Family: Poppy (Papaveraceae). Genus: Sanguinaria (S. canadensis). Height: 6–10 inches. Ornamental Attributes: Brilliantly white, daisy-shaped flowers bloom briefly late February to May. “One of the most beautiful of American wild flowers.”26 “Bloodroot is a good example of the continued blurring of the distinction between wild flowers and garden plants.”27 Lobed leaves create groundcover-like colonies. Broken stalks produce red juice. Though considered ephemeral, the foliage often persists to frost in moist soil. Cultivation: Light shade. Well-drained, dry or moderately moist soil. Nature Note: Ants collect, eat, and spread the seed’s elaiosomes or appendages. Butterflies seek nectar but search in vain; the flowers offer only pollen, sought by beneficial flies and beetles that in return pollinate the flowers. Mammalian herbivores rarely eat the foliage. Historical Note: In the 1600s, French explorer Samuel de Champlain observed that the root of our native bloodroot “makes a crimson dye.”28
Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis)
Prairie violet (Viola pedatifida)
Downy yellow violet (Viola pubescens)
TRIANGLE-LEAVED VIOLET. Family: Violet (Violaceae). Genus: Viola (V. emarginata). Height: 4–8 inches. Cultivation: Sun/light shade. Medium soil; COMMON BLUE VIOLET (V. sororia, V. papilonaceae). Ornamental Attributes: Both species display purple or blue flowers March to May.
More Violet Native Alternatives:
ALPINE VIOLET, LABRADOR VIOLET (V. labradorica). Height: 3–6 inches. Ornamental Attributes: Weeks of bright lavender flowers. Purplish-green foliage looks good all season; BIRDSFOOT VIOLET, PANSY VIOLET (V. pedata). Height: 6 inches. Ornamental Attributes: “The violet flowers are spectacular.”29 Bloom April to June, and all summer if regularly watered. Deeply lobed leaves. Cultivation: Sun. Dry well-drained soil; PRAIRIE VIOLET (V. pedatifida). Purple flowers April to June. Grass-like leaves. Medium soil; DOWNY YELLOW VIOLET (V. pubescens). Yellow flowers April to June; MISSOURI VIOLET (V. missouriensis). Purple flowers April, May. Note: Some violet species are endangered or threatened in parts of the Midwest. There are many species of wild perennial native violets, including white and bicolored, that are commercially available. Nature Note: Wild perennial native violets are the sole host plants for many butterflies including the Aphrodite fritillary (Speyeria aphrodite), regal fritillary (Speyeria idalia), silver-bordered fritillary (Boloria selene), and meadow fritillary (Boloria bellona), which is “attracted to gardens that are near wet meadows.”30 Native violets are the sole host plants for many species of greater fritillaries, including the great spangled fritillary (Speyeria cybele). This butterfly’s caterpillars feed by night and hide by day. By the time the female lays her eggs on or near the larval host plants in the summer, they have often died back. This large butterfly “frequently stops to nectar, especially at milkweeds, where several adults can be found at one time on a single flowerhead.”31Violets are among the preferred host plants for many fritillary butterfly species,, including the variegated fritillary (Euptoieta claudia). Violet nectar attracts many species of adult butterflies. The cobweb skipper (Hesperia metea) prefers birdsfoot violet nectar. Violets are pollinated by an oligolege bee, Andrena violae, a specialist in violets and wood sorrel. Ants carry violet seeds to new locations, fulfilling the vital role of seed dispersal. Solitary bees (among other insects) pollinate violets. When birdsfoot violet fruits become ripe, they are explosively ejected up to 15 feet.32 Migrating birds feed their young with enormous quantities of the tiny insects violets attract. Hummingbirds (p. 10) visit violets for both nectar and small insects. Nonnative Note: Do not confuse native violets with the common European/English violet (V. odorata).
Aphrodite fritillary (Speyeria aphrodite) on butterfly milkweed
Regal fritillary (Speyeria idalia)
Silver-bordered fritillary (Boloria selene)
Meadow fritillary (Boloria bellona) on eastern daisy
great spangled fritillary (Speyeria cybele)
variegated fritillary (Euptoieta claudia)
Cobweb skipper (Hesperia metea)
variegated fritillary caterpillar (Euptoieta claudia)
YELLOW TROUT LILY, DOGTOOTH VIOLET. Family: Lily (Liliaceae). Genus: Erythronium (E. americanum). Height: 4–12 inches. Ornamental Attributes: “This little spring lily of the woodlands is a fascinating plant.”33 Showy yellow long-blooming flowers from March to May. Leaves are often variegated. “They [trout lilies] are, of course, most effective when seen in large congregations, fluttering and dancing in the breeze, like the Daffodils.”34 Cultivation: Dappled sunlight. Moist, well-drained soil. These ephemerals create impressively large colonies that live three hundred to four hundred years; WHITE FAWNLILY, TROUT LILY (E. albidum). Note: Trout lilies are endangered in parts of the Midwest. Nature Note: Trout lilies attract butterflies, including skippers. The primary pollinators are nectar-seeking longtongued and short-tongued bees. Honeybees and short-tongued bees collect the pollen. Trout lilies have a specialist bee, the oligolectic trout lily bee (Andrena erythroni). White-tailed deer damage is usually minor because of the low stature and ephemeral nature of the foliage. Note: See John Josselyn note in the appendix.
Yellow trout lily (Erythronium americanum)
