I heard the trilliums were blooming and this is one of my favourite times of year to go for a bushwalk. I was hoping to find some to show you -- it was easy! They covered the forest floor and surrounded this old tree full of woodpecker holes.
Since 1937, the white trillium (Trillium grandiflorum) has been the provincial flower of the province of Ontario, Canada. Since 1964, it has been part of the Ontario logo. A protected flower, we have been told that it's illegal to pick or hurt them in any way, enforced by a fine of $500. However, that may have been a proposed law that was never passed.
I never said they were scarce! The reason we are discouraged from picking them is because it can kill the plant unless you pick it above the set of 3 leaves.
From the photo, above, you can see the 3 leaves are pretty high up the stem so it wouldn't make a very nice bouquet anyway. Besides 3 petals and 3 leaves, trilliums also have 3 sepals and a seed pod with 3 sections.
The white trillium gradually fades to pink before producing its seed pod. One of the interesting facts about trilliums is that their seeds are dispersed by ants.
Trillium is a genus of about 50 flowering plants from the Melanthiaceae family. Here in Ontario, we have 5 native species; White Trillium, Red Trillium, Painted Trillium, Drooping Trillium and Nodding Trillium. All of them inhabit the understory of deciduous or mixed woodlands.
A delicate spring beauty is the Dog Tooth Violet, Erythronium americanum, also known as the trout lily, adder's tongue and a bunch of other names.
They are a little more difficult to spot. Are there 7 in this photo?
They are easily recognized by their distinctive leaf pattern.
There are 5 kinds of forget-me-nots, Myosotis, in Ontario and this is definitely one of them although I am not sure which.
When you see a marshy area, look around and you might spot this next fern.
Young Ostrich ferns, Matteuccia struthiopteris, are edible and quite popular. We call them "fiddleheads."
I was photographing a patch of Canadian Shield, the rock you see so close to the surface, when something caught my eye.
It was heading for me!
Ginger introduced herself by way of a tag on her collar, very friendly.
Now I'm not sure what this flower is.
Most of you probably recognize a dandelion, Taraxacum.
Now I'm not sure what this flower is so now I have two to look up.
The lilac is getting ready for its turn to bloom.
As I leave the bush and head into the park, I'm no longer certain whether I'm looking at a wild or tame shrub.
It turned out to be a beautiful day. And now I'm back among the houses and I spot a beautiful flowering crabapple tree on someone's lawn.
