What's blooming?

Marsh marigold (Caltha palustris), top, and

Jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum), bottom,
photographed in a wetland in Plymouth, MN the
beginning of May 2006.

On Saturday afternoon I visited a maple-basswood forest at the Ney Environmental Learning Center near Henderson, MN. I observed trout lily, bloodroot, and hepatica were past bloom. In flower were wild ginger and woodland phlox. Some of the bloodroot leaves were twice as big as my hand! At Flandreau State Park in New Ulm I saw some Jack-in-the-pulpit just beginning to bloom. Last week I saw marsh marigolds lighting up a wetland with their burst of yellow in Plymouth.