Harbinger-of-spring

Happy first day of spring!  After lunch today I found myself looking for a destination to go for a walk and thought it would be timely to search for Harbinger-of-spring (Erigenia bulbosa).  As luck would have it, the plants were in bloom, early enough in fact that I didn't spot a single unfurled leaf, just the odd flower poking up from among the oak and maple leaves.

This member of the carrot family is one of the earliest blooming native wildflowers and can be found along riverbanks, floodplains in rich moist forests.  It is listed provincially as "S3" or vulnerable.  When I was in Kentucky last April it seemed that in the right habitat you couldn't walk 10m without spotting it, here in Ontario it's certainly a treat to find.

Although it was the only thing blooming, it's by no means easy to find!  The flowers in the photo below are down and to the right of the quarter.