The extent of anxiety can be measured by the sign at the trailhead kiosk: Please use hand sanitizer before taking a wildflower list. I decided I could take pictures and look up any I didn't recognize.
I found a carpet of Virginia Bluebells not far from the trail.
I had only seen these plants from a distance. Their growth requirements are such that they need riparian locations in this area. The woods between the Maury River and the Chessie Trail are ideal.
When I visited the trail two weeks ago I found only one Bloodroot in bud. Today they covered the forest floor.
Toothwort was blooming two weeks ago and I feared that I wouldn't see any on this day. Although the flowers I saw then had passed, the range of conditions along the trail allowed others to be blooming in different environments.
Large-flowered bellwort isn't supposed to bloom until May, but the unseasonal warmth lured these blooms into the open. This patch grew high above the trail. I thanked my zoom lens for capturing the picture. The climb was too steep and damaging to the area for anything closer.
Wait, didn't I already include a picture of toothwort? Yes, but find
the garter snake.
I frightened it into slithering away from the trail as I passed.
Dutchman's Breeches congregated together in colonies. No physical distancing for them.
Spring Beauty was everywhere. They were colorful, but I wasn't in the mood to kneel down in the damp to get close-ups. Baby columbine is sprouting nearby.
Note the rounded petals on the flowers.
Another form of Spring Beauty or something else? The flower petals are more pointy, but the strappy foliage is the same.
Next to the bloodroot is a baby May Apple. It won't bloom for a while, but given the warmth of this year ... I expect it will be before May.
I'm pretty sure the mottled leaves are a form of Sessile Trillium. Which one? Depends on the flower when it opens. Right now it is just a spiky bud.
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