Spring Flowering Native Plants of Washington, D.C. and Vicinity Presentation by Rod Simmons Ford Nature Center March 26, 2011 Spring ephemerals are wildflowers of the deciduous forest that leaf out and bloom in early through mid- spring, are pollinated, and largely disappear before the forest canopy substantially leafs out. Extensive, intermixed colonies of these plants carpet the floor of rich, mesic forests and floodplain forests throughout the region. Turkey Run Park. Photo by R.H. Simmons Photo by R.H. Simmons Holmes Run Gorge, Fairfax County, Virginia Photo by G.P. Fleming Basic Mesic Forest with Claytonia virginica – Turkey Run Park, Fairfax County, Virginia Potomac Gorge Photo by G.P. Fleming Photo by R.H. Simmons Rich Alluvial Floodplain Forest at Dora Kelley Nature Park, eastern end of the Holmes Run Gorge in the City of Alexandria, Virginia Lush foliage of spring ephemerals in late spring, Holmes Run Gorge Photo by R.H. Simmons Late spring foliage of Rich Cove Forest at Lost Mountain, Washington County, Virginia Photo by G.P. Fleming Photo by R.H. Simmons Spring ephemerals have evolved along with other plants, animals, and microorganisms over millennia, each occupying its special niche, to form the Eastern Deciduous Forest that many of us live in the midst of. Today, many fine remnants of this once-vast forest still remain in our region, but there is also much fragmentation and disturbance, including new threats such as invasive exotic plants and insects. Photo by R.H. Simmons Photo by G.P. Fleming Basic Mesic Forest with large clone of Podophyllum peltatum – Turkey Run Park, Fairfax County, Virginia