A Wildflower a Day

Spring

The ice is breaking up on the northern lakes. The day are growing longer, the breezes are a little warmer. The vernal ponds ring out with the voices of the singing frogs. The calls can be heard from the northward bound cranes and geese, and the woods are filled with a rising chorus of music as life begins anew.  The migratory songbirds are returning to their breeding territories, and we hear their ancient tunes once again.

Vivid shades of green appear and begin to cover the forest floor as the plants emerge from their winter sleep, and push through the dead leaves from the previous years - often quite literally. New leaves will be unfolding on the trees any day. It won’t be long now before the woods are decorated with vibrant color as the first blossoms of the wildflower season appear.

Our adventure begins.

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The Importance of the Plants

The beauty of the wildflower display in Michigan is familiar to most of us. The wildflowers, and the robust native plant communities that produce them, are important, however, for more than their beauty, useful for more than the enjoyment we get from seeing them.

All of the energy that sustains life on Earth originates from the sun, and it is plants that convert that energy into forms that can be utilized by other life, including us.

Insects are the most important first step in this process, by eating plant material and then in turn by being eaten by amphibians, reptiles, fish, birds, and other animals.

Here we see the Mink Frog, Common Toad, Gray Tree Frog, Green Frog and Wood Frog — examples of insect eating amphibians found in Michigan.

Some animals, including humans, eat plant material directly, of course, but insects are the main consumers of plants.

Bird calls

The relationships between native plant species, the particular insects adapted to feed on those plants, and the requirements of nesting songbirds are complex and not yet fully understood.

We do know that many insects require specific host plants. We also know that the arrival of the various birds to their nesting grounds, the appearance of the plants native to that region, and the plentiful existence of insects dependent upon those plants are closely related events that seem to be meticulously orchestrated and exquisitely interdependent.

We are seeing alarming declines in many native plant species due to increased herbicide use, development, and competition from alien plants. Without extensive thriving native plant communities, native insect populations will collapse. Without native insects, successful breeding by birds becomes impossible. The plant varieties that are growing, and where and when, is a critical factor in the survival of songbirds.

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Lepidoptera is a large order of insects comprising the butterflies, moths, and skippers. In their larval stage, their caterpillar stage, they represent a primary food source for nesting birds. As is the case with other insect-life, many caterpillars have very specific needs for their larval host plants in order to survive.

Like bird species, the butterflies, moths, and skippers have fairly specific distribution ranges and seasonal migratory or flight routes. Many prefer or are restricted to particular habitats. Others are more adaptable and can be found in a wider range of habitats. It is intriguing to consider the overlapping ranges of breeding birds, insect species, and the plants that support those insect species.

The Monarch butterfly is an excellent example of the dependency of a butterfly species upon a particular plant genus. Monarchs require Asclepias plants - or Milkweed - in their larval stage, so the adult Monarchs lay their eggs on Milkweed. As Milkweed populations decline, we are seeing a sharp decline in Monarch populations and are reminded of the importance of plant-insect connections.

Interestingly, the Monarch has developed a defensive strategy against predation of its own - it is unpalatable to birds - though avian fledglings might first need to sample one to learn this. Thus, the Monarch is an exception to the rule about the dependency of birds upon caterpillars.

We should not forget the spiders, which prey on insects and represent another important food source for nesting birds.

Bird calls

Tree frog calls

Michigan features an extraordinary diversity of plant life because of its great variety of distinctive habitats.

While some plants are found throughout the state, most are associated with distinct geographic regions as well as particular habitats.

Some, for example, are found mainly on the lake shores of the Great Lakes, including some rare plants, such as Dwarf Lake Iris, Huron Tansy and Pitcher's Thistle.

Three major ecoregions reach into Michigan: the northern forest stretching down into Michigan from Ontario and covering the Upper Peninsula and the northern half of the Lower Peninsula, the eastern hardwood forest extending into the southern half of the Lower Peninsula, and remnant prairies persisting in the southwestern part of the state.

There many locations to explore and much to experience. The broader our search, the more we will discover.

Let's pack up our equipment, and set out on the trail in search of Michigan's native wildflowers.

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Bird calls

April

The first blossoms to appear each year are the Spring ephemerals. These plants come and go quickly. The first one we will see is the aptly named "Harbinger-of-Spring." We think of this as the season of flower density, since the forest floor is often carpeted with the blossoms of these early plants.

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"Who would have thought it possible that a tiny little flower could preoccupy a person so completely that there simply wasn't room for any other thought."

— Sophie Scholl

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May

We enter now the season of flower diversity when many species come into bloom at the same time.

Bird calls

Music

"Now the bright morning-star, Day’s harbinger,
Comes dancing from the East, and leads with her
The flowery May, who from her green lap throws
The yellow cowslip and the pale primrose.

"Hail, bounteous May, that dost inspire
Mirth, and youth, and warm desire!
Woods and groves are of thy dressing;
Hill and dale doth boast thy blessing.
Thus we salute thee with our early song,
And welcome thee, and wish thee long."

— John Milton

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Frog calls

June

June will take us from Kalamazoo to the Keweenaw Penninsula in search of native plants -- and summer is fast approaching.

Bird calls

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"In June as many as a dozen species
may burst their buds on a single day.
No man can heed all of these anniversaries;
no man can ignore all of them."

— Aldo Leopold

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July

Our quest for native wildflowers continues as we successfully meet the challenge of finding a wildflower a day.

We are in the time of year we call the season of drama, so we will be watching for the large and spectacular blooms of Showy lady-slipper, Michigan lily, Black-Eyed Susan, Fireweed, the first Coneflowers, and Spiderwort.

Bird calls

Music

"Like the musician, the painter, the poet, and the rest, the true lover of flowers is born, not made. And he is born to happiness in this vale of tears, to a certain amount of the purest joy that earth can give her children, joy that is tranquil, innocent, uplifting, unfailing."

— Celia Thaxter

Bird calls

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August

We have witnessed what we are calling the four wildflower blooming phases of the year: the time of flower density, with the spring ephemerals blanketing the forest floor; the time of flower diversity, with a myriad of species all flowering at the same time in late May and June; the time of drama featuring the showy flowers of the Lady-slippers, the Wild iris and the Lilies; and now we enter the season of durability.

We call it the season of durability because the salient features of the plants we see in flower in late summer are the persistence of the blossom -- the length of the their blooming time.

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"To find the universal elements enough; to find the air and the water exhilarating; to be refreshed by a morning walk or an evening saunter; to be thrilled by the stars at night; to be elated over a bird’s nest or a wildflower in the spring — these are some of the rewards of the simple life."

— John Burroughs

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Bird calls

Music — "Home Sweet Home"

"Too late its beauty, lonely thing,
The season's shine is spent,
Nothing remains for it but shivering
In tempests turbulent.

"Had it a reason for delay,
Dreaming in witlessness
That for a bloom so delicately gay
Winter would stay its stress?"

— Thomas Hardy

Summer is finally drawing to a close.

We have met the challenge of finding a native plant in bloom for each of the days of the season, and we can take a more relaxed look at what is still blooming around us.

The intense purple of New England Aster, once so common along the roadways in Michigan, can still be found here and there.

Smooth Aster is always a joy to see, with its smooth blue-green foliage and pale blue blossoms.

The graceful flower clusters of Pokeweed will soon produce berries that are a favorite of many birds.

When we see Jewelweed after a rain, we are reminded of the origin of the common name for the plant, as water droplets form little "jewels" on the leaves.

We reach the end of another wildflower season in Michigan.

Bird calls

Autumn

The days are growing shorter, there is a chilly breeze now, and the trees of the forest are adorned in the colors of the changing leaves -- the bright crimsons, the ochres, the magentas that warn of the winter to come.

The first frost is not far off, and another wildflower bloom season has drawn to a close -- too quickly.

Will our children and our grandchildren know the joy of the wildflowers, the songbirds and the butterflies we have seen?

That question has yet to be answered.

The answer will depend upon each one of us.

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