Meet This Month's Species
Bloodroot
Sanguinaria canadensis
An early woodland wildflower that pushes through leaf litter and opens white blooms while sunlight still reaches the forest floor.
Trout Lily
Erythronium americanum
A spring ephemeral of rich, damp woods, recognized by mottled leaves and nodding yellow flowers that appear before canopy leaf-out.
Spotted Salamander
Ambystoma maculatum
Warm spring rains draw these secretive salamanders from underground retreats toward seasonal woodland pools to breed.
Spicebush
Lindera benzoin
Small yellow flowers appear along bare spicebush twigs. Later leaves and bright fruit turn the same shrub into a different kind of woodland resource.
Eastern Phoebe
Sayornis phoebe
An early-returning flycatcher whose repeated phoebe call is often heard near streams and woodland edges as spring begins.
Eastern Redbud
Cercis canadensis
Pink flower buds brighten bare branches along roadsides and forest edges before the tree's heart-shaped leaves appear.
March Small Wonders
.png)
Trout Lily
Erythronium americanum
Ants carry trout lily seeds underground for their nutrient-rich coatings, unknowingly helping scatter the next generation of wildflowers.
Wood Frog
Lithobates sylvaticus
After surviving winter temperatures that can freeze part of their body fluids, wood frogs stir beneath the leaf litter and make their way toward woodland pools.