We discover a new world every time we see the earth again after it has been covered for a season with snow.

~Henry David Thoreau

This past week started with one  of those North Carolina spring conundrums – a snow storm! I have been working on some fact sheets on spring ephemerals, those spring wildflowers that have a very short growth period (less than 2 months usually) in the spring. These are forest dwellers that must take advantage of the short period of year when temperatures are warm enough and sunlight sufficient enough on the forest floor to grow, reproduce, and store enough food in their root systems for next year’s growth.

One of the plants usually listed in this category (although, technically, it probably isn’t a true spring ephemeral since its leaves linger for a few months) is one of my favorites – bloodroot, Sanguinaria canadensis.

Bloodroot leaf curled around the flower bud to protect it (click on photos to enlarge)

Like many other early spring wildflowers, bloodroot has adaptations to protect its delicate parts from the vagaries of a temperate forest spring. The tough leaf embraces the more delicate flower bud and petiole as it emerges from the ground, undoubtedly providing some protection from the cold.

Flowers quickly extend beyond the protective leaf sheath

The leaves clasp the extending petiole like a hand holding a bouquet.

A bloodroot flower bud peeking above the recent snow

I enjoy following the progress of emerging flowers on my short yard tours before or after work, but last Monday, the whole scene changed in an instant. A March snow covered them all in an icy blanket. Some were buried, others poked their flowers above the crust of snow. You can see the leaf curled around the petiole in the photo above.

That same flower, almost a week later

And then, true to the whims of March in North Carolina, the snow melted. The typical spring storm – here one day, gone the next. The flowers responded quickly, opening up within a day or two.

The flowers close for the evening

And now, they are in their brief, but predictable, routine…the flowers close each evening and on cloudy days to protect their pollen when bees and flies are not active. The leaf will unfurl as the flower stalk extends upward, and the flower will be open for just a few days, before the petals fall off and the seed pod begins to grow. You really have to make time for these short-lived plants to appreciate them. It all comes and goes so fast…and I hear there may be more snow on the way later this week. I better go out and admire them this afternoon, just in case.