The Magic of Spring

One of my favorite spring plants is Jack-in-the-Pulpit.  It is an amazing and unique spring wildflower.  It does not have the instantaneous beauty that other wildflowers are known to possess.  Jack-in-the-Pulpit hides in the woodlands among the other emerging spring flora (plants).  These wildflowers blend in unless you know the clues that lead to the discovery of these hidden treasures of the forest.

Jack-in-the-Pulpit has the scientific name Ariseama triphyllum.  The species name is derived from the trifoliate leaves that characterize this plant.  The three part leaves are often mistaken for poison ivy during the early spring.  Something cool that I just learned:  If the plant has one leaf stalk arising from the ground it is a male and if it has two it is a female.  Mayapples have this same characteristic which makes it easy to determine the gender and sometimes the age of the plant.  Jack-in-the-Pulpit is also called Indian turnip and brown dragon just to name a few name variations.

The Jack-in-the-Pulpit flower is what makes this plant really unique.  It is either plain green, green with green stripes, or green with purple stripes, so it blends in well unless you are looking for it.  This plant brings to mind a preacher standing in a pulpit over his parishioners.  The spadix is the in the center of the flower stalk, with a spathe (sheath-like leaf) surrounding it.  

Here are some pictures that I took early this morning:

What is your favorite spring wildflower?