My last six was all the way back in October! The weather at Highland Lake in Blount County, Alabama has not be kind. Rain, freezing temperatures, and strong winds have brought mud, frost burned Camellia buds, and fallen trees. Add to that a broken waterline and a trench for a replacement line from the meter many, many yards to the house and there is more mud! But, last week was mild, although a little rainy, and some brave wildflowers have fought through the mud and soggy leaves to show their faces. I’m going to post photos of six of them before next week’s forecasted freeze turns their white blooms to soggy brown.
With the possible exception of Fork-leaf Toothwort, I’ve featured all of these wildflowers before. After all, they are my March flowering plants. Both Alabama snow wreath (Neviusia alabamensis) and false garlic, also known as crow poison (Nothoscordum bivalve) got some detailed attention 30 March 2024. Blood Root (Sanguinaria canadensis ), Rue Anemone (Thalictrum thalictroides ), and Sharp-lobed Hepatica (Hepatica acutiloba) got their special attention on 16 March 2024. While I posted information about Cut-leaved Toothwort (Cardamine concatenata ), in March 2024, I don’t think I ever discussed Fork-leaf Toothwort (Cardamine dissecta). So, here is a little information on it. Like all the others, it is native, perennial, and a spring ephemeral. Most likely I either overlooked it in the past or mistook it for something else before it bloomed. Toothwort in the common name comes from little projections on the edible rhizomes, which are reported to be rather peppery tasting.
That final bit of folk wisdom brings my six white-flowered spring ephemerals post to a close—except to add that the featured image is a closeup of Rue Anemone. Maybe the freezing temperatures in next week’s forecast will leave a few healthy buds and tender leaves in good shape for another six next week. In the meantime, readers can join in the weekly sharing themselves by following the guidelines found in  Jim Stephens’ Garden Ruminations.
After Eden 
This is my favorite time of year. Thank you for featuring the spring ephemerals that make Alabama spring beautiful.
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