Jack-in-the-Pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum) can already be seen along Black Walnut trail. A relative of skunk cabbage, both Arums prefer damp soil and contain calcium oxalate crystals that make consumption and digestion unpleasant. Small white flowers will occur along the spadix (“Jack”), which is covered in a hood or spathe (“the Pulpit”).
Pennywort (Obolaria virginica), a tiny, rare plant native to the southern half of the eastern United States, can easily be missed among leaves and twigs on the forest floor. These specimens were found by Matt Marsden while hunting for invasive species. This is their first known appearance at Shaver’s Creek.
Pictured: Jack-in-the-Pulpit, Pennywort, Round-lobed Hepatica (Hepatica nobilis) after pollination, and a reprise of Trout Lily (Erythronium americanum)
You beat me to Jack in the Pulpit. I went to Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve in Bucks County this weekend. There was so much in bloom there including dogwood, jack in the pulpit, squirrel corn, dutchman’s breechs, trilliums, and bunch others that I forget. We’ll have to keep an eye on dogwood, unless it is already in bloom!