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Better than Bulbs: Returning Ephemerals Signal Spring
Seeing life on the forest floor lets me know the seasons have changed
This week, the Trilliums (Trillium grandiflorum) bloomed. One can see white, three-leaved blooms scattered across the forest floor in Northern Wisconsin. Some appear singly, while others appear in great swaths in shaded areas. They are one of the plants I learned about when I worked at the Mississippi Valley Conservancy Land Trust in Wisconsin as an Environmental Educator in 2019.
I knew a lot of things about the environment, but spring ephemerals were not one of them until I held this position. And, although I didn’t stay long in the job — only nine months — I was there throughout late winter and early spring when I witnessed the ephemerals coming to life. I left by early October.
In addition to learning on the job, I learned about ephemerals from a friend I used to walk with. She took a daily walk or bike ride through a path in our former town of residence and pointed these plants out to me — or at least confirmed my identification if I was the one to notice it.
