Early Spring Wildflower - Star Chickweed

Tuesday, April 30, 2019
The Star Chickweed has begun lighting up the forest floor with its small, white, cheery flowers.

Common Name:
Star Chickweed
Botanical Name:
Stellaria pubera
Family:
Caryophyllaceae – Pinks
Sun:
Shade
Soil:
Rich, well drained

Southern Indiana Wildflowers

Hardiness Zone:
USDA Zone 3- 9
Propagation:
Seed, division, cuttings
Flower Time - Southern Indiana:
April
Plant Height:
Six - sixteen inches
Flower Color:
White
Stellaria, or Star Chickweed appears in April in the southeastern Indiana forests. It forms clumps of snow-white flowers on the forest floor. You will find it occupying rocky slopes, mainly above streams, in the deep forest. Stellaria pubera does well in the shaded perennial garden. Seed, dividing the plants, or taking cuttings, may propagate it.
Stellaria comes from the Latin word stellar, which means star like and refers to the shape and color of the flower. The word pubera is Latin for soft, short hairs and describe the hairy stem. Chickweed seeds are a valuable source of food for birds. Foragers may harvest the plant before it flowers. It is a nutritious green, containing copious quantities of vitamins A and C.

Early Spring Wildflower - Red Trillium - Toad Shade

Red Trillium - Toad Shade
One of the oddest looking spring flowers to inhabit the woodland's floor in Indiana is the Trillium, or Toad Shade.
Common Name:
Red Trillium, Toadshade
Botanical Name:
Trillium sessile
Family:
Liliaceae – Lily
Sun:
Shade
Soil:
Rich, moist
Hardiness Zone:
USDA Zone 4 to 8
Propagation:
Seed
Flower Time - Southern Indiana:
April
Plant Height:
Six to twelve inches
Flower Color:
Maroon

Southern Indiana Wildflowers

Trillium is from "Tri", which means three. The leaves and flowers parts are in threes. The species name "sessile" is the Latin word for "Low sitting" and refers to the stalk less flower.
This woodland wildflower is common here in Indiana and resembles another trillium - Purple Trillium. The best way to tell them apart is Purple Trillium’s flower appear above the leaves by a short stalk, while the Red Trillium’s flower is nestled almost directly above the three leaves with no stalk supporting it. The flowers are either a purplish or a maroon color. There is also a yellow-green form of the wildflower.
Red Trillium, or Toad shade, grows from about four inches to twelve inches in height. Here in southeastern Indiana it blooms in mid to late April. The flowers do not smell good; in fact, they have a foul odor that attracts their primary pollinating insects, beetles and flies. After bloom, it forms a bright red berry that contains the seed. Plant the seed in the fall in a cold frame. The seed needs the cold, damp soil of winter for it to germinate in the spring, a process called stratification.
Red trillium grows from an underground rhizome that will spread, creating huge colonies.
You will find Red Trillium in rich woodland, preferring the moist, dark conditions found there. It tends to form colonies, growing near Spring Beauty, Toothwort, Trout Lily and other denizens of the woodland. It is one of the more unusual looking spring wildflowers, and quite pretty as well.

Spring Beauty Earliest Wildflower

Spring Beauty 

Spring Beauty Earliest Wildflower

One of the earliest wildflowers to appear on the woodland floor is the Spring Beauty, begins blooming in early April. Lavender or pink veins contrast with the snow white on the blossoms, creating a lovely carpet on the forest's floor.

Common Name:

Spring Beauty, fairy-spuds

Botanical Name:

Claytonia virginica

Family:

Portulacaceae – Purslane

Sun:

Shade

Soil:

Rich, moist

Hardiness Zone:

USDA Zone 4 – 9

Propagation:

Seed

Flower Time - Southern Indiana:

April

Plant Height:

Six to twelve inches

Flower Color:

White, often tinged with pink

Southern Indiana Wildflowers

The genus name honors John Clayton (1694–1773), Virginia botanist. The species name means "Of Virginia."

The Spring Beauty is one of the first wildflowers to brighten the southern Indiana hillsides in the spring. It begins to emerge in early March, its pair of line, slender leaves wending their way up through a thick carpet of leaves. Sometimes a layer of snow slows them a bit, but by early April the show begins.

The Spring Beauty is a perennial, and it emanates from a tuber like root which resembles a very small potato. It is edible, having a sweet flavor similar to the chestnut. The Indians and early colonists utilized them as a food plant.

The wildflower show continues for about three weeks or so, the flower finally giving way to a small,

oblong capsule fruit which contains the seeds. These scatter over the ground, ensuring future generations of the Spring Beauty’s graceful display.

The name Claytonia was given to the flower by Linnaeus in honor of John Clayton, who sent him a specimen in 1757. Clayton found the flower in Virginia, thus supplying the second part of the botanical name.

A Year in Wildflowers

Southern Indiana Wildflowers

Southern Indiana Wildflowers

This wildflower identification guide includes a full season of common spring, summer and autumn blooming wildflowers with photographs. Southern Indiana Wildflowers allows easier identification of wildflowers in the field because it is arranged by order of bloom and color. 

Though written for southern Indiana, the guide should be useful for those living in southern Ohio and Illinois as well, though there will certainly be regional variations in color and bloom time.
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