Spring Beauty, for the botanists among us, Sanguinaria canadensis.
Photo by Betsy Washington, NN VNPS member

A spur of the moment Field Visit to another flowering colony of the perennial Bloodroot will take place this Thursday, April 5th.  It will be a short walk on private property at the invitation of the property owner.  We thank Lucy & Frank for opening their property up last week in Lancaster to see the beautiful colony of Bloodroot.  So if you missed it, here is a great field trip to see another beautiful colony.  We thank Reggie of the Hague for the opportunity this Thursday.

When:  Thursday, April 5 at 1:00 pm  - good weather – sunny day!
Where: For address and directions see the email or Call Kevin.

Bloodroot is an early bloomer and forms beautiful colonies mostly in moist woods.  The flowers pop up before the leaves have fully opened.  Found throughout the eastern US and in every county in Virginia, the flowers are the indicator of spring and warmer weather coming.  But the flowers are short lived so now is the time to see them.

Bloodroot is quite interesting – they produce pollen, of course, but no nectar yet are visited by a variety of pollinators searching in vain for any source of nectar at this early time of year.  The seeds are spread by ants (called myrmecochory), the roots produce a red-orange dye and has some medical uses even though it is poisonous.  Join us to see these beauties and to learn more.

In addition to Bloodroot, we will see nice examples of such native plants as Spicebush , Lindera benzoin and Mayapple, Podophyllum peltatum.

Please join us.

Kevin Howe, President
Northern Neck Chapter, Virginia Native Plant Society
(571) 232-4592