Green

I went to the woods to look for morels, but all I could see was green. A wonderful carpet of all hues of green. I had no choice but to write this blog post about green! It is a brief photographic snapshot of a few of the colors in the forest this week. Look quickly, the colors are changing even as we watch!

The greens of the trees are soft right now. Looking out towards the River (1) you can see the cottonwoods, silver maples, and willows flowering and starting to leaf out. Some of the hues are more yellow, such as the flowers of the willows (2). When I wandered the woods, the unfolding leaves of American elm (3) and chokecherry (4) add to the variety of colors.

The wildflowers in the valley add so many colors and textures. The short-lived Toothwort (5) is an ephemeral mustard with dainty flowers. They only stick around for a few weeks, then the foliage will turn yellow and fade away until next year. The mottled leaves of the Trout Lily (6) add a unique green to the mix. Spring showers have helped the umbrellas of Mayapples (7) to pop up in patches throughout the forest; soon you might find a single white flower below paired leaves. The Bellwort (8) flowers have nothing to be ashamed of, but they hang their splash of yellow among the green. Often the green of the Spring Beauties (9) is so fine that the leaves are barely noticeable, but their flowers draw you in. Right now, the Virginia Waterleaf (10) is showing only mottled leaves, but in a few weeks, it will sport clusters of bell-shaped lavender flowers with stamens sticking out… you’ll know it when you see it! Its close cousin, the Appendaged or Great Waterleaf (11) also has striking green leaves right now. The common name comes from the extra little leaves (appendages) that will be on the calyx (the green cup at bottom of the flower) when it blooms.

Though small now, the Cut-leaf Coneflower (also called Sochan) (12) will form a tall wall of green along the woodland paths by midsummer. The Ostrich Ferns (13) may seem dainty now but will claim this patch of ground entirely for themselves before Spring is over.  In the shady ravine, the carpet of green I see in spring is the False Rue Anemone (14), with its short lacy leaves and little white blossoms.  The velvety hearts of Wild Ginger (15) will soon have their discrete red flowers hanging close to the ground, waiting for the ants to pollinate them. Moist rocky areas and dead wood are a perfect habitat for the greens of mosses and smaller species of ferns (16). The red-marked early leaves of Jumpseed (17) add unique variation to the greens of spring but will give rise to a non-descript solid colored leaf and small white flower spike as summer progresses.

If I went on to describe all the lovely greens in the woods today, I would by far exceed my self-imposed 3 minute read limit! The green is here to stay (for a few months), but it won’t be the same tomorrow. Check out today's version of green, and if you happen to find some of those pesky morels along the way, that’s an extra bonus.

We have a Spring Foraging workshop with Samuel Thayer coming this weekend (May 3), but it has been full for so long that I haven’t promoted it. We still have a few spaces left in Dwight Zietlow’s Kordiall class on the afternoon of May 17 (with the free bonus wildflower hike in the morning), and also in Sam Thayer’s Prairie workshop on July 19th.  I’m hoping to add in more workshops and informal hikes as the summer unfolds. Check out the Iowisota events page regularly to see what’s new or to sign up. There are also many other opportunities at nature centers and other venues, so get out into the green!