Symplocarpus foetidus
Arum Family
Habitat: Swamps and bogs
Size: flower 2-5”
Notes: Blooms early-mid March. Leaves do not open until after the bloom is gone may be visible as a small green spike emerging the ground.
Folklore and Facts: The 4-6” tall, cone shaped flower and leaf buds are produced in the fall and spend the winter dormant just above the surface of the ground. As the flower buds begin to swell and open in late winter they produce heat, often enough to melt the surrounding snow. The heat production in the chill of late winter helps speed the development of the plant as well as release chemicals that attract pollinators. The heat itself may also serve as an attractant to insects on cold nights.

Asarum canadense
Birthwort Family
Habitat: rich woodlands
Size: Ground cover to 6”, flower 1”
Notes: Blooms early April. Flowers born along the ground under the leaves.

Polygonum pensylvanicum
Buckwheat Family
Habitat: Moist soils
Size: 8-36” Flowers under ¼”
Notes: Blooms late September

Trillium recurvatum
Lily Family
Habitat: Rich, moist woodland
Size: 6-18”
Notes: Blooms mid-late April leaves have distinct stem. Sepals droop below stem. Leave mottled.
Folklore and Facts: Trilliums produce a structure called a strophiole on their seeds that attracts ants. After dragging the seed back to the nest the ants dine on the strophiole then discard the seed thus the trillium is able to distribute its seeds. Once the seed is buried it must go through the freeze thaw cycle of winter before it germinates. 1The first year it will produce a root underground. Year 2 it will produce a single small leaf that will die back after a month or so. In the third year it will produce a single large leaf. This stage may repeat for 1 or more years. After 4 or 5 years the plant will produce the namesake 3 leaf structure. That stage may last 1 or two years. Finally on a beautiful spring day 5-7 years after the ant carried the seed away from the parent plant a flower will form, go to seed and start the entire cycle over again. The long period of time it take for these plants to mature along with over harvesting of wild plants by dishonest plant dealers is a main reason why most of the trilliums in the Eastern United States are becoming more and more rare or endangered.

Trillium sessile
Lily Family
Habitat: Rich Woods
Size: 4-12”
Notes: Blooms early-mid April. Superficially similar to prairie trillium but: leaves appear stemless, sepals lay on top of leaves rather than droop below them, leaves sometimes mottled. Also known as Toadshade Trillium.
Folklore and Facts: Trilliums produce a structure called a strophiole on their seeds that attracts ants. After dragging the seed back to the nest the ants dine on the strophiole then discard the seed thus the trillium is able to distribute its seeds. Once the seed is buried it must go through the freeze thaw cycle of winter before it germinates. 1The first year it will produce a root underground. Year 2 it will produce a single small leaf that will die back after a month or so. In the third year it will produce a single large leaf. This stage may repeat for 1 or more years. After 4 or 5 years the plant will produce the namesake 3 leaf structure. That stage may last 1 or two years. Finally on a beautiful spring day 5-7 years after the ant carried the seed away from the parent plant a flower will form, go to seed and start the entire cycle over again. The long period of time it take for these plants to mature along with over harvesting of wild plants by dishonest plant dealers is a main reason why most of the trilliums in the Eastern United States are becoming more and more rare or endangered.

Lobelia cardinalis
Lobelia Family
Habitat: stream banks and moist meadows
Size: 2-5’ Flowers 1-1 ½ “
Notes: Blooms late July.
Folklore and Facts: 1The genus name Lobelia comes from the 16 th century Flemish botanist Mathias de L'Obel. Later in his life he served as physician to King James I at which time he anglicized his name to Lobel hence the Latin Lobelia.

Asclepias syriaca
Milkweed Family
Habitat: Open areas, along roads
Size: 2-6’ flowers very small growing in clusters
Notes: Blooms mid July into summer.
Folklore and Facts: Milkweed is perhaps best known, not for its habits or features but for the larvae of monarch butterflies that feed on it. The plant contains glycosides, chemicals that are poisonous to many animals. A variety of insects have developed immunity to the toxin including milkweed bug, milkweed beetle and of course the monarch caterpillar. Many insects that consume milkweed are able to store the toxin in their bodies making them poisonous or distasteful to predators a fact that is advertised by their coloration, generally orange, red or black.

Asclepias incarnate
Milkweed Family
Habitat: Wet fields
Size: 2-6’ flowers very small growing in clusters
Notes: Blooms mid July into Summer.
Folklore and Facts: Milkweed is perhaps best known, not for its habits or features but for the larvae of monarch butterflies that feed on it. The plant contains glycosides, chemicals that are poisonous to many animals. A variety of insects have developed immunity to the toxin including milkweed bug, milkweed beetle and of course the monarch caterpillar. Many insects that consume milkweed are able to store the toxin in their bodies making them poisonous or distasteful to predators a fact that is advertised by their coloration, generally orange, red or black.