What’s blooming in the SW Nova Biosphere?
Spring and early summer is when many native plants burst into blooming to create a wonderful display of colour and texture.
Out and about the Region, you may find the Red trillium (Trillium erectum). It might be beautiful, but lacks the perfumy scent we might associate with flowers.
This flower is a carrion flower, meaning it produces the odour of rotting flesh to attract pollinators such as flies and beetles. While red trillium does not produce as strong a scent as other carrion flowers, red trillium has been described as smelling similar to a wet dog.
Another unusual fact about red trillium is that its “stem” is not truly a stem at all! Rather it is an extension of rhizomes, an underground system similar to roots from which the plant grows.
Other blooming plants you can spot in May include wild strawberry (Fragaria sp.), blue-bead lilies (C. borealis), American fly honeysuckle (L. canadensis), star flower (T. borealis) and service berry (Amelanchier sp.).
What have you seen blooming this spring?
