While we still have some cold days and weeks ahead of us here in the Bluegrass Region, warm spells are bound to awaken a few of our early blooming wildflowers in the forest.

Harbinger of Spring (Erigenia bulbosa) is typically the first ephemeral wildflower to rise from dormancy. A member of the carrot and parsley family (Apiaceae) this tiny plant bears minute white petaled flowers with burgundy colored anthers. Their deeply lobed leaves resemble those of carrots we are familiar with at the grocery, just a miniature version that grows along the stems and bracts of the plant. Harbinger of Spring typically grows in bottomland forests, mesic hillsides, and rocky environments, normally dominated by deciduous trees that allow sunlight in the winter and spring, and deep shade in the warmer months of summer.

At CMNP, we see these abundantly scattered along Little Huckleberry banks, along the hillsides of the wildflower trail, and in other shaded areas of the preserve. You may also come across these little winter gems in the woodland garden, where it grows with Spring Beauties (Claytonia) and Toothworts (Cardamine).