May 4^th 2023

The eastern red columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) is a delicate plant with bright red flowers. This plant prefers rocky soil and is even able to grow in crevasses of boulders like you can see here. This flower is a favourite of hummingbirds, who use their long beaks to reach the nectar it contains.

The broadleaf springbeauty (Claytonia caroliniana) is a small flower that only measures a few centimetres. Seeing this delicate plant cover the ground with small star-shaped white and pink flowers certainly explains its name.

Last but not least, is the squirrel-corn (Dicentra canadensis). This plant produces delicate heart-shaped white flowers reminiscent of its commonly cultivated cousin, the bleeding heart.

Spring in a maple forest like the Gault Nature Reserve rhymes with the arrival of the yellow trout-lily (Erythronium americanum). This ephemeral spring flower grows shortly after snow melts and disappears once the leaves in the trees cast their shadow on it. Its name is a nod to its spotted leaves, reminiscent of the skin of some trout species.

If you notice a patch of yellow flowers near a stream or a wetland, you are most likely looking at yellow marsh marigold (Caltha palustris). This plant loves moisture and grows in damp soil or shallow standing water.

White trillium (Trillium grandiflorum) a spring flower that is an emblem of maple forests. It is easy to recognize with its three symmetrical leaves and its large white petals. Did you know this plant can take up to 17 years to produce its first flower?

At Gault Nature Reserve, white trillium is the focus of a long-term research project on the impacts of white-tailed deer overabundance.

The final flower on this list is the small white violet (Viola macloskeyi). This tiny flower grows near streams and rivers.