal intricacies and abilities absent in other species. Though we’re nearing the end of its bloom period, we’ll take a moment to examine and appreciate these attributes.

In most of Ohio, skunk cabbage is the very first wildflower to bloom. It may be seen poking through the snow in February, a feat made possible through the plant’s ability to engage in thermogenesis, i.e. produce its own heat. Very few other plants are capable of this.

Not only will heat melt any snow preventing pollinators such as flies and beetles from reaching it – because there typically aren’t any bees or butterflies out so early – but the heat also adds to the plant’s impression of rotting carrion. As you may have guessed given its name, skunk cabbage does not bear a pleasant smell. Instead, it mimics a decomposing animal to attract pollinators.

To protect its flowers from the elements, it developed the variegated outer structure, the color of which also mimics flesh, known as the spathe. It is tough, somewhere between purple cabbage and stiff leather in texture and feel and shields the spadix inside.

Stop by soon to witness with unique Ohio native, as well as the ever-increasing list of other wildflowers rewarding us for another winter survived.

– Naturalist Leah