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Welcome back to our weekly Spring Wildflower Bloom report! Our weather has been more normal for the Buckeye State which means cooler temperatures have slowed down the onslaught of spring, allowing our beloved wildflowers more time to be noticed. The weather forecast for the upcoming weekend looks to be overcast and rainy, but don’t let that keep you from getting outside and discovering the floral wonders of your region of the state. |
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This week’s featured wildflower is twinleaf (Jeffersonia diphylla) which is beginning to bloom throughout southern Ohio. It is as stunning as it is fleeting. The flowers only open on sunny days and rarely last more than a day or two. Catching a patch in full bloom may be difficult but when you do, it’s remarkable! Some terrific places to see this ephemeral in bloom include Whipple, Shoemaker, and Miller state nature preserves. Although twinleaf occurs throughout much of Ohio, it prefers limestone-derived soils. |
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This week’s featured preserve is Miller Nature Sanctuary State Nature Preserve in southwest Ohio (Highland County). Without a doubt, it is one of the best places in Ohio to witness the bounty and beauty of spring blooms. The preserve offers more than 2 miles of hiking trail which winds through a variety of habitats. The dolostone gorge is lush with wildflowers and impressive geological features such as natural arches, slump rocks, and waterfalls. The rich soils are home to a wealth of wildflower diversity with the displays of large-flowered trillium, Virginia bluebells, false rue-anemone, and Dutchman’s breeches especially lovely. Other interesting wildflowers at Miller include snow trillium, shooting star, twinleaf, several waterleafs, and wild columbine. Make plans soon, as plants are just beginning to wake up now, but should be at peak in the next few weeks. |
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South RegionThe arrival of cooler weather has reduced the number of new blooms to report on this week. Golden ragwort, round-leaved ragwort, bluets, early meadow-rue, marsh marigold, and yellow trout-lily have begun to break bud at select sites. We can report that our state wildflower, large-flowered trillium, has officially made its first appearance. They were observed just coming into bloom at Miller with countless thousands still to come. |
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There’s still plenty of time to see the usual suspects in spring’s first wave throughout the region with harbinger-of-spring being mostly past peak, with just a few stragglers hanging around. Some choice sites to hike include Davis Memorial, Lake Katharine, Scioto Brush Creek, Shoemaker, and Whipple state nature preserves as well as Arc of Appalachia’s Chalet Nivale, East Fork State Park, Ohio River Bluffs, Shawnee State Forest, and Wayne National Forest’s Ironton District. We’ve mentioned these two in past reports, but it’s the last call for snow trillium. It’s finished at Miller with just a few seen at Chalet Nivale and Clifton Gorge State Nature Preserve. Another bloom past peak, golden-stars may still be around early next week, but it will be dependent on weather conditions this weekend. |
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Central RegionSadly, we don’t have much to report on new wildflowers seen in Ohio’s Central Region, but we can say more species mentioned last week continue to bud as blooming is kicking into gear. Purple cress, spring beauty, cut-leaved toothwort, bluebells, white trout-lily, bloodroot, Dutchman’s breeches, hepaticas, several violets, marsh marigold, and others continue to wake up. Harbinger-of-spring is about the only other wildflower that seems to be waning as it ends blooming for another growing season. Some choice sites to seek out spring’s first bloomers in central Ohio include Blackhand Gorge, Christmas Rocks, Clifton Gorge, Davey Woods, Gallagher Fen, and Shallenberger state nature preserves. State parks are also great options for spring wildflower hunts—check out Alum Creek, Cowan Lake, John Bryan, and Malabar Farm and Mohican state parks. |
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North RegionThe North region continues to lag the rest of Ohio’s regions, but fear not northern Ohio wildflower species, your time in the sun is coming! Harbinger-of-spring, spring beauty, purple cress, and cut-leaved toothwort are blooming here and there with plenty more to appear soon. According to local staff, species like bluebells, trout-lilies, and bloodroot are popping above the soil and getting ready to paint the landscape with their colors once more. |
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With warmer weather arriving soon, it’s a great idea to plan some wildflower forays to your favorite woodlands. Wonderful places to view early wildflower blooms in Ohio’s north region include Augusta-Anne Olsen, Eagle Creek, Goll Woods, Johnson Woods, Kendrick Woods, Lawrence Woods, and Lou Campbell state nature preserves.
Want to keep track of what you see at Ohio’s state nature preserves, parks, wildlife areas and forests? Download our handy spring wildflower checklist. |
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The Ohio Wildflower Bloom Report is updated weekly from March to the middle of May. We encourage you to take spring wildflower photos and upload them to social media using the hashtag #OhioWildflowers and #OhioHeartOfItAll. Follow @ohioDNR and @ohioDNAP on Instagram and Ohio Department of Natural Resources and Ohio Division of Natural Areas & Preserves on Facebook to learn more about Ohio’s spring wildflower season. |
