Plant Profile: Prairie Ironweed

Prairie ironweed, Vernonia fasciculata Michaux

Widely considered a pollinator magnet, prairie ironweed, also called common, smooth, or fascicled ironweed, attracts many bees and butterflies late in the season. The plant flowers from July into September with intensely purple flowers gathered into heads, typical of plants in the aster or sunflower family.  

Each small flower, called a floret, has narrow, flaring lobes and an emergent style with a curved, two-parted stigma. Florets have five stamens that are fused into a tube that surrounds the style. (See Flower Parts for Plant ID for a review of flower parts.)

Left: Ironweed florets are grouped into heads at the ends of stems. Right: This single head is composed of many florets. The stigma, style, and fused stamens of one floret are labeled.

An involucre composed of a series of bracts, called phyllaries, enclose the base of each head. Each is green to purple, flat, bluntly tipped, with white hairs around the edges. Below the phyllaries is a short, often hairy stalk, called a peduncle, that attaches the head to the stem. 

At the base of each head is an involucre (in-vo-LOO-cur), a series of bracts called phyllaries. The phyllaries are green to reddish purple with usually blunt tips. White hairs ring the edges of the phyllaries.

Leaves are alternate and lance-shaped, the largest ones up to 6 inches long and 1+ inches wide. (Some sources report the leaves are less than 1/2 inch wide.) Leaf margins have short, spine-like teeth. The leaves are either sessile (lacking leaf stalks, aka petioles) or with short petioles. Athough the leaves may have a stray hair or two, they are essentially hairless. 

Left: Prairie ironweed typically grows 3 to 6 feet tall. Stems and leaves are smooth, although some may have stray hairs. Leaves are alternate, usually sessile, and toothed.

The lower surfaces of the leaves are minutely pitted. According to some references, the pits may appear shiny from embedded resin glands, also called glandular trichomes. These glands have many possible functions in plants, including protection from insects and diseases (1). Some sources also report that the upper surface, not the lower one, is glandular, although the lower surface is consistently pitted and is a reliable characteristic to help identify this species. Glands were not detectable on the upper surface of this leaf.

The lower surface of the leaf has tiny pits. Some references also mention black spots on the underside of the leaves, but it's unclear if the spots are part of the plant or caused by a rust fungus. The large white line is the prominent midrib, part of the plant's vascular system. 

Like the leaves, the stems are mostly hairless. They are green to red-green, round in cross section and typically 3-6 feet tall when fully grown. Depending on growing conditions, some stems may be shorter or taller. 

After flowering, the heads release small, brown, tufted seeds carried by wind. Several sources report that sparrows, goldfinches, and other songbirds eat the seeds in fall and winter. The stems remain standing through winter and may provide refuge for various stem-boring insects. Earlier in the season, the larvae of several moths and butterflies may feed on the leaves, and some insects will bore into the stem or roots for food or shelter (2). Mammals avoid the plant because it tastes bitter.

Left: Seed heads begin developing in late September or early October. Seeds are 2-3 millimeters long with a tuft of hairs that carry them on the wind.

In addition to reproducing by seeds, prairie ironweed also spreads vegetatively by rhizomes, stems that grow horizontally under the soil. This can produce a colony of genetically identical plants. Although it can spread in this way to form dense patches, prairie ironweed is not considered aggressive.

Prairie ironweed thrives in moist to wet soils and full sun. Typically it is found in meadows, shorelands, wetlands, ditches, and low prairies, although it can tolerate drier conditions. Its range generally covers central North America, but it is more common in the Upper Midwest and into Canada. The range map from the USDA Plants Database appears to be copyrighted, but the link should lead directly to the species. Scroll down at the site to view the map.

The Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas (3) reports two species in Minnesota: prairie ironweed and Baldwin's ironweed (V. baldwinii). Prairie ironweed is by far more common. Only two records of Baldwin's ironweed are included in the atlas: one from Crow Wing County in 1890 and another in Goodhue County in 2000. 

Many species of ironweed are available in nurseries, so other kinds of Vernonia may be found in gardens or even in natural areas if their seeds have spread there. Ironweeds are known to hybridize readily (4), so some plants may have intermediate characteristics that make them hard to identify to species.  

The origin of the name "ironweed" is uncertain. Some think it comes from the plant's tough stems, but others think it describes the rusty-brown color of the seed heads. The genus Vernonia honors William Vernon, an English naturalist who explored the East Coast in 1698. The species fasciculata refers to the tight fascicles, or bundles, of flowers in the heads. 

Cited References

1. Glandular trichomes: micro-organs with model status? Robert Schuurink and Alain Tissier. New Phytologist, Vol. 225, Issue 6. March 2020. 

2. Ironweeds. Missouri Department of Conservation. Accessed 10/26/26.

3. Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas. Bell Museum, University of Minnesota. Accessed 10/26/26. 

4. Distribution and hybridization of Vernonia in Missouri. Cora Shoop Steyermark. Botanical Gazette, Vol. 100, No. 3. March 1939. 

Other References

Minnesota Wildflowers

Illinois Wildflowers

The Buckeye Botanist

Michigan Flora

Flora of Wisconsin

South Dakota State University

The Friends of the Wildflower Garden, Inc. 

Pioneers

An area cleared for restoration gives one group of plants just the opening they need. 

Once bare soil, this area is now full of pioneers, plants adapted to disturbance. The tall plant in the center is American burnweed, Erechtites hieraciifolia.

Some plants thrive on disturbance. They're made to capitalize on bare soil, direct sunlight, and little competition from other plants for water and nutrients. In ecological terms, they're pioneers, plants that are the first to occupy a bare or disturbed area, quickly grow, flower and set abundant seeds and die soon after, leaving conditions that better support the plants that follow them. 

This process of replacement is called succession, and in this case it began in a small area that had been overtaken by buckthorn and other undesirable plants. The area was cleared to the ground, dug and tilled to remove small stumps and fragments that could resprout. 

The resulting bare soil became something like a canvas, ready for planting with woodland species. Clumps of wild geranium (Geranium maculatum), wild ginger (Asarum canadense), wood phlox (Phlox divaricata) and other shade-tolerant perennials were transplanted into the space with hopes they will  fill the understory with a native woodland community.

That will take some time. For now, pioneers have found a home at this site. Many of them seemed to come out of nowhere: They weren't there -- or weren't noticed -- before the area was cleared, but they're here now in a thriving assortment. American burnweed (Erechtites hieraciifolius) rocketed up, annual fleabane (Erigeron annuus) began covering the ground with its basal leaves, and black nightshade (Solanum nigrum) grew into bushy piles. In all, about 20 species of pioneers appeared in the first months of the restoration. 

Some probably grew from seeds that had been in the soil for years, forming a seed bank. Seeds of both annual fleabane and black nightshade, for example, remain viable in the soil for more than 5 years, and  nightshade perhaps as long as 39 years (1). Seeds of witchgrass (Panicum capillare) can survive in the soil for decades (2), and seeds of common mullein (Verbascum thapsus) can remain viable for an astonishing 100+ years (3), waiting for disturbance to germinate. 

Most pioneers are annuals or biennials, plants that complete their life cycles in one or two years, respectively. At this site, some of the pioneers are native and some are introduced from Europe or Asia. Most are considered "weeds," but seen through an ecological lens, they have an important role to play. Native pioneers, especially, create the conditions that better support the plants that follow them. They do this by adding organic matter to the soil, preventing soil erosion, increasing the water-holding capacity of the soil, and providing shade for plants that don't tolerate full sun. 

A few of the many pioneer species at this site are featured below, along with links to more information. The images are not to scale. 

American burnweed, Erechtites hieraciifolia

American burnweed, aka pilewort or fireweed, is a native annual in the aster family. Its buff-colored flowers appear to never open, but instead emerge just slightly from the top of a tube-shaped receptacle about 1/2 to 1 inch long. After pollination, the flowers produce tufted seeds spread by wind. American burnweed grows to 10 feet tall. In Minnesota, it's found mostly in the forested eastern half of the state.

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Flower-of-an-hour, Hibiscus trionum

Flower-of-an-hour, aka Venice mallow, is named for the brief time its flowers open. This annual from Eurasia was probably brought to North America as an ornamental, but it has since spread beyond garden borders to become a problem plant in some locations. A member of the mallow family, flower-of-an-hour is related to garden Hibiscus, hollyhocks, basswood trees, and even cacao. It flowers from July into September. 

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Black nightshade, Solanum ptycanthum

Black nightshade, another native annual, is related to tomatoes and peppers. It gets its name from its dark purple, almost black fruits when they are mature. It is a branched and somewhat bushy plant that grows 2 to 3 feet tall. The leaves, stems and immature green fruits are especially high in solanine, a chemical that can be toxic to people and other animals.

 Bittersweet nightshade, Solanum dulcamara

Bittersweet nightshade is also present and newly abundant in this recently-cleared area. Unlike black nightshade, bittersweet nightshade is an introduced perennial that is more vine-like than bushy. Its
flowers are the same shape as black nightshade but are purple. Mature fruits are bright red. Like black nightshade, leaves, stems and unripe fruits are toxic. Bittersweet nightshade isn't a pioneer, but favors open or partly shady and often wet habitats.

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White campion, Silene latifolia

White campion is an annual or short-lived perennial originally from Europe. Like other pioneers, it thrives in disturbed locations but it can tolerate some shade. Male (pollen-producing) and female (seed-producing) flowers are on separate plants. To use the botanical term, this species is dioecious (dy-EE-shus), literally meaning "two houses." After pollination, female plants form brown, urn-shaped capsules containing hundreds of seeds each. This one held an estimated 400-500 seeds, and it was only one of a dozen or so on the plant. 

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Witchgrass, Panicum capillare

When the inflorescence (flower cluster) of witchgrass first emerges, it looks like its name: a witch's broom. Eventually the inflorescence expands into a branched, open, airy panicle that at maturity becomes a tumblegrass: it breaks off from the plant and blows around. Witchgrass is a native annual. Like many pioneers, witchgrass seeds need light to germinate. Tilling the soil, as was done here, likely brought long-dormant seeds up to the surface, where they were exposed to sunlight.

Cited References

1. Nightshades. Cornell CALS. Website accessed Sept. 6, 2026.

2.  Witchgrass. Cornell CALS. Website accessed Sept. 6, 2026.

3. Common mullein, Verbascum thapsus. Susan Mahr, University of Wisconsin-Madison. June 9, 2025.

Plant Profile: Common Elderberry

 Sambucus canadensis or Sambucus nigra subsp. canadensis

Common elderberry growing on the edge of a cattail marsh. The largest inflorescence (center left) is at least 10 inches wide.

Late June into July is prime time to spot common elderberry, also called black elderberry and American elderberry. These large, multi-stemmed shrubs produce small, white flowers in flat clusters that reach 10 inches wide -- the size of dinner plates. They're hard to miss.

Most likely, you'll find the shrubs along the edges of woodlands, wetlands, ponds, ditches and other moist to wet, open habitats. They grow to about 12 feet tall with slightly arching stems that are greenish when young and gray-brown when older. The bark of older stems is rough or warty from the presence of large, raised lenticels, areas of porous bark that allow the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide with the environment.

Older stems of common elderberry have prominent lenticels. Leaf scars are
left when last year's leaves fall of the stem.

Starting in late June, the shrubs produce flat or slightly domed inflorescences (clusters) of white florets at the ends of their stems. The florets are tiny -- no more than a quarter of an inch (about 5 mm) wide with five white petals, five stamens and a stubby, central pistil. The flowers are said to be fragrant, with a sweet, lemony, slightly musky odor. Some describe it as pleasant, others not so much. 

Common elderberry begins flowering in early summer. producing flat or slightly domed inflorescences of tiny florets. Each floret has five white petals, five radiating stamens and a short pistil.

The flowers attract a variety of pollinators. According to the Minnesota Pollination Guide, common elderberry is visited mostly by generalists, insects that seek pollen or nectar from many species of flowering plants. Illinois Wildflowers lists honeybees, carpenter bees, bee flies and scarab beetles among the plant's many pollinators.

The MN Pollination Guide also lists two moths as specialist pollinators: the elderberry shoot borer moth, Achatodes zeae, and the rusty tussock moth, Orygia antiqua. According to other sources, though, neither of them pollinates this plant. In fact, both are considered pests. Elderberry shoot moth larvae, also called spindle worms, bore into and feed inside elderberry stems, causing them to wilt (1). The larvae of rusty tussock moths feed on the leaves of many kinds of plants, evidently including elderberry (2). Many other insects also feed on various parts of the plant (3). 

Once pollinated, the flowers develop into small, deep purple fruits called drupes. Many birds eat the fruits, including robins, cardinals, blue jays, catbirds, song sparrows and wild turkeys (3). People, too, have long harvested the ripe fruits to make wine, pies, jelly and syrup. This takes some care, though, because elderberry stems, leaves, bark and unripe fruits contain potentially harmful levels of cyanogenic glycosides, which can release cyanide. Best advice is to avoid eating stems, leaves and unripe fruits and to cook ripe fruits before eating or baking with them (4, 5). 

Left: Common elderberry fruits turn from green to dark purple when they're ripe. Right: This single leaf is divided into seven leaflets. The lowermost leaflets are deeply lobed. They're almost divided into extra leaflets.

When it's not flowering or fruiting, common elderberry is identified by its opposite, pinnately divided leaves and its arching, warty stems. This is a pioneer species -- one that is among the first to inhabit an open or disturbed site  -- so it thrives in full sun. It spreads not only by seeds but also by rhizomes to form patches or thickets. This habit makes the shrub valuable for stablizing streambanks, wetland edges and other sites being reclaimed or restored (4, 6, 7). 

Common elderberry is similar to red elderberry (Sambucus racemosa), another native shrub, but the two are easily told apart by their flowering season, the shapes of their flower clusters, the color of their fruit and their habitats. Red elderberry blooms in early spring with pyramidal clusters of flowers that produce red fruits. In contrast, common elderberry blooms in early summer with more or less flat flower clusters that produce dark purple fruits. 

Red elderberry fruits, like the flowers, are in a pyramidal cluster.

Their habitats also differ. Red elderberry, the more shade-tolerant of the two, often grows in woodland understories. In contrast, common elderberry typically grows in open sites with more sun, although it's often spotted along woodland edges. 

In winter, elderberries can be identified by their clumps of arching stems, large lenticels, large opposite buds, and broadly triangular, V-shaped or U-shaped leaf scars. Common and red elderberry can be told apart by the color of the pith, the soft tissue in the center of the stem. Common elderberry has a white pith, whereas red elderberry has a yellow-brown pith.

Left: The white pith of common elderberry. Right: The yellow-brown pith of red elderberry. 

Several dogwood (Cornus) and Viburnum shrubs also resemble common elderberry in having flat inflorescences of small, white florets. Even their widest inflorescences are not as wide as those of common elderberry, however, and their leaves are smaller and simple, not divided. They bloom in spring instead of early summer. 

Highbush cranberry, Viburnum opulus var. americanum, has flat clusters of white
florets, but the outer florets are much larger than the inner florets. As seen in the
 upper right, the leaves are three-lobed but not divided.

Nannyberry, Viburnum lentago, has simple leaves. Typically the inflorescence
is 2-3 inches wide. Photo (c) 2005 Peter M. Dziuk, Minnesota Wildflowers. 

The inflorescences of pagoda dogwood, Cornus alternifolia, are 1-3 inches wide.
Florets have four petals, not five.  Leaves are simple with arcing veins.
Photo (c) 2014 Peter M. Dziuk, Minnesota Wildflowers.

Cited references

1. Integrated Pest Management, University of Missouri: Spindleworms in Elderberry Shoots

2. iNaturalist: Rusty tussock moth.

3. Illinois Wildflowers: Common Elderberry (Sambucus nigra canadensis)

4. Three Rivers Park District: Species Spotlight - Elderberries. 

5. Michael K Appenteng, Ritter Krueger, Mitch C Johnson and others. Cyanogenic Glycoside Analysis in American Elderberry. Molecules, Vol. 4, No. 5. March 4, 2021.

6. Rose C. Wetlzel, Adrienne R. Hobbins, and Matthew J. Wilson. Survival and Growth of Wetland Species as Live Stakes with Lessons for Effective Management Practices. Natural Areas Journal, Vol. 43, No. 4. 2023. Note: Abstract only.

7. Hannah E. Ormshaw and Toim P. Duval. Response of thicket swamp species to soil moisture levels: Implications for restoration. Ecological Engineering, Vol. 153. 2020. Note: Abstract and Introduction only.

Additional references

Minnesota Wildflowers

Three Rivers Park District

BWSR Featured Plant

Minnesota DNR - Minnesota Pollination Guide

Integrated Pest Management, University of Missouri: Spindleworms in Elderberry Shoots

Plant Profile: Illinois Carrion Flower

This plant of semi shade smells like its name.

Illinois carrion flower in bloom in late May.

The flowers smell, faintly, of rotting meat. 

It's not overwhelming, but if you stick your nose close to the flowers and take a whiff, you'll pick it up: Definitely carcass-like. 

The odor may make you recoil, but to insects it's alluring. Many kinds of flies are attracted not only by the smell but also by the pollen and nectar the flowers offer. They and an assortment of beetles and bees are the plant's primary pollinators (1, 2). 

Pollination happens in spring, when nearly spherical flower clusters, called umbels, grow from the lower nodes. Each flower is light green and just a quarter of an inch (about 5 mm) across, with six tepals -- three sepals and three petals that look so much alike that they are indistinguishable. 

Male (staminate) and female (pistillate) flowers are on separate plants, which means this species is dioecious (dy-EE-shus, literally meaning "two houses."). Male flowers have only stamens, six on each flower. They radiate outward like spokes on a bicycle wheel. Anthers, the pollen-producing organs on the tips of the stamens, are white to yellow. 

Left: An umbel of male flowers, each with six stamens tipped with white anthers. Right: An umbel of female flowers with bulbous ovaries, short styles, and three lighter green, thread-like stigmas. This photo is (c) 2018 by Katy Chayka of Minnesota Wildflowers.

Female flowers contains pistils, organs made of a somewhat bulbous ovary at the base, a neck called a style, and, at the tip, thread-like, pollen-collecting stigmas. Sterile stamens, called staminodes, may surround the pistil. They don't produce viable pollen, but they may serve some other function.

The smooth, round stems of carrion flower are more or less upright, unbranched and 2 to 3 feet long. Bract-like leaves grow at the base of the stem and broad, elliptical to egg-shaped leaves grow farther up. All leaves are alternate -- in other words, they are attached singly at the nodes, not in pairs or whorls. 

Leaf blades are dark to medium green on the upper surface and lighter below from fine, white hairs . To use the botanical term, the lower surface is pubescent. Several prominent, parallel veins run the length of the blades. Petioles (leaf stalks) of the largest leaves are at least as long as the leaf blades (1), but this characteristic is variable. The base of the blade is truncate (straight across) or rounded. 

Leaf blade upper surface (left) and lower surface (right). The lower surface appears lighter green from the presence of short, fine, white hairs. 

Ends of stems bear tendrils.

Short tendrils grow at the ends of the stems. Unlike the tendrils of many vines, these usually don't grasp anything, so the plants don't use them to hold themselves upright. The upper stem tends to lean over, however, and if the tendrils contact something -- the stem of a nearby plant, for example -- they'll grasp it.

After the pistillate flowers are pollinated, the ovaries grow into purple-black berries that are eaten by a variety of mammals and birds, such as raccoons, squirrels, cedar waxwings and cardinals. White-tailed deer will eat the young leaves (1). 

According to MNTaxa, Illinois carrion flower is one of five Smilax species in Minnesota. All five are listed below, with synonyms in parentheses.  

• S. ecirrhata, erect carrion flower
• S. herbacea, smooth carrion flower (S. herbacea var. herbacea)
• S. illinoensis, Illinois carrion flower 
• S. lasioneura, common carrion flower (S. herbacea var. lasioneura)
• S. tamnoides, bristly greenbrier (S. hispida)

In contrast to MNTaxa, Minnesota Wildflowers reports only four species; noting that Smilax herbacea is not found in the state. All four species grow in the shade to part shade of deciduous woods, thickets, and similar habitats. The Upper Midwest range map for Illinois carrion flower is below, from the USDA Plants Database.

Several species look alike and can be hard to tell apart. The Minnesota Wildflowers website describes the characteristics that identify them, and this key from Michigan Flora also may be helpful. It includes S. hispida, a synonym for S. tamnoides, as well as S. rotundifolia, which has not been reported in Minnesota.

The Flora of North America also has a key to Smilax. It includes 20 species, including those found in Minnesota.

Cited References

1. Illinois Wildflowers

2. Minnesota Pollination Guide

Additional References

Minnesota Wildflowers

Michigan Flora (key to Smilax species)

MNTaxa: The State of Minnesota Vascular Plant Checklist

Flora of North America

Natural Resources Conservation Service. PLANTS Database. United States Department of Agriculture. Accessed May 30, 2026, from https://plants.usda.gov.

Plant Profile: Wood Anemone

Anemone quinquefolia L.

Wood anemone flowering in mid-May 2018. 

Wood anemone is a low-growing spring ephemeral also called nightcaps, a name desdribing its nodding, cap-like flowers at night. Its slender stems usually bear three green or purple-green whorled leaves, each leaf typically divided into three parts. The lateral leaflets are often deeply lobed, so it appears that a single leaf is divided into five parts. The species name quinquefolia means "five-parted."

Left: A stem of wood anemone showing a whorl of three divided leaves. Right: A single leaf showing three divisions, or leaflets. The lateral leaflets are deeply lobed, giving the appearance of five leaflets.

Starting in late April or early May, the plants produce white or pink-tinged flowers with five sepals but no petals. In the center of each flower are numerous stamens with white anthers, all surrounding a cluster of simple, separate pistils. These flower characteristics are typical of plants in the buttercup family, Ranunculaceae (ra-NUN-cue-LAY-cee-ee), to which this plant belongs.

Wood anemone is pollinated by insects that are active during the day -- mainly small bees and flies, according to the USDA Forest Service. As mentioned earlier, its flowers close at night and also on cloudy days, a habit thought to preserve and protect their reproductive parts when pollinators are less active.

Left to right: Wood anemone plants flowering in May; closeup of a single flower showing five white sepals, numerous stamens with white anthers, and a central cluster of pistils; a dissected flower showing the position of sepals, stamens, and pistils.

By late spring, wood anemone forms fruits called achenes (ah-KEENs). These dry, indehiscent (non-splitting) fruits each hold one seed. Each achene develops from a single pistil, and because the flowers bear many pistils, they also bear many achenes. At maturity, each achene is just a few millimeters long and about half as wide. Achenes and their seeds are disseminated by ants. 

Wood anemone reproduces not only by seed but also by rhizomes, underground stems that grow more or less horizontally and give rise to more above-ground plants. It's common to find wood anemone growing in dense patches as a result.

Wood anemone spreads in part by the growth of rhizomes, slender underground stems that produce above-ground plants. Rhizomes also bear roots to absorb water and nutrients.

In late spring or early summer, wood anemone begins to die back, as true ephemerals do. The leaves fade and the patches thin, leaving only seeds and rhizomes to produce next year's growth. The genus Anemone means "windflower" or "daughter of the wind" for the fleeting appearance of many its species each spring. 

As is clear from its common name, wood anemone thrives in the part shade of wooded habitats. It's commonly found on forest floors and edges but sometimes also in full sun. The species has an extensive range generally covering eastern North America. In Minnesota, wood anemone is found in all but the southwest counties of the state. 

Sources

Flora of North America

USDA Plants Database

Minnesota Wildflowers

Iowa State University

What Are Spring Ephemerals?

In early spring, the understory of this deciduous woodland is bright with the flowers of false rue anemone (Enemion biternatum) and other spring ephemerals.

Spring ephemerals are herbaceous (non-woody) plants that emerge, flower, set seed and die back in spring. Many are woodland plants that take advantage of the brighter sunlight and more abundant moisture early in the season, before trees are fully leafed out.

These plants are an important source of nectar and pollen for insects that also emerge in early spring. The insects, in turn, are important pollinators for these plants. Ephemerals depend on them to fertilize their flowers so they can develop seeds. 

Because spring can be fickle, though, some ephemerals can also self-pollinate. If it's too cold for insects to fly, for example, several species can fertilize themselves. The resulting seeds carry the same genes as their parent, so the plants that grow from them are clones of that parent.

Vegetative reproduction also helps the plants spread. The false rue anemone pictured above, for example, produces not only seeds but also tuberous roots that can grow new plants. The large colony in the photograph is largely created in this way.

Most if not all spring ephemerals are perennials. After the plants flower and release seeds, the leaves of true ephemerals die back to bulbs, rhizomes, or other underground parts that store energy for next spring's growth. Some early-flowering plants keep their leaves for much of the growing season. Although these plants aren't true ephemerals, they are often included in that group.

Two Common Ephemerals

Dutchman's Breeches (Dicentra cucullaria)

Dutchman's breeches flower in April or May in the understory of deciduous forests. True to its name, its flowers resemble breeches (or britches) hanging upside down on a clothesline. 

Left to right: Dutchman's breeches flowering in early April; seed capsules ripening in mid-May; leaves gone by late May, leaving only light red tuber-like structures that store energy for next season's growth. 

The flowers are pollinated primarily by bumblebees and honey bees (1), but they can self-pollinate if the bees are absent. Seeds produced by self-fertilization may not be viable, however, and some consider the plants to be obligate out-crossers, meaning they form viable seeds only by out-crossing (2). After flowering, the plants develop elongated capsules containing dark, roundish seeds that are dropped from the capsules and distributed by ants (3). (See also Antsy Plants, a post about seed dispersal by ants.)

After flowering and seed formation, the leaves of Dutchman's breeches quickly decline. By late spring  only small, reddish bulbs or tubers remain. These storage organs are dormant until fall, when they develop leaf primordia (embryonic leaves) and flower buds. The primordia and buds then are dormant until spring, when they give rise to leaves and flowers (4). 

Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis)

Another early spring bloomer, bloodroot is named for the red sap that fills its roots, flower stalks and leaf stalks. It emerges a little earlier than Dutchman's breeches, but the two overlap in their flowering time. Bloodroot is pollinated primarily by mining bees, but also by cuckoo bees, bee flies and sweat bees (5). 

Left to right: Bloodroot flowering in mid-April; elongated capsules maturing in mid-May; brown seeds with white elaiosomes in early June. 

Initially, bloodroot leaves are wrapped around flower stalks like cloaks, but eventually they unfurl, flatten and expand. Unlike Dutchman's breeches, bloodroot leaves persist until late summer before they die back..

In early to mid summer, bloodroot flowers are replaced by elongated capsules full of ant-dispersed seeds. Like Dutchman's breeches, bloodroot seeds have attached elaiosomes (eh-LAY-oh-sohms, literally "fat bodies"), They look like tiny worms, but these plant tissues are full of protein and fat that entice ants to carry the seeds to their nest, detach the elaiosomes to feed to their larvae and leave the seeds to germinate in a presumably safer place. 

Where to Find Spring Ephemerals

Wherever there are native deciduous forests, there should be spring ephemerals. Visit Scientific and Natural Areas and state and regional parks, such as Nerstrand Big Woods State Park in southeast Minnesota, Elm Creek Park Reserve in Maple Grove, or Mille Lacs Kathio State Park near Onamia. 

White trout lily (Erythronium albidum) flowering near Mille Lacs Kathio State Park in late April.

There are many more places to enjoy spring ephemerals. To find them, visit iNaturalist and look up the species described above (or others), or use the Minnesota Natural Resource Atlas. To use the atlas, open the Mapping Tool, choose Add Layers from the Options menu box, and in the Biota category choose Native Plant Communities -- Parks & Trails. Zoom in and look for areas of Mesic Hardwood Forest System.

Wisconsin and Iowa are also good places to look for spring ephemerals. A quick search finds that, in Wisconsin, the Northwoods Wildlife Center near Minocqua and Rib Mountain State Park near Rib Mountain are full of spring ephemerals. The Iowa DNR has a webpage dedicated to Woodland Wildflowers & Reports. The listed sites are from 2025, but the same should be true for 2026. 

References

1. The pollination ecology of Dicentra cucullaria. Lazarus Walter Macior, American Journal of Botany, Vol. 57, No. 1. 1970. 

2. Flowering ecology of some spring woodland herbs. Douglas W. Schemske and others. Ecology, Vol. 59, No. 2. 1978.

3. Myrmecochory: How Ants Shape Plant Communities. Julie Michaelson, Xerces Society. 2024. 

4. Dicentra cucullaria. Flora of North America, Vol. 3. Website accessed 2-17-26.

5. Pollinators of Native Plants: Attract, Observe and Identify Pollinators and Beneficial Insects with Native Plants. Heather Holm. Pollination Press, LLC. 2014. Available here and at some libraries.

Native Plant Seed Germination: Some Resources

There's something deeply satisfying about growing plants from seeds. More than cuttings or divisions, seeds hold the promise, or at least the potential, for new life. 

Most seeds packaged for sale in retail stores are easy to germinate. They might take a week or more to emerge, but they don't require special treatment other than adequate warmth, moisture, oxygen and sometimes light.

Seeds purchased from native plant nurseries or collected from wild native plants often need more attention. Many of these seeds are dormant, meaning they won't germinate even in favorable conditions. It's an adaptation that prevents the seeds from germinating when the seedlings are unlikely to survive, such as in late fall heading into winter.

Causes and Treatments

Seed dormancy has many causes, and different species have different causes. For example, the seeds of ironweed, Vernonia fasciculata, need cold, moist conditions for a month or two before they'll germinate. That's likely due to immature embryos that need time to develop and/or chemical inhbitors that must leach out or otherwise diminish in concentration before the embryos can grow (1). 

Ironweed flowers in late summer and early fall with brilliant purple heads of flowers. These plants were about 6 feet tall. Eventually the heads fill with bundles of seeds that are wind-dispersed.

Nature provides those conditions over winter, but the seeds can also be treated artificially. In a process called cold-moist stratification, the seeds are placed in a damp medium or on damp filter paper and refrigerated for some length of time. How long the seeds must be stratified depends on the species. For ironweed, it's one or two months.

Another example is smooth wild rose, Rosa blanda. The small, seed-like fruits, called achenes (ah-KEENs) of this native shrub are doubly dormant, meaning they have two types of dormancy that must be overcome before the seeds will germinate. In this case, the embryos are immature even when the hips are red and ripe, In addition, the seeds are surrounded by a hard pericarp, or fruit wall, that physically prevents germination (2).

Smooth rose blooms in late spring and early summer. Rose hips ripen in early fall, Each hip contains several small, seed-like fruits called achenes.Each achene has a hard fruit wall, or pericarp.

In nature, the double dormancy of the achenes is broken by up to two years of cold (winter) and warm (summer) conditions. The seeds then germinate the second spring after they are produced. 

Artificial treatment of the achenes begins with scarification, a wearing away of the pericarp by immersing the achenes in boilng water, rubbing them lightly with sandpaper, or using other methods.  Then the seeds are stratified in alternating temperatures, starting with cold-moist stratification, then warm-moist stratification (60-70 F), then another cold-moist stratification (3, 4). The Propagation Protocol Database (5) recommends one month of warm-moist stratification followed by four months of cold-moist stratification. 

Seed dormancy is a complex topic involving biochemistry, ecology and evolution. To learn more about it and to learn how to break the seed dormancy of particular species, see the reference sections after Cited References.

Cited References

1. Germination of Native Prairie Forb Seeds. J.T. Sorensen and D.J. Holden. Journal of Range Management Volume 27, No. 2. 1974.

2. Seed Germination within Genus Rosa: The Complexity of the Process and Influencing Factors. Roxana L. Stoian-Dod and others. Horticulturae Vol. 9, No. 8. 2023.

3. Smooth Rose (Early Wild Rose, Meadow Wild Rose, Labrador Rose). G.D. Bebeau. The Friends of the Wildflower Garden, Inc. Trees & Shrubs of the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden. 2013. 

4. Rosa blanda, Early Wild Rose. Prairie Moon Nursery. Website accessed December 24, 2025. 

Seed Dormancy References

Understanding Seed Dormancy and Germination Requirements of Rare Plants. Dustin Wolkis, Center for Plant Conservation. 2022.

Seed Dormancy: What Is It? SeedImages.com, Colorado State University. Website accessed December 20, 2025. 

Seed Dormancy Mechanisms. SeedImages.com, Colorado State University. Website accessed December 20, 2025.

Seeds: Ecology, Biogeography, and Evolution of Dormancy and Germination. Carol C. Baskin and Jerry M. Baskin. 2nd edition. 2014. Academic Press, San Diego. (This is a textbook available through several booksellers.)

The evolution of seed dormancy: environmental cues, evolutionary hubs, and diversification of the seed plants. Charles G. Willis and others. New Phytologist Vol. 203, Issue 1. 2014. 

Species-Specific Methods to Break Dormancy

Propagation Protocol Database. Native Plant Network. Search for the plant of interest by entering its genus, then choose the species.

Prairie Moon Nursery. The website for this Minnesota-based native plant nursery includes germination information for many species. Search for and select the species of interest, then look for a table entry called Germination Code. See also their list of seeds that need no treatment.

Native Seed Propagation Methods. This guide from the Missouri Botanical Garden includes instructions for many methods of breaking seed dormancy, along with specific treatments for selected native plants. Some of the species listed may not be native to the Minnesota region.