Giddy for Harbinger-of-Spring

You would think something called Harbinger-of-spring would be more ... well ... harbingery. I mean it uh ... well ... it portends, doesn't it? It warns us ... well no, that's not right. Warnings imply bad outcomes. It ... uh ... reminds us of spring's approach. It's a sign. It gives us hope. And all of that is some pretty lofty stuff to live up to, and given how much I have looked forward to spring in my life, particularly while in Ohio, well, I would've expected there be some blaring of trumpets and multi-colored banners whipping about in warm vernal breezes and proclamations and song: "Ding dong, the winter's gone. Which ol' winter? Why, that damn blast of winter we jus' went through, ya daft bugger..." And there's a picnic and butterflies landing on children's noses and ol' Uncle Henry's been in the liquor cabinet again...

No ... wait ... that's fairy tales, not wildflowers. Sorry. I get carried away sometimes, particularly after there's been a couple of days of sunshine and life-affirming warm temperatures. Of course, I see fairy tales in wildflowers all the time. Fairy tales scratch an itch botany can't quite get at and would you look at me going on about fairy tales. You'd think ol' Uncle Henry got into the liquor cabinet but only after I'd sated my thirst. It's just that we have had a couple warm, sunny spring days, and it does make me a little light-headed, and I want more.

I want more. I want more. I want more.

And given that, my drunken giddiness over a couple days of spring, it's easier to see why I might expect more of an early spring wildflower known as Harbinger-of-spring. On the other hand, that such a very, very small blossom is called Harbinger-of-spring, it speaks volumes of the person who did bestow the moniker on it; clearly that person felt much as I, desperate for something, anything to pin some hopes to. Harbinger-of-spring as a ... well ... harbinger of spring makes perfect sense. Let's face it, a sip of water is an ocean after you've been wandering in the desert for three months.

Botanically speaking, Harbinger-of-spring (Erigenia bulbosa) is an early bloomer which can be found as early as February, and continues to bloom well into May. It grows mostly in the woods, though I've found it in the lawn.

It is a tiny member of the Parsley (Umbelliferae) Family, growing from a round tuber or corm to an easy to overlook height of four to nine inches. It has one or two leaves which are divided into narrow lobed segments. The small white flowers with red-brown anthers get no more than about a quarter of an inch wide, and it is the red-brown anthers in the small white flowers that gives us its other common name: Salt-and-pepper, or Pepper-and-salt. It grows in most of the eastern U.S., except the extreme north and south.

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