May ‘26, Wildflower Edition
As promised when I released my bird edition a week ago, here’s a May ‘26 botany edition! Except it’s just wildflowers. There’s much more to botany than flowering plants and their namesake organs. But, we all love wildflowers, and flowering plants made the world as we know it possible. So, below I present you with highlights from my efforts to find and photograph them this May in Vermont. All of these are wild plants native to Vermont. They’re a tiny sample of what’s out there. Captions will be minimal this time. Much can be said of all of these plants, but for now I hope that you will enjoy the photos, and perhaps be introduced to some new-to-you species.
Red Trillium, Trillium erectum and Wild Ginger, Asarum canadense. Red Trillium appeared in my April post, but it’s still around in early May here. Also, I wanted to show the leaves of Wild Ginger before showing the flower below.
The delightful burgundy flower of Wild Ginger is held below the leaves, making it hard to get both in focus in one shot. Plus it’s nice to see a close up of this fabulous furry flower.
Wood Anemone, Anemone quinqufolia.
White Trillium, Trillium grandiflorum.
Serviceberry/Juneberry/Shadbush, Amelanchier.
Early Blue Cohosh, Caulophyllum giganteum.
Early Meadow, Thalictrum dioicum. Female.
Marsh Marigold, Caltha palustris.
Painted Trillium, Trillium undulatum.
Foamflower, Tiarella cordifolia with Sensitive Fern, Onocle sensibilis and seedings of Jewelweed, Impatiens capensis.
Purple Avens, Geum rivale.
Starflower, Lysimacha borealis.
Wild Strawberry, Fragaria virginiana.
Canada Violet, Viola candensis with Sweet Cicely, Osmorhiza claytonii.
Doll’s Eyes/White Baneberry, Actea pachypoda.
Yellow Blue-bead Lily, Clintonia borealis.
That’s all for now, folks. I hope that you enjoyed these photos, and that they inspired you to discover wild plants yourself. If you’re a Vermont landowner that’s interested in working with native plants on your property I offer ecological consulting. Learn more at www.wildniche.com. You can also subscribe to my newsletter there. If you’re already a subscriber please consider forwarding this to someone that might enjoy it. Thanks, and take good care.
