By Jennifer Meikle, Environmental Educator

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Having native plants in our local ecosystems has many benefits, other than just looking beautiful. Native plants have grown in that area naturally for thousands of years, without human introduction. Over time, their DNA has evolved to be best suited to the conditions of their environment. They are adjusted to the climate, soil, and the wildlife of the area, making them very resilient. Many have formed symbiotic relationships with other species, offering the best food and habitat to support local wildlife and encouraging biodiversity. It can be easy for native plants to escape our attention when we are surrounded by a dense mosaic of greens–but early spring is different. There are some amazing natives this time of year that will definitely catch your eye against the backdrop of still-bare branches and crunchy brown leaves! Spring ephemerals are wildflowers that only appear for a short period of time before going dormant, bridging the gap between winter and spring. They usually appear after the snow melts, but before the trees leaf out and block out the sun from reaching the forest floor below.

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Trout lily is a native spring ephemeral in about half of North America and parts of Canada. Its signature mottled leaves pop up all over the understory during this time. It is named for the shape and color of its speckled leaves that are reminiscent of a brown brook trout’s shimmering scales. Trout lilies are also recognized by the fleeting presence of a sculptural yellow flower. These flowers are an important source of early spring pollen for miner bees and other native pollinators across the US. While the flowers only last for around a month, and it can take around seven years for a bulb to flower, trout lily colonies can live for a very long time. Even after the flower dies, the roots, rhizomes, and corms (the bulbs) remain underground. These plants will continue to come back from the same root stock year after year, making these spring ephemerals a perennial, with colonies that can live for 200 to 300 years!

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Trout lilies are an important plant to pollinators, but they also serve as food for some other species. While the mottled pattern helps the small leaves camouflage, deer do graze on them when they can find them, and chipmunks and black bears dig up and eat the corms as well. Ants also play a role in the success of trout lilies through myrmecochory, a mutually beneficial interaction between plants and ants. On the outside of the trout lily seed is a structure called an elaiosome, which is calorie and nutrient dense and also a delicious attractant to various species of ants. Worker ants find the seeds and bring them back to the colony, and after eating the nutritious elaiosome, they discard the remaining seed, allowing it to germinate and get some space from the parent plant. About one third of our woodland wildflowers are aided in dispersal through ants!

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Although only present for a short while, trout lilies are a bright reminder that spring is upon us! Look out for their beautiful, speckled leaves and yellow flowers as you take hikes this spring, you may notice this amazing native ephemeral for the first time if you look closely!