It’s the middle of April, and cheery yellow dandelions are everywhere. We always have room for more pictures of them.
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Purple Archangel (Lamium purpureum)
Also called Purple or Red Dead-Nettle, these little flowers are in full bloom right now in the middle of April. These tiny flowers pop up in lawns and along the edges of sidewalks. If they were larger or rarer, they would be garden treasures; their success makes them unappreciated. These pictures were taken in Beechview on April 12 and 14.
For a fuller description, see the Lamium purpureum reference page.
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Coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara)
Photographed April 8. Coltsfoot is one of our earlier spring flowers. It likes the edge of the woods, but it can sprout almost anywhere; these plants were growing at the edge of a parking lot in Banksville. The blooming stalks come straight out of the ground before any leaves appear.
Coltsfoot is a European import, but around here it is not invasive enough to be a pest.
For a fuller description, see the Tussilago farfara reference page.
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Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica)
Photographed April 7. One of our early woodland flowers, beating even the Bloodroots. These were blooming along the Trillium Trail in Fox Chapel.
For a full description, see the Claytonia virginica reference page.
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Skunk Cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus)
Photographed April 7. There is something strangely elegant about these bizarre flowers. This one was rather a late bloomer; most of the other plants in this patch along the Trillium Trail in Fox Chapel had long since bloomed and grown substantial leaves.
For a fuller description, see the Symplocarpus foetidus reference page.
