Spring Flowers

Spring is such a wonderful time. There are flowers just about everywhere. I took a morning walk on Mother’s Day with my Mom in a local moist wooded area, and what we saw was beyond words to describe. The flowers were absolutely breathtakingly beautiful, as are all of the flowers coming up around many of the homes here in Akwesasne. Watching plants has a long tradition in world history. In 1750, a Swedish scientist and artist Linnaeus began the system of plant phenology. Plants were assigned by their uses, by their looks, and even by their medicinal properties. Their Latin names referred to these things. Today most of us know the flower’s names by local common names.

Morning Glory flowers are native to south-eastern states, but some species do quite well here in the North. Their common name comes from the fact that the funnel-shaped flowers bloom early in the morning and usually close by noon. They are related to the Moon flower, also known as the Mothflower because it blooms at night when moths lend to its pollination. I have Morning Glory on my porch that climb, sometimes, all the way up to the roof. I love to sit and watch the hummingbirds that come to visit them. One year the blue ones were very large, but since then I have not seen those large ones again. I did plant some shrubs out there that year, so I wonder if maybe the fertilizers I used on the newly planted shrubs helped to create those wondrous huge flowers.

In some places, Lilies of the Valley are called May Lily or May Bells, Ladder-to-heaven, Our Lady’s Tears, and more. The name, Our Lady’s Tears came from the Christian legend that says the tears the Virgin Mary shed at the cross turned into Lilies of the Valley flowers. It is important to note that all parts of this plant are highly poisonous. They contain cardiac glycosides and saponins. Saponins were used by South American natives in high doses as spear and arrow poison. After handling Lilies of the Valley, one should be sure to wash their hands immediately.

When you drive along St. Regis Road, there is a wooded area where right now you can see hundreds of White Trilliums. There are different species of trillium, but the ones on St. Regis Road are called Large-flowered Trillium. This plant is seriously injured if it is picked, and it can take years for it to recover. That is why it is a protected species in some states. New York is one of the states where it is protected. Last year I remember seeing some out of towners picking those flowers along St. Regis Road. Some common names for this plant are Trillium, Birthroot, and Wakerobin. The name Birthroot derived from its past medicinal use to facilitate childbirth, and the name Wakerobin originated from the fact that it appears around the same time as the robins arrive in the spring.

Another flower seen along the roadsides and on our lawns is the Dandelion. Dandelions are native to Asia, Africa, and Europe, but they have become well established here. Their English name comes from the French dent de lion, which refers to the flower’s coarsely toothed leaves. In modern French the plant is named pissenlit, which translated means “urinate in bed” because of its diuretic properties. Its new green leaves are eaten raw by some in a salad. While the gloriously yellow flowers are beautiful, they are not good for our lawns. Their leaves form a rosette above the taproot. The leaves grow outward and kill the surrounding vegetation such as grass by cutting off their source of sunlight. Dandelions reproduce without pollination. The flower head matures into a spherical clock also known as a “wishie”. I could not find information to support the name wishie, but I would bet it is because most of us, at one time or another, picked them, made a wish, and blew the fine hairs of a mature Dandelion into the wind.

Another non-native plant that is often mistaken for the Dandelion, is the Coltsfoot. These flowers usually appear before the Dandelion and can be seen along roadsides. The Coltsfoot was brought here and introduced by settlers who valued its medicinal uses. Its Latin name is Tussilago farfara , and “tussilago means “cough suppressant.” It was also used to treat asthma and other lung ailments. Its crushed flowers were believed to cure skin conditions. When I lived in Cold Spring NY years ago, some of the people there I knew made a cough syrup from the plant to be used in the wintertime. The flower does resemble a Dandelion, but upon closer observation its petals are smaller and tighter. The Coltsfoot gets its name from the leaves that come after the plant has set seeds. The leaves resemble the shape of a colt’s foot.

There is an amazing wildflower that detects radiation that conventional instruments cannot detect! The Spiderwort flower has stamens that are blue or blue-purple, however, when radiation is present the stamens will turn pink. This supports the belief that radiation is capable of causing biological effects by the presence of radiation that is not detected by electronic means. It shows also that biological sensitivity is greater than what is currently assumed. The Spiderwort is a light blue to a deep lavender color. They have three petals and are about an inch wide. When viewed from above, the whole plant resembles a large spider. The flower clusters form the spider-like body, and the leaves and bracts form the legs. Virginia Spiderwort and Ohio Spiderwort are the only spiderworts native to our area, but many hybrid spiderwort garden plants occasionally escape into the wild

There are so many wonderful species here that it’s hard to know which ones to mention, but I cannot finish this article without talking about the Trout Lily. It is native to Turtle Island. This flower can be seen in many places here at Akwesasne from March until May. It grows in moist rich wooded areas, and it is sometimes beside brooks where the trout hide. That is where its name originated. While that fact justifies its name, its other common name, Dog-toother-violet, seems to have no reason. It is not a violet, and its flower has no characteristics of a dog’s tooth. Some lily bulbs are scaled and toothlike, but the Trout Lily has a smooth, egg shaped corm. Some interesting facts about the Trout Lily are that they are pollinated and planted by ants. The planted seeds take approximately seven years to make a mature plant, and only the plants with two leaves will flower.

Surely flowers are the greatest gifts from the Creator. Flowers and their beauty are a medicine for the soul and mind. Flowers with their medicinal abilities cure physical problems. There is even a flower that has an astounding ability to detect the dangers of radiation. I believe that as time goes by, more abilities of what nature provides for us will become known. I only hope we find out before it is too late.