Just a few that I’ve processed that I wanted to share from this past spring.
Did you know…? Trilliums are a favored spring food by white-tailed deer. An overabundance of deer, as is found across most of the eastern United States forests, can have detrimental impacts to trillium populations. In some regions these plants and many other plant species are extirpated from certain forests except within deer exclusion fences.
One of the first wildflowers that really caught my attention. Miami mist can often be found in large colonies. Unless you stop to take a close look, it may not be obvious what you are missing.
I thought that celandine poppies were pretty common after visiting the large beds at Shaw Nature Reserve’s wildflower garden. I have now come to understand that they are generally pretty hard to find in Missouri forests. The name celandine comes from the Greek word for ‘swallow’, referring to the plant’s early blooming with the first arrival of the birds in spring.
-OZB
A Thousand Acres of Silphiums 
There are some celandine poppies at Engelmann Woods Natural Area and also at Swimming Deer Trail in St Francois State Park. Both are lovely trails. Swimming Deer Trail also has lots of Virginia bluebells.
Thanks Pete. Yes, the photo of the poppy I shared was taken at Englemann Woods NA. I did not know about them at St. Francois SP. I’ll have to check that out next year. Thanks!