The time has come to watch the seeps1
And see what they will show.
You'll only spot a green like this
When Spring first starts to glow.
You'll miss the golden-saxifrage2
Unless you check the mud
For mats of tiny leafy plants
With 8 pricks, red as blood3
1 A seep is a small wetland where groundwater naturally comes to the surface. Seeps are often the first areas of forests to green in the spring. Read more.
2 American golden-saxifrage (Chrysosplenium americanum) is a flowering plant found only in wetlands. It is easily overlooked due to its small size and lack of showy flowers.
3 The 8 red spots are anthers - the pollen-bearing structure of the flower. Golden-saxifrage does not have petals, only 4 green sepals that unfold rather like box flaps to reveal the reproductive parts. You can see them folded closed on unopened buds if you look closely at the 3rd photo.
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| Happy Spring! |