Native Spring Ephemerals

While they bloom for only a short time, ephemerals such as Bloodroot, Trout Lily, and Virginia Bluebells can add beauty to the home garden in spring while providing critical support to early-emerging pollinators. Join Extension Master Gardener Elaine Mills for a greatly updated presentation on 23 ephemeral species native to the Mid-Atlantic with a discussion of their special adaptations for success, their use in landscape design, and their care.

Zoom session – February 28, 2025.

Video of Presentation

Chapter Breaks

0:00:00 Introduction & Overview
0:02:03 Characteristics & Adaptations of Ephemerals
0:07:35 Native Spring Ephemerals
0:26:31 Questions
0:27:56 More Spring Ephemerals
0:44:49 Threats to Ephemerals
0:47:32 Garden Design with Ephemerals
0:49:49 Care of Ephemerals
0:56:36 Questions

Additional Resources

Native Spring Ephemerals Handout – pdf
Gardens to Visit in the Washington DC Area to See Spring Ephemerals – pdf
Addendum with answers to questions brought up at the class – pdf

Virginia Bluebells
(*Mertensia virginica*)

Nodding blossoms of large-flowered bellwort draw low-flying insects — Large-flowered Bellwort
(*Uvularia grandiflora*)

Great white trillium (Trillium grandiflorum) in forest understory — Great White Trillium
(*Trillium grandiflorum*)

Accompanying flowering plants with persistent foliage:

Accompanying ferns:

Other accompanying plants:

To learn more:

A Virtual Wildflower Walk with Alonso Abugattas
Spring Wildflowers of the Mid-Atlantic Region with Marion Lobstein
“The Role of Temperature in the Growth and Flowering of Geophytes.” Nadezda Khodorova & Michèle Boitel-Conti. Plants. 2013, 2(4), 669-711.

Where to Buy Spring Ephemerals

Native-only sellers, Plant NoVA Natives
Spring Native Plant Sales, Plant NoVA Natives
Where to Find Virginia Native Plants, Plant Virginia Natives
Native Plant Nurseries, Virginia Native Plant Society
Native Plant Nurseries & Vendors, Maryland Native Plant Society
100% Native Plant Nurseries, Native Plant Society of New Jersey
Native Plant Sources, Pennsylvania Native Plant Society

Botanical Terms

Linked terms go to our Illustrated Glossary.

Achene = small, dry, one-seeded fruit that does not open to release the seed
Allelopathic = the chemical inhibition of one plant by another, due to the release into the environment of substances acting as germination or growth inhibitors
Anther = part of the stamen that contains the pollen
Apetalous = having no petals
Axil = angle between leaf and stem that supports it
Bare root = sold when dormant without soil around roots
Basal leaves = leaves connected to the base of the plant, emerging from the stem or root near ground level. They are often the first leaves to appear and are typically found in plants with a rosette growth habit.
Bracts = modified leaves which support a flower; they can perform photosynthesis but at a lower rate than leaves
Bulb = modified stem; an underground shoot with a stem and overlapping leaves that store food; term used generically to refer to any geophyte
Bulb offsets = small “daughter” bulbs that form at the base of bulbs or corms
Buzz pollination (sonication) = technique used by bumble bees and solitary bees in which vibration releases pollen from flowers. Vibrations produced by thoracic muscles and can reach hundreds of cycles per second!
Chloroplasts = organelles in plant cells that contain chlorophyll and in which photosynthesis takes place
Corm = rounded underground storage organ consisting of a swollen stem base covered with scale leaves
Deciduous = not evergreen, used in botany to describe trees, shrubs, and lianas (vines) that shed all their leaves in one season
Elaiosome = a lipid- and protein-rich structure attached to seed that attracts ants and aids in seed dispersal
Ephemerals = plants with a short life cycle, growing only during favorable periods
Geophytes = plants with underground storage structures
Invasive plant = a plant that is not native to the area where it is growing, that can spread aggressively from cultivation into natural areas where it outcompetes native plants and causes harm to the environment
Larval host plants =plants that the caterpillar stage of butterflies and moths feeds on
Mycorrhizal associations = symbiotic arrangements between plant roots and networks of fungi
Myrmecochory = seed dispersal by ants
Nectar guides = patterns, lines, or markings on flowers that help pollinators find nectar and pollen
Oligolectic = refers to bees that exhibit a narrow, specialized preference for pollen sources, typically to a single family or genus of flowering plants

Palmate = of a leaf, lobed, veined, or divided from a common point with the veins forming a branching pattern that radiates from one point, like fingers from a hand
Papillae = small, rounded protuberances (like those on top of tongue)
Perennials = plants that live for more than two years and regrow each spring
Perfoliate = of a leaf which appears to be pierced by the stem
Phenology = the study of cyclic and seasonal natural phenomena, especially in relation to climate and plant and animal life
Photosynthesis = the process by which green plants and some other organisms use sunlight to synthesize foods from carbon dioxide and water
Pubescent = with short, fine hairs; with hairs of any type
Reflexed (petals) = gently turned back on themselves
Rhizome = modified plant stem, growing horizontally at or just below the surface that sends out roots & shoots from its nodes
Rosette = circular arrangement of leaves that grow close together at the base of a plant
Saponins = compounds that create a lather when mixed with water and have different effects when consumed, including effects on the heart
Self-pollination = a form of pollination in which pollen arrives at the stigma of a flower of the same plant. The term cross-pollination is used for the opposite case, where pollen from one plant moves to a different plant.
Sepal = outer, leaf-like part of a flower (often green) that protects a developing flower bud
Sessile = lacking a stalk, attached directly to the base
Stamen = male reproductive organ of a seed plant, typically consisting of a stalk (filament) bearing a pollen producing anther at its tip
Stolons = creeping horizontal plant stems or runners that take root at points along their length to form new plants
Syrphid fly = a type of flower fly that is a common pollinator of many plants, also known as a hoverfly
Tepal = a segment of the outer whorl in a flower that has no differentiation between petals and sepals
Tuber = thickened underground part of a stem, serving as a food reserve and bearing buds from which new plants arise
Umbel = flower cluster in which stalks spring from a common center and form a flat or curved surface, characteristic of the Parsley Family
Vegetative spread = reproduction or propagation achieved naturally by asexual means (rhizomes, runners, stolons, suckering)
Venation = arrangement of veins in a leaf; primary veins are thickest, most noticeable
Whorl = a circular arrangement of three or more leaves, petals, or other plant parts arising from a common point or node at the same level on a stem or other axis