Many more wildflowers appeared for my second venture to West Leechburg Native Plant Preserve during the week of March 30th 2026. I'm dubbing this the week of the bloodroot and trout lily as they were by far the most impressive this week. It was neat to see how much had changed in the development of those I saw the week before and also to see some new appearances including trilliums and cutleaf toothwort.
I should also declare this the start of tick season. I found 2 or 3 ticks crawling on my leg while walking the trail. There are lots of barberry plants, a tick favorite.
Eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis)
The redbuds in the parking area and beginning of the trail have have more buds popping up, and they are starting to look like buds instead of little purple specks. I enjoy seeing the buds before the bloom as a good preview of what will become brilliant flowers in a few weeks.
Periwinkle/Creeping myrtle (Vinca minor)
As promised last week, here is a picture of the thick carpet of periwinkle that covers a small portion of the beginning of the trail.
Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis)
The bloodroots are really thriving this week. The trail goes from a carpet of periwinkle to a carpet of bloodroots. I have so much enjoyment seeing this stark white crisp flower. Some even managed to grow up in the cracks of one of the wooden walkways/steps.
Skunk cabbage (Symplocarpos foetidus)
This week the skunk cabbage is really coming into its own. There are no more flowers, but the leaves are unfurling larger and larger across the swampy areas, looking more like the skunk cabbage we all know and love (...well maybe not so much the smell).
Dutchman's breeches (Dicenta cucullaria)
Dutchman's breeches are beginning to bloom! The lovely upside down white and yellow pants are very tiny still but have appeared all throughout the hillside. I've noticed over the years that they start off as little flowers and grow bigger over the course of a few weeks. There should be some larger pants next week.
Blue cohosh (Caulophyllum)
The early/giant blue cohosh is still blooming this week. I didn't see any new sprouts though. Once you start looking, you can see the whole hillside full of them starting to transition from their frumpled purple look to a more normal looking green plant.
Yellow trout lily (Erythronium americanum)
This is the week of the Yellow trout lily! The amount of blooms were impressive. My phone is full of pictures. I tried to narrow it down, but there were so many making it hard to choose. It can be challenging to get a good photo because the flower faces down. You have to truly commit to get the shot! I guess that's why I'm so fond of all of the pictures. I crouched on the ground and committed to each and every one of these.
Trilliums
Trillium leaves are starting to appear! Many have buds forming, and some already have a trace of red or white peaking out. They still need a few weeks to really pop. This project will provide an opportunity for me to have a closer look and try to confirm the species better when they begin to fully bloom. I have only observed white (large) trillium (Trillium grandiflorum) and purple (red) (Trillium erectum) at the West Leechburg Native Plant Preserve.
Cutleaf toothwort (Cardamine concatenata)
Both the white and, on some plants, pinkish buds of cutleaf toothwort were another new sight this week. I didn't notice anything fully blooming yet, but they are in various stages of growth throughout the trail.
Many people, including pollinators confuse nonnative garlic mustard with cutleaf toothwort. The garlic mustard was not flowering yet, but I will include pictures when they are both in bloom in a future post.
Hepaticas
I noticed one little spot that appeared to have Sharp-lobed hepatica (Anemone acutiloba) blooming. Hepaticas and anemones look the same to me. They are apparently the same to everyone else because the names are essentially the same, argued over, and occasionally changed, but I will go off Carol Gracie's names and characteristics (1). The hairy stems and leaf shape of what appears to be the same plant fruiting nearby make me think this is the correct ID.
Bellwort?
Other Interesting Finds:
Waterfall
I got a bit more artsy with my weekly waterfall pictures this week.
Cool water picture
I guess I got a bit more artsy in general this week with my pictures. This was a cool point of view of the weathered rocks in the stream.
If you liked this post, here's the background for the wildflower project and all posts for the West Leechburg location:
(Links active once published)
Week 2 - March 30, 2026 (current page)
Week 5 - April 20, 2026
Week 6 - April 27, 2026
Week 7 - May 4, 2026
Week 8 - May 11, 2026
Week 9 - May 18, 2026
References
1. Gracie, C. (2012). Spring Wildflowers of the Northeast: A Natural History. Princeton University Press.
Comments
Post a Comment