I “discovered” a small woodlot park this spring in Oakville Ontario that has fewer pedestrians. I’ve enjoyed watching the wildflowers emerge through the deep blanket of fallen oak, hickory and maple leaves. Many were instantly recognizable, like the Large White Trilliums and the light pink Spring Beauties. Others like the invasive Garlic Mustard and Dog-strangling Vines have been less pleasing to see. A few plants were new, to me, wildflowers, that I had to look-up in my field guides.
Spring Beauties
Luckily I Did Not Smell These Flowers
June 9 Smooth Carrionflower in bloom
One vine growing almost horizontally caught my eye with its plentiful puffs of white flowers. The leaves looked like as Smooth Carrionflower which I confirmed at home. This plant attracts pollinators with an unpleasant odour but fortunately I was on the path, too far away to catch a whiff.
I hope to see the clusters of blue-black fruit later.
I’m not sure if it was planted or wild. The park has been heavily re-planted multiple times, including this spring, but it also hosts an abundant and varied community of native wild plants. Unless I meet the plant planner I will likely never know!
Finally Some Violets I Can Identify
In southern Ontario parks there are many types of wild blue violets and at this park some were probably Eurasian Sweet Violets. Here, there were also yellow ones which I looked up.
These are Downy Yellow Violets. In southern Ontario, the basal leaves, arrangement of leaves, and leaf shape are unique for Downy’s. (In other states, there are more kinds to sort through.)
This one has set seed by June 9.
Not Your Common Buttercup
Kidneyleaf Buttercups in bloom on May 30.
There were lots of the normal metallic-looking yellow Buttercups blooming around the park. In the woodlot, though, a subdued Buttercup also blossomed. Its flowers were tiny and its stems and leaves were small and “airy” looking.
My field guides said to check for basal leaves. Sure enough, the leaves at ground level were totally different–round and large. They looked like a separate plant until I moved some dead leaves and found they all emerged from the same spot.
These Kidneyleaf Buttercups were new to me. They are a native plant, not a European introduced species.
I’ll show the other plants in another story soon: I’m still waiting for a lily bud to open!
Related Reading
- What Is This Slender Pale Purple Tubular Flower with No Leaves?
- What’s This Tall Plant with Tiny Yellow Tube Shaped Flowers with 5 Petals and Long Stemless Leaves Growing Beside the Path in the Woods in Southern Ontario?
Join In
Have you spotted a new (to you) plant this spring? Please share your experience with a comment.