A sure sign that spring has arrived in northern Delaware is the appearance of a couple strange little plants. Both are very common, but their brief (in one case) appearance and strange growing style make them both a sort of touchstone that spring has finally arrived.
Mayapples
The mayapple is truly strange to me. They pop up from the ground with one stem and seem to have either one or two leaves.
Each leaf is segmented in a radially arranged pattern of lobes that themselves look like leaves. They strike me as little umbrellas popping up out of the ground.
What’s really special are the ones that have two leaves. The stem that pops up out of the ground splits in two and has a leaf on each one. At the crook where the stem splits appears a little flower when the plant matures, and after a while a little fruit appears.
In the wooded parks where I frequently walk, the ground is covered in mayapples. They take advantage of the sunlight before the trees get their leaves to take care of their fruiting business before the trees get their leaves and shade them too much.
After the tree shade has taken hold the mayapples start die off. They only have a few weeks to do their business before it gets too dark. More may be learned about mayapples here.
Trout Lilies
The other strange plant that I see at the beginning of spring is the trout lily. It’s another plant that just seems to be made of single leaves popping up from the dirt.
Trout lilies grow as a carpet of single, pointed-oval shaped leaves poking up from the ground. The leaves are green, but have a varied speckled pattern from leaf to leaf. Some leaves are accompanied by a flower.
Trout lilies seem to be more resilient than the mayapples because they survive the shading that occurs when the trees get their leaves. More about trout lilies can be read here.
Sure sign of spring
The appearance of the mayapples and trout lilies are always comforting to me because they are a sure sign that spring is upon us.
Peter Schwenk's Place 
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