Spring Awakens
As spring emerges, so do the plants and animals that have been sleeping all winter.
Bloodroot
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Bloodroot (Sanquinaria canadensis) is among some of the first to sprout in the early spring. It is known by its white flower, which emerges before its single lobed leaf. The bloom only lasts a short while before the petals wilt back into the earth. The seeds are dispersed by ants who carry the seeds away from the plant to provide food for their nests. The ants eat the fleshy part of the seed, leaving the rest to germinate. Bloodroot gets its name from the rhizome, which “bleeds” a deep red-orange sap if cut open. Another common name for the plant, a member of the Poppy family, is bloody knuckles. The root was used as a traditional Appalachian remedy to treat respiratory problem and as a topical treatment to eliminate cancerous growths. However, take caution with this plant - the sap actually contains toxic chemicals and can necrotize the skin if touched!
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Spotted Salamander
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The Spotted Salamander is typically only found within a short window during the late winter or early spring. During most of the year, adults live in underground burrows and rarely come out, even when they eat! The trigger to leave their burrows comes with the arrival of a warm rainy night after a cold period. This typically occurs in late February or early March, but can happen as early as January. The salamanders navigate their way to a nearby pond or wetland and plunge in, intent on finding a mate. Gravid females lay masses of jelly-like eggs and secure them to sticks or debris in the water. Several weeks later, on another warm rainy evening, the salamanders leave the pond and make their way back to their burrows. The eggs mature, and in a few months they are ready to hatch. Larval salamanders retain gills and fin-like tails and remain in the pond for part of their juvenile lives, feeding on pond insects and copepods. As they grow, their bodies change. They lose their gills and grow lungs. Their tails become more round. At this time, they too leave the pond and search for a place to settle down and burrow until spring.
Interesting Fact: Spotted salamanders are unique in that they actually have algae DNA in them! Some egg masses have a symbiotic relationship with an algae that grows in the jelly layer. The algae helps provide oxygen to the eggs, which helps them develop. Over time, the egg masses turn green due to the algae. Egg masses can also be white, which helps obscure the eggs from predators. |
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Stay tuned for more!