It didn’t take spring long to wake up the trailing arbutus, also known as the mayflower, our state flower.
Look for them along sunny banks in pine and oak woodlands. They sprawl across the ground with tough woot leaves and are sporting buds in most areas.
Just this morning I found my first blooms and in an old abandoned wood lot in Hyannis so you never know where they may show up.
Some areas should be just gorgeous with these sweet smelling flowers very soon.
By now spring is popping up all over but one of my favorite places to find spring is on walks in our woodlands. The Cape doesn’t have a lot of deep woods but the woodlands we do have can offer many wonderful gifts in the early spring.
Teaberry, also called winterberry, is common here and can always be identified by its sturdy, shiny leaves and its distinctive minty scent. At this time of year we may still find some red berries that made it through the winter but in many areas these little plants will have been stripped clean of their berries by winter birds and small mammals.
Mayflower, also called Trailing Arbutus, is beginning to bloom
Look for the tough, almost furry leaves on sunny banks along trails or other open areas.
Pipsissewa, also called spotted or striped wintergreen, depending on who you’re talking with, is another fairly common woodland plant. It will bloom a little later in the spring but you can find stands of these elegant little plants in many of our conservation areas.
Princess pine is another plant to look for on the forest floor. It actually grows in colonies, with roots extending and spreading out all over the place, but all the plants are attached and part of each other, not separate.
Much less common is the Partridgeberry, though when you find a clump of it you will often find more. I see this here and there but it is nowhere as common as the other plants mentioned here.
All these plants were discovered and photographed on a short walk in the same wooded area on the Upper Cape. Not all woodlands will have the same abundance of plants on the forest floor but they are worth taking a walk and looking for this spring.
Although technically I spotted my first mayflowers in March today I saw them blooming everywhere. Mayflowers are the state flower of Massachusetts and they are a quiet little blossom that many people probably walk right by.
Usually you find them in patches along the sunny side of a trail. They like rather poor growing conditions and are often half buried by winter’s twigs and leaves…in the picture below the mayflowers are in the middle of the frame..
They don’t look like much, do they? But get down close to them and they are lovely and elegant and they smell wonderful…
Their leaves are often tattered and brown looking but you can often find new leaves forming, too. The leaves are tough and sort of hairy feeling. The blossoms are somewhat waxy and able to survive the changing weather that often marks our springs.
Also called trailing arbutus, mayflowers almost always bloom in April, which somehow amuses me. Maybe they bloom in May in other places but usually by May the blossoms here are gone.
You can find mayflowers in many of the Cape woodlands, especially those that have ponds –which is most of our woodlands.
While looking for mayflowers take note of the little Canada mayflower leaves that are beginning to poke up through the pine needles. Also, watch for the red unfurling leaves of sarsparilla, one of my favorite and most whimsical spring woodland flowers.
This is such a great time of year to get out and about–migrating birds are arriving almost daily, toads are trilling and everywhere you look new life seems to be opening up.
Do keep watch for ticks if you hit a woodland trail–they are everywhere already.