The white form, unusual elsewhere, seems to be the most common color in our area. These plants were blooming along the Trillium Trail in Fox Chapel.
We also have pictures of the red form, the greenish-yellow form, and a rare pink form.
For a description of the species, see the Trillium erectum reference page.
As they age, Great White Trilliums often turn pink. These were blooming along the aptly named Trillium Trail in Fox Chapel, where the Great Whites were notably early this year.
For a description of the species, see the Trillium grandiflorum reference page.
The bright golden flowers light up the edge of the woods in mid-spring; they belong to the umbel-bearing family Umbelliferae or Apiaciae, the parsley or carrot family, and they may remind you of a yellow version of Queen Anne’s Lace. These plants were blooming in Bird Park (in Mount Lebanon) and the Kane Woods Nature Area (Scott Township).
For a description of the species, see the Zizia aurea reference page.
An ornamental bush from Japan that has escaped and made itself at home in our area. These plants were blooming in the Kane Woods Nature Area, where the showy drifts of white flowers punctuate the woods in the spring. There are two kinds of flowers: the little ones in the middle that actually do the work, and the sterile flowers around the edge of the corymb that act as the plant’s advertising agency, bringing in potential pollinators.
Once in a while, a plant bears all sterile flowers, which form a white ball that gives that form of the bush the name Japanese Snowball.
Although the standard references do not record this species as occurring in the wild around here, we do find it escaping here and there; and it seems to be happening more frequently. It is probably time to recognize it as a naturalized citizen. These plants were part of a small patch blooming in the woods in Bird Park, Mount Lebanon.
For a description of the species, see the Hyacinthoides non-scripta reference page.
