Spring Beauties are out!!!
Among plants native to North America Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica), or Virginia Spring Beauty, is one of the first to flower, often appearing around the middle of March. GAPers are unlikely to see this plant in disturbed areas along the old railroad right-of-way, now the GAP bike trail. Spring Beauties are found in mature hardwood forests of White Oak, Red Oak, Maple, and Hickory trees on either side of the GAP, where they may appear in scattered clumps or even broad carpets. Spring Beauties are a true Spring ephemeral. Their entire above-ground life cycle is compressed into the brief window between snowmelt and the appearance of a canopy of leaves from trees which cast the plants into the shade. By early or mid-Summer the above-ground plant has disappeared completely. It overwinters underground as a small tuberous corm resembling a tiny potato only to resurface again the next Spring.
The delicate flowers of Spring Beauty are roughly half an inch in diameter and borne in a loose cluster of 5 to 15 blossoms. Each flower has five petals that range from white to pale pink, lined with fine darker pink to magenta veins that serve as nectar guides for pollinators. The petals reflect ultraviolet light, making them highly visible to bees.
