iowa's spring wildflowers -

Iowa Association of Naturalists

Iowa's Plants

Iowa's SpringWildflowers

1Iowa's Spring Wildflowers

Iowa Association of NaturalistsThe Iowa Association of Naturalists (IAN) is a nonprofit

organization of people interested in promoting the development ofskills and education within the art of interpreting the natural andcultural environment. IAN was founded in 1978 and may be contactedby writing the Conservation Education Center, RR 1, Box 53, GuthrieCenter, IA 50115.

Iowa's Plants Booklet SeriesPlants are a beautiful and important part of nature in Iowa. To assist educators in

teaching their students about the common plants of Iowa, the Iowa Association of Naturalistshas created a series of booklets which offer a basic, understandable overview of Iowa's plants,their ecology, and their benefits and dangers to people. The seven booklets in this seriesinclude:

Iowa's Spring Wildflowers (IAN-301)Iowa's Summer and Fall Wildflowers (IAN-302)Benefits and Dangers of Iowa Plants (IAN-303)Iowa's Trees (IAN-304)Seeds, Nuts, and Fruits of Iowa Plants (IAN-305)Iowa's Mushrooms and Nonflowering Plants (IAN-306)Iowa's Shrubs and Vines (IAN-307)

For ordering information about these and other IAN publications, please see the backcover of this booklet.

Resource EnhancementAnd Protection

Education Board

Editorial BoardText: Dan CohenIllustration: Mark MüllerLayout and Design: MJC Associates, Ankeny, IowaPublished by: Iowa Association of Naturalists

Review CommitteeCele Burnett, Environmental Education Coordinator, Story County Conservation Board

Dan Cohen, Naturalist, Buchanan County Conservation BoardJean Eells, Environmental Education Coordinator, Hamilton County Conservation Board

Judy Levings, State 4-H Youth Development Specialist, Iowa State UniversityStacey Snyder Newbrough, Freelance Naturalist and Librarian, Pocahontas, Iowa

Jim Pease, Extension Wildlife Specialist, Iowa State UniversityDiane Pixler, Naturalist, Marshall County Conservation Board

The Iowa Plants booklet series ispublished by the Iowa Association ofNaturalists with grants from the REAPConservation Education Board and theIowa Conservation Education Council(ICEC), 1994.

2 Iowa Association of Naturalists

AntherFilament

Petal

Sepal

Stigma

Style

Ovary

Pistil

Stamen

Flowers are a beautiful part of the life cycle ofseed-producing plants. The colors of wildflowersattract birds and insects, and through this attractionplants are pollinated and seeds are dispersed.People are also attracted to wildflowers. Each yearwe await the return of the colorful wildflowers of

spring as a sign thatthe black and whitedays of winter haveended.

A flower iscomposed of manyparts, each playing arole in the process ofproducing seeds.Flowers may bearranged on plants inmany different ways.Some plants, like Mayapple, have a singleflower. Most plants,such as wildgeraniums andJacob’s ladder, haveclusters of flowers.

The actualreproductive parts ofthe flower are thepistils, which containthe ovaries, and thepollen-producing

anthers at the tip of each stamen. Pollinationoccurs when pollen is carried to a pistil. Ifpollination is successful, one or more seeds begin todevelop within the pistil. Some flowers, such astrout lilies, have large stamens, anthers, and pistilsthat can be useful in identifying the plant. In otherflowers, pistils and stamens are hardly noticeable.

Iowa’s

Spring

Wildflowers

Looking at aWildflower


For many flowers the most colorful andnoticeable parts are the petals. These showystructures usually surround the reproductive partsand are often useful in attracting pollinating animalssuch as birds and insects. Behind the petals aflower usually has nonshowy sepals. Sometimespetals and sepals are difficult to distinguish and arecollectively called tepals. The colorful petals of mostspring wildflowers last a short time.

Spring wildflowers represent a large variety offlowers. The most common plant families areRanunculaceae, also called the buttercup family, andRosaceae, the rose family. The buttercups have fiveor more petals, petal-like sepals, many stamens, andalternate leaves. Members of the rose family aresimilar to the buttercups, but their five joined sepalsform a distinct cup or disc that seems to hold theflower. To learn more about the different plantfamilies of spring wildflowers and their identifyingcharacteristics, consult a good botany book or fieldguide.

Plants have adapted several strategies forspreading their pollen to other plants and their seedsto new places. Pollen may be carried by the wind oron the hairs, beaks, or bodies of animals. Seeds maybe carried by wind or water, on the fur or in themouths of animals, or through animal bodies.

Spring wildflowers are often found in wood-lands, where a lack of wind often makes pollination amore important job for insects and birds. Seeds are

usually spread by birds and mammals, attaching tofur or passing through their digestive systems.

Anyone who has walked through an Iowawoodland in the summer has probably

walked out with a few seeds of bedstrawstuck to his pant legs and may also have

swallowed the seeds of wild strawber-ries, gooseberries, and black

raspberries.Some flowers

“choose” theirpollinators. Col-umbine has long,

chambered petals thatend with a thin spur. The nec-

tar is produced in the spur andonly long-tongued pollinators such

as butterflies, moths, and humming-birds can reach down the spur to

collect the nectar.

Pollination and

Seed Dispersal


Spring wildflowers are most numerous andmost colorful in Iowa woodlands. In early spring,the woodland comes to life as small patches of colorpoke up through the litter of dead leaves and fallentwigs. These first flowers of early spring, calledephemerals, are some of the most beautiful of thewoodland flowers. The word ephemeral means"short-lived" and refers to the blossoms of springwildflowers which begin to fall almost as soon asthey bloom. Ephemerals such as bloodroot,hepatica, trillium, trout lily, and Dutchman’sbreeches bloom before the big trees form their thickcanopies that shade the woodland floor. They arethe leaders in a race against the trees to bloom,become pollinated, and make seeds before the treeleaves block the sunlight. Other spring ephemeralsin Iowa woodlands include spring beauty, Virginiabluebells, and anemone. One of the first plants tobloom in the woodlands and wetlands of northeastIowa is skunk cabbage. This somewhat rare plantproduces its own heat that helps it emerge throughthe remaining patches of snow as early as mid-February. As its name implies, skunk cabbage hasa foul odor that attracts pollinating flies and groundbeetles.

Spring Blooming in Iowa

Woodlands: The Race Is On


In early spring the parade of prairie flowers isjust beginning. Most grassland flowers bloom laterin the summer when the days are longer and thesun is higher. However, some of the most memo-rable prairie flowers start the show as early asMarch. At the same time the meadowlarks return tothe fields, the first pasque flowers bloom in some ofIowa’s few remaining prairies. They are soon joinedby a handful of other early bloomers, includingshooting star, prairie smoke, prairie phlox, andpussytoes.

Among our native grasses that flower andbegin producing seeds in the spring are bentgrass,June grass, and porcupine grass. These grasses arecalled “cool-season” grasses because they reach theirpeak before the warmer days of midsummer. His-torically, cool-season grasses were not as commonin Iowa as were the warm-season prairie grasses.However, many cool-season grasses have been

Spring in the Grasslands


Bent Grass

Porcupine Grass

June Grass

brought to our state since the time ofEuropean settlement. These “intro-duced” grasses, in many cases, havecome to dominate the landscape. Ex-amples of these now-common cool-season grasses are brome grass,meadow foxtail, orchardgrass, Rus-sian wildrye, tall fescue, reedcanarygrass, timothy, and Kentuckybluegrass.


The following are brief descriptions of some ofthe more common Iowa spring wildflowers. To findout more about these and other spring wildflowers ofIowa, refer to a field guide.

As the snow melts, a variety of small wildflow-ers rises from the woodland ground. These firstflowers of spring are the ephemerals and bloom for avery short period of time. Some ephemerals, such asbloodroot and Dutchman’s breeches may bloom foronly a day or less. In addition to the flowers de-scribed below, watch for the arrival of anemones,

spring beauty, trout lily, and other flowers thatmark the arrival of spring.

Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) isa low-growing wildflower which is easilyidentified by having one broad basal leafwhich wraps around the flower’s stem.The flower is white with many petals thatmay last only a day. Bloodroot gets itsname from a red liquid in the plant’sroot. When the root is broken, the liquidoozes out and has the appearance of

blood. Although poisonous if swallowed,the root has been used as facial paint and as

a dye.

Dutchman’s breeches (Dicentra cucullaria) iseasy to identify. As its name implies, individualblossoms resemble a pair of pants or “breeches”hanging upside down from a slender flower stalk.The breeches are white and sometimes tinged withpink. They are attached to the flower stalk at thecrotch by a delicate flower stem. The leaves are frillyor fernlike and grow underneath the arching flowerstalk. Squirrel corn (Dicentra canadensis) is verysimilar in appearance to Dutchman’s breeches. Bothflowers are closely related to the garden flowerbleeding heart.

Iowa's SpringWildflowers

Bloodroot

Dutchman'sBreeches

The Ephemerals

(Blooming in March and April)


Virginia bluebells (Martensia virginica) growin woodlands throughout Iowa. The common namedescribes the flared, trumpet-shaped flowers whichrange in color from sky blue to azure. The plantmay grow to a height of two feet on a weak boughedstem. Long oval leaves grow alternately along theplant stem. Pollination occurs when an insect,usually a bee, pokes through the flower to reach thenectar at the tip of the “bell.” In Iowa, bluebellsbloom from March through May.

Nodding trillium (Trillium cernuum) is abeautiful, delicate flower. The name trillium refersto the flower parts grouping in threes. The flowerhas three white petals, three green sepals, six sta-mens, and three ovaries. Three large leaves, fromfour to six inches long, form an umbrella over theplant, similar to Jack-in-the-pulpit. Nodding trilli-ums have their blossoms hanging downward, “nod-ding” beneath the three green leaves. Other trilli-ums, including snow trillium and large white tril-lium, also have flower parts arranged in threes butdo not have blossoms that nod beneath the leaves.Trilliums bloom in moist woodland soils from Aprilthrough June.

Hepatica (Hepatica americana) is often thefirst flower to appear in Iowa woodlands. The flow-ers are purplish white and rarely rise more than sixinches from the woodland floor. The plant gets itsname, which means “affecting the liver,” from thecolor and shape of the leaves as they persistthroughout fall and winter. Hepatica is a member ofthe buttercup family, characterized by having manypetals, stamens, and pistils. The flowers beginblooming as early as March and may continueblooming throughout the spring months.

VirginiaBluebells

Hepatica

NoddingTrillium


Wildflowers of May and June April showers bring May flowers, successors ofthe ephemerals, which carpet woodland floors. Inaddition to the woodland flowers described below,watch for Jacob’s ladder, bellwort, wild ginger, but-tercups, and others.

Wild geraniums (Geranium maculatum) arefound throughout Iowa, often carpeting woodlandfloors in May and June. Clusters of purple flowers,from one to two inches in diameter, grow on weakflower stalks that attach to an erect stem. Eachflower has five petals and five thinner green sepals.The plant may be two feet tall with characteristiclobed leaves that help to identify it before the flowersbloom.

Virginia waterleaf (Hydrophyllumvirginianum) is a common wildflower of moist shadywoodlands. Clusters of purplish or white flowersmake the plant very visible from late May to earlyJuly. Five stamens protrude from each blossom andgive the flower a “hairy” appearance. Leaves arebroadly triangular and may be doubly lobed. Thesurface of the leaves is often marked with spots thatresemble water droplet stains.

Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) growsthroughout the state and is especially common on

woodland slopes. Bright redflowers are divided into five

tubes or compartmentswith long stamens hang-ing down from the centerof the flower. Only hum-mingbirds, moths, andbutterflies are able toreach into the flowercompartments to drinkthe nectar and pollinatethe flower. The plantmay resemble a smallshrub growing to two feetor more with the flowersdangling from the tips ofthe stems.

Wild Geranium

VirginiaWaterleaf

Columbine

Woodland Wildflowers


May apple (Podophyllum peltatum) is easilyidentified by its large “umbrella” leaves. Youngerplants have a single leaf and do not produce a floweror blossom. Older plants have a divided stem and

two leaves and produce a showy white flower thatattaches at the crotch of the plant stems below

the leafy umbrella. The fertilized flowerquickly loses its petals and turns to fruit—a

berry approximately two inches long whichresembles a small “apple.” The fruit isedible but only when fully ripe. As itsname implies, blooming, pollination, andthe development of the fruit all occurduring the month of May.

Sweet William (Phlox divaricata),commonly called a “phlox,” has slen-der flowers, each with five blue-purplepetals arranged in loose clusters. Thepetals are flat, resembling the bladesof a propeller. The blossom has asweet odor and blooms from April toJune in Iowa woodlands. Varioushybrids of phlox are sold commerciallyfor their beauty, sweet scent, andability to stabilize slopes and reduceerosion. However, the sweet Williamthat is commonly seen growing ingardens is actually a member of thepink family of plants and is not aphlox.

Jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisema triphyllum) has avery unique appearance. A large leaf forms the

“pulpit” which encompasses the fleshy spike of tinyflowers that is rendered as “a preacher named Jack.”The pulpit leaf is usually streaked with green, yellow,and brown colors. One or two large leaves growalongside the pulpit. These leaves are divided intothree large leaflets which may be seven inches inlength. The flower blooms from April to June, usu-ally in moist shady woodlands.

May Apple

Sweet William

Jack-in-the-Pulpit


In the grasslands and along woodland edges,many flowers make their first appearances duringthe late spring and early summer months. Prairiedandelion, pussytoes, golden Alexanders, prairiesmoke, lead plant, as well as the flowers describedbelow, all make their first appearances in the laterspring months along woodland edges and in Iowagrasslands.

Wild strawberries (Fragaria virginiana) growwell in both grasslands and open woodlands. Threeoval and sharply toothed leaflets are distinctive ofwild strawberry. Clusters of leaves sometimes hidethe small white flowers which bloom below theleaves. Strawberries are in the rose family and haveblossoms similar to those found on crab apple andplum trees. The blooming period is from April toJune, and the delicious fruits develop in June andJuly.

Shooting star (Dodecatheonmeadia) gets its name from the

way the flower bends, or“shoots,” downward, andfrom the star-shaped con-figuration of the pinkish orpurple petals. The stamensjoin together to form thepoint of the “shooting star.”The location of these flowerscan be determined early inspring by looking for a denserosette of long spatula-shaped leaves. Flowersbloom from April to June inopen woodlands and nativeprairie areas.

Wildflowers of Grasslands

and Woodland Edges

WildStrawberries

Shooting Star


Violets of various species are common wild-flowers of woodlands, grasslands, lawns, and dis-turbed areas. They, along with the non-native dan-delion, are often the first flowers to be identified bychildren. Most species have unique heart-shapedleaves that are quick identifiers of the flowers whichmay be white, yellow, blue, or violet. An upper pairof petals, two side petals, and one lower petal com-prise the unique five petals of the flower. The lowerpetal acts as a “landing pad” for pollinating insects.Violets may bloom throughout the spring and sum-mer months with the first flowers emerging in April.

Purple vetch (Vicia americana) isfound in native prairies, roadsides, andother grassland areas throughoutIowa. Long compound leaves withmany small leaflets are quick indica-tors that this plant is a member of thepea family. The petals range in colorfrom blue to purple and have a typicalpea appearance with the petals formingupper and lower “lips.” Flowers can beseen blooming throughout the springand summer months, from May toAugust.

Purple Vetch

Violets


Throughout human history, plants havebeen used to provide food, medicines, and materi-als necessary to human survival.

Some historical plant uses are now knownto be ill-founded. For example, daisy fleabanereceived its name due to the belief that the flowerscould repel fleas. Columbine was once thought tobe useful in making a love potion. And hepatica,because the shape and color of its leaves resemblea liver, was thought to be useful in treating varioushuman liver ailments. Although there is no scien-tific evidence to support these uses of Iowa’s wild-flowers, many other uses of wildflowers have beenshown to be beneficial.

Remember, caution is required when consid-ering eating any wild plant. Do not eat any plantyou can not positively identify as being edible.Carefully research the plant or consult an edibleplants expert before eating!

Plants are our main source of medicines.Scientists rely on a diversity of plant species to siftthrough in their search to find new treatments fordisease. For American Indians and early Europeansettlers, hundreds of different wild-growing plantsprovided the majority of their food, materials, andmedicines. For example, the red liquid which givesbloodroot its name, although poisonous, was usedby Indians as a dye and paint. It was also usedtopically to treat warts, burns, and other skinmaladies and occasionally as an internal medicine.Hepatica and Jack-in-the-pulpit were used totreat a variety of conditions, including convulsions,asthma, and headaches. In Wildflowers of IowaWoodlands, Sylvan Runkel quotes a Mesquakimedicine man who described the use of hepatica inthese words, probably referring to treating convul-sions: “When the mouth gets twisted and the eyesget crossed, this root is brewed into a tea and theface is washed until it returns to normal.”

Some of Iowa’s spring wildflowers are stillused in medicines. May apple has been studiedfor cancer treatments, and goldenseal has com-mercial medicinal value.

Medicines and Food

from Nature

Human Uses ofIowa Wildflowers


In addition to medicinal uses, wildflowers havebeen, and still are, sources of food. There are theobvious edible fruits which are the products of theblossoms of Iowa wildflowers—strawberries, blackraspberries, gooseberries, and blackberries. Butthere are many more wild edibles. Beneath theground, bulbs, roots, and corms of plants such astrout lily, ground plum, wild onion, and wild gingerprovide foods and flavorings. And violet, dandelion,and bellwort greens can be cooked as vegetablegreens.

Some plants can be safely eaten only if prop-erly prepared. The underground corms

of Jack-in-the-pulpit and greendragon are edible, but only afterthey have been properly boiled.When eaten raw, the cormscontain a high concentration ofcalcium oxalate which cancause extreme pain in themouth, illness, or evendeath.


Although a non-native plant, the commondandelion provides a good example of the manyfood uses for a single wild plant. The leaves may beused in salads and as cooked vegetables. The rootsmay be roasted and ground for “coffee” or cooked asa vegetable. And the blossom may be breaded andfried like a mushroom. In addition to their foodvalue, dandelions have been used as vitamin Csupplements, to increase appetite, as a diuretic, andto relieve some rheumatic disorders.

Although many plants are edible, collectingthem is not always a good idea. Overcollectingwildflowers, for food or any other reason, may jeop-ardize plant populations in the wild.

Over many generations, people have bor-rowed the secrets of nature to commercially breedflowers for human enjoyment. Our flower gardensare full of plants derived from wildflowers that havebeen bred for their beauty. But it is important toremember where this beauty originated. The springbeauty of columbine, violets, phlox, bluebells, andother wildflowers was the historic resource used toproduce commercial plants. The beauty still exists

and blooms freely and annually inIowa’s natural areas.

Keep in mind that, regardless oftheir beauty, all wild plants serve asmembers of natural communities

and are therefore important. Ex-cessive gathering of plants for

their beauty has endangeredsome plant species. The showyorchis and yellow ladyslipperwere once common springwildflowers but are now rare,due in part to flower collec-tors. Please look, smell, andenjoy Iowa’s wildflowerswithout picking or diggingthem.

Beautiful Plants

HybridColumbine


Throughout the spring months and through-out Iowa’s natural areas, wildflowers parade theircolors. Woodlands are an especially good place tovisit to see the spring ephemerals and later springwildflowers, but wildflowers can also be viewed inwetlands and prairies.

From the first pasque flowers through theconeflowers of summer, prairie wildflowers bloomand fade, only to be replaced by another color and adifferent blossom waiting to be discovered by awatchful eye. As the ice melts in an Iowa wetland, arare sighting of skunk cabbage may be followed bythe emergence of marsh marigolds, spring cress,and buttercups. And in the quiet waters of slow-moving streams and ponds, the first water lilies andpond lilies begin to bloom in May and June.

Beauty is a functional and necessary charac-teristic of many wildflowers. The dazzling colors ofwildflowers provide enjoyment for people, but theyare actually meant to dazzle other critters. Many ofthese flowers must attract certain insects in orderto be successfully pollinated.

Get out of your car and explore the land.Spring wildflowers are abundant, butviewing them usually requires a littlewalking on the trail, slogging throughthe slough, or tramping in the grasses.Discover the renewal of spring in thecolors of the flowers. Bring a friendand share the excitement of discover-ing some of Iowa’s beautiful signs ofspring.

Viewing Iowa’s

Spring Wildflowers


Useful Resources

“A Field Guide To Wildflowers of Northeastern and North-central North America,” RogerTory Peterson and Margaret McKenny, 1968.

Iowa State University Extension publications; contact your county extension office.

“Poisonous Plants of the Central United States,” H.A. Stephens, University Press ofKansas, 1980.

“Wild Edible Fruits and Berries,” Marjorie Furlong and Virginia Pill, Naturegraph, 1974.

“Wildflowers of Iowa Woodlands,” Sylvan T. Runkel and Alvin F. Bull, Iowa StateUniversity Press, 1979.

“Wildflowers of the Tallgrass Prairie,” Sylvan T. Runkel and Dean Roosa, Iowa StateUniversity Press, 1989.

“Wildflowers and Weeds,” Booth Courtnay and James Zimmerman, Simon and Schuster,1972.


Notes

Iowa's Spring Wildflowers is one in a series of seven booklets that are part of the Iowa Plants Series. Thebooklets in the series include:

Iowa PlantsIowa's Spring Wildflowers (IAN-301)Iowa's Summer and Fall Wildflowers (IAN-302)Benefits and Dangers of Iowa Plants (IAN-303)Iowa's Trees (IAN-304)Seeds, Nuts, and Fruits of Iowa Plants (IAN-305)Iowa's Mushrooms and Other Nonflowering Plants (IAN-306)Iowa's Shrubs and Vines (IAN-307)

The Iowa Association of Naturalists also has produced five other booklet series that provide readerswith a clear, understandable overview of topics concerning the Iowa environment and conservation. Thebooklets included in each of the other five series are listed below.

Iowa Physical Environment SeriesIowa Weather (IAN-701)Iowa Geology and Fossils (IAN-702)Iowa Soils (IAN-703)

Iowa Wildlife SeriesIowa Mammals (IAN-601)Iowa Winter Birds (IAN-602)Iowa Nesting Birds (IAN-603)Iowa Reptiles and Amphibians (IAN-604)Iowa Fish (IAN-605)Iowa Insects and Other Invertebrates (IAN-606)

Iowa's Natural Resource HeritageChanging Land Use and Values (IAN-501)Famous Iowa Conservationists (IAN-502)Iowa's Environmental Laws (IAN-503)Conservation Careers in Iowa (IAN-504)

Iowa Wildlife and PeopleIowa Wildlife and Management (IAN-401)Keeping Iowa Wildlife Wild (IAN-402)Misconceptions About Iowa Wildlife (IAN-403)State Symbols of Iowa (IAN-404)Iowa Food Webs and Other Interrelationships (IAN-405)Natural Cycles in Iowa (IAN-406)Iowa Biodiversity (IAN-407)Adapting to Iowa (IAN-408)

Iowa's Biological CommunitiesIowa's Biological Communities (IAN-201)Iowa Woodlands (IAN-202)Iowa Prairies (IAN-203)Iowa Wetlands (IAN-204)Iowa Waterways (IAN-205)

Iowa Environmental IssuesIowa Habitat Loss and Disappearing Wildlife (IAN-101)Iowa Air Pollution (IAN-102)Iowa Water Pollution (IAN-103)Iowa Agricultural Practices and the Environment (IAN-104)People, Communities, and Their Iowa Environment (IAN-105)Energy In Iowa (IAN-106)Iowa Waste Management (IAN-107)

Booklets may be ordered through the Iowa StateUniversity Extension Service at acost of $1.00 per booklet. Whenordering, be sure to use the IANnumber to the right of each listedbooklet title. Please send writtenorders and payment to:

ISU Extension ServicePrinting and Publications BuildingIowa State UniversityAmes, IA 50011515-294-5247

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This publication is printedon recycled paper.

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