Lindera and the blue cohosh

Lindera benzoin, Northern spicebush, Forsythia of the wilds

Early in the spring (mid-April in some years) the flowering of Lindera, which grows as an understory, lightens up the deciduous woodlands. The small, abundant, bright yellow flowers are a sign of the long awaited spring and very useful to the early pollinators! The species it is also a favorite larval host for the beautiful Spicebush swallowtail and Promethea silkmoth.

Later in the fall, the foliage turns yellow providing a wonderful background for the shiny red, abundant fruits (female and male plants need to be grown together). They provide food for countless bird species.

The fleshy part of the fruits was/it is chopped and utilized as an allspice, hence the common name.
Read more about it and its fruits, seeds and germination: Here

Caulophyllum thalictroides, Blue cohosh

How many times I have written about Caulophyllum? One of my favourite wildflower because of the purple shoots that emerge in early spring and the beautiful foliage: a well grown plant of Caulophyllum can be easily taken for a peony. It is also an important medicinal plant.

The desire to grow it from seeds for my garden lead to an in depth study on its seeds and germination pattern. The seeds are hydrophilic to extreme! I repeat it, because people are still trying to grow it from dry seeds = dead seeds.

Few other posts on Caulophyllum: Purple beasties, Berberidaceae seeds and embryos, Caulosaurus

I will end with a picture taken last year in the garden. One more writing tomorrow and we’re done, spring is nearing and there are so many things to be done seedlings wise, before the purple beasties emerge :)