May is a special month for wildflowers in hardwood and mixed forests in Nova Scotia.
Longer days and brightening sun melt remaining snow under the hardwoods, thaw and then warm the soil and bring seeds and buds of herbaceous (soft-tissued) wildflowers out of dormancy. Then, a suite of these wildflowers race to take advantage of a window of sunlight before the deciduous hardwood fully leaf out, shading the forest floor.
The mayflower (better known elsewhere as trailing arbutus) is one of the earliest bloomers, greeting us with its sweet fragrance throughout the province on open or only partially shaded, well-drained, acidic soil, such as along the banks of paths and logging roads through softwood and mixed forest, and on banks of sand barrens by Highway 101 in the Annapolis Valley.
Well known to Nova Scotians historically, the mayflower was adopted as our provincial flower in 1901. Reads an official document: “The delicate pink mayflower, blooming in the forest glades in early spring, signifies Nova Scotia’s coming of age. As far back as 1820, the mayflower emerged as a native patriotic symbol, suggesting high achievement in the face of adversity. The humble evergreen from the native countryside blossoms amid the last remaining snows of winter.”
Spring Beauty in Cape Split hardwoods in mid-May. (DAVID PATRIQUIN)
The earliest flowering herb in Nova Scotia is a species not so pleasing aromatically and much more restricted in its distribution: skunk cabbage. In wet mossy woodlands in a few places in southwestern Nova Scotia, the enlarging flower buds literally melt the snow around them in late March or April by essentially revving their metabolic engines to generate heat. A specialized, mottled purple, shell-like leaf emerges first and opens to reveal a knob-like structure bearing tiny flowers. The heat volatilizes foul-smelling oils that attract early emerging flies and bees to pollinate the flowers. Large fleshy cabbage-like leaves develop later on that, when crushed, are likewise foul-smelling.
Skunk Cabbage burning its way through snow in Digby County in late April. (DAVID PATRIQUIN)
In late April/early May, carpets of showy white bloodroot appear on low-lying, nutrient-rich woodland, typically by a stream or river. Its name comes from the orange-red juice that seeps out of broken root stalks. As the flowers die back, large, beautifully sculpted leaves grow up and provide a distinctive ground cover through the summer.
From early May through to early June, we are greeted by many more species. In the richer hardwoods, which are best developed in central regions of the province, they include the “spring ephemerals.” Species of this group require high soil fertility that enables them to grow up quickly from bulbs or underground stems once the ground has thawed out. By early summer, they have flowered, produced seed and died back, leaving no trace above ground. The domestic equivalents are crocuses and tulips. Nova Scotia has six such species: dog’s tooth violet or trout lily with its blotched leaves and pendulous yellow flowers; two toothworts, with four petalled crucifer-like flowers; spring beauty with its delicate, star-like flowers with fine pink stripes; Dutchman’s breeches with its finely divided leaves and curious flowers resembling breeches; and wild leek, which differs from the others in that it produces flowers in June after vegetative growth has died back.
More species belong to a group of “summer greens” that emerge in spring and persist for varying lengths of time after the hardwoods have leafed out but reach peak coverage before midsummer. A few examples:
•Wild sarsaparilla, with flowers like those of onions and wild leek;
•Wild lily of the valley, with clusters of small white flower on a flowering stem;
•Starflower, with 1 or 2 white, star-like flowers;
•Bluebead or corn lily, with bright yellow flowers.
All are abundant in Point Pleasant Park in Halifax.
Not so common:
•Anemone, single flowers with showy white petals;
•Jack-in-the-pulpit, the name describing its unique flower structure;
•Blue cohosh, purplish flowers on plants growing to a metre tall;
•Purple trillium, reddish flowers with three large petals.
These species, like the spring ephemerals, are species of our rich upland hardwoods, which continue to be degraded by clearcutting, and of our few remaining intervales (flooded woodlands by rivers). Smileys Park is a good place to see a lot of the intervale species, while trails at Cape Split and Blomidon Park provide access to May beauties of rich upland hardwoods.
There are many more spring-blooming herbs and flowering trees and shrubs to enjoy as well in a variety of habitats. A booklet put out by the Nova Scotia Museum in 1993, Spring Wildflowers by A.E. Roland and A.R. Olsen, describes 253 spring flowering species in Nova Scotia arranged by plant type and time of flowering. It’s the best guide I know of to introduce one to wildflowers and add enjoyment to their unfolding in the spring. It’s out-of print, but still available in used bookstores and libraries. For mobile devices, Audubon’s wildflowers app is a user-friendly guide to wildflowers of all seasons and habitats.