Rue Anemone and Trout Lily in Wright State Woods.

Purple Cress (Cardamine douglassii)

Today I went to Wright State Woods. It is in Wright State University, and students use it for study and research. It has problems with honeysuckle and garlic mustard, but there are still many spring wildflowers. This is the first place I saw bloodroot, and I visit every spring for find it again. This year I do not need to find bloodroot, because I saw it before in Clifton Gorge and Caesar Creek Gorge, but I wanted to visit still.

Rue Anemone, Wright State Woods, Today

Wright State Woods, April 5, 2017

Cutleaf Toothwort

One wildflower I do not see in other areas is Rue Anemone (Thalictrum or Anemonella thalictrioides). It is not in Clifton Gorge and I did not see it in Caesar Creek Gorge. I do not know why, but in mid-spring, it is everywhere in Wright State Woods. Today, it and Cutleaf Toothwort (Cardamine concatenata) are blooming everywhere. Maybe you remember False Rue Anemone (Enemion biternatum) from Caesar Creek. This is similar, it has similar leaves and flowers, but False Rue Anemone only has 5 petal sepals, and Rue Anemone has 6 or more.

White Trout Lily

Trout Lily Leaves

I went to Wright State Woods today to find White Trout Lily (Erythronium albidum) flowers. There are many many many trout lily in Wright State Woods, but there are never many blooming, most they are leaves. I only find one or two every year. This year I was ready for leave and I found two in this really big colony on the hill side. They are not yet open but I think they will open this week.

Putty Root Orchid leaves

One weird plant in Wright State Woods is Putty Root Orchid (Aplectrum hyemale). It is similar wild leek (Allium tricoccum) because it blooms in late spring or summer, but it grows leaves in fall and winter. Leaves die in late spring, and happen you only see the flower. These leaves are finished soon. I will come again for find the flowers.

I found some bloodroot today, but most are finished. I am not really disappointed. I saw many bloodroot flowers this year. It is time for other flowers, because it is spring now. Bloodroot leaves need to grow strong and sleep, so happen they can bloom again next spring.