 Hi there! I'm Kendall. I'm a lichenologist and botanist with the Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves. And today we are going on a virtual hike through Cove Spring Park in Frankfurt, Kentucky, so I can show you some spring ephemerals. Cove Spring Park consists of approximately 240 acres of wetlands, streams, springs, waterfalls, forested ravines, and other natural historical features in Frankfurt, Kentucky. Today's hike will feature the parks areas of Calcareous Mesophitic Forest. The community is usually found within ravines on protected lower slopes at the base of bluffs or sinkhole basins. Calcareous Mesophitic forests are usually developed over limestone, dolomite, and occasionally Calcareous shale. The soil is rich and mesic of deep to moderate depth and moderately well drained. The Calcareous Mesophitic Forest has a tall closed canopy which creates a shaded understory. The canopy is dominated by sugar maple, box elder, Ohio buckeye, northern red oak, black walnut, basswood, and sycamore, with an understory of spice bush and American bladder nut. Even more diverse, the spring herbaceous layer consists of a rich mixture of flowers and herbage, colors and shapes from a multitude of spring ephemerals. Spring ephemerals are perennial woodland wildflowers which develop stems, leaves, and flowers early each spring and then quickly bloom and produce seed. Leaves often wither, leaving only underground structures like roots, rhizomes, and bulbs for the remainder of the year. This strategy is very common in herbaceous communities of deciduous forests as it allows small herbaceous plants to take advantage of the high levels of sunlight reaching the forest floor prior to the formation of a canopy by woody plants. Today's virtual hike will take the form of a botanical quiz. Each species will be visually presented and paired with interesting facts. Try to guess all 10 species names before the answers are revealed. Best of luck to you and let's get hiking! This beautiful wildflower is a member of the Poppy family. It consists of a solitary white flower and a companion basil leaf. The roots and stems of this species produce a red orange juice. The Latin name loosely translates to bleeding. This plant is blood root Sanguinaria canadensis. This plant is a member of the borage family. It has pink flower buds that slowly change to lavender blue over time. This species is pollinated by mason bees, bumblebees, butterflies, skippers, and sphinx moths. This species is bluebells, martensia virginica. This wildflower is a member of the Buttercup family. It was once used by Native Americans as charms for mammal traps. Surfeit flies and other species of flies feed on the pollen of this species. One of the common names for this species is liverleaf. This is the sharp lobed hepatica. Hepatica acutaloba. This unusual looking flower is a member of the birthwort family. It has flowers that trail along the ground. This species was used as traditional medicine but modern research reveals potential for kidney damage if consumed. The flowers smell like rotting flesh to attract ground beetles for pollination. This is wild ginger, acerum canadensis. This wildflower is a member of the Buttercup family. The Latin name refers to its three horned seed pods. This species is poisonous to livestock if ingested. The flowers can come in white, dark purple, and many shades in between. This is the dwarf larkspur or delphinium tricorn. The next species we're looking at is a member of the purslane family. Traditionally, the roots of this plant were eaten by Native Americans like potatoes. This gave it the common name, fairy spud. The corns of this species are dug up and eaten by some small rodents including the white-footed mouse and the eastern chipmunk. This flower is the spring beauty, Claytonia virginica. This species is a member of the sexofrage family. It was previously believed that this species was strong enough to break rocks with its roots. Historically, this plant was used as medicine to break up kidney stones, but modern research proves it ineffective. This species has basil leaves that over winter and turn reddish-purple. This is the early sexofrage or mycranthes virginiensis. The next wildflower is a member of the pink family. This species has sticky hairs on the calyx that are reminiscent of flypaper. Its sticky characteristics give it one of its common names, the catchfly. Ruby-throated hummingbirds are the principal pollinator of this species. This wildflower is fire pink or selene virginica. The next flower is a member of the primrose family. Early European settlers call this plant the prairie pointers. Bees use buzz pollination with this species, meaning they vibrate their bodies against the flower to get the pollen out. This is the eastern shooting star, dodecatheon media. The last wildflower is a member of the fumatory family. Because the foliage is toxic, it is usually avoided by mammalian herbivores. This species has heart-shaped blooms with lacy foliage. It gets its common name from the nodule-like yellow tubers that cluster around the rootstock. This wildflower is squirrel corn, dysentra canadensis. Thank you for hiking with me today. You can get involved with plant documentation by joining the KNPS Wildflower Week 2021 Botany Bioblitz on iNaturalist at the following participating locations. See you next time, plant lovers!