Native Plants
Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?
A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.
Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
rate this answer
Monday - December 15, 2008
From: Pittsburgh, PA
Region: Mid-Atlantic
Topic: Wildflowers
Title: First spring wildflower to bloom in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
In Pittsburgh PA what spring wildflower is consistently among the first to bloom?ANSWER:
Below is a list of early spring wildflowers found in western Pennsylvania. The two earliest would be those blooming in February:Erigenia bulbosa (harbinger of spring) and Symplocarpus foetidus (skunk cabbage)
The remainder of the flowers on the list begin blooming in March. I don't know that I could put them in "spring appearance" order, but I do think I could put Taraxacum officinale (common dandelion) near the beginning of the list.
Erythronium americanum (dogtooth violet)
Epigaea repens (trailing arbutus)
Sanguinaria canadensis (bloodroot)
Ranunculus fascicularis (early buttercup)
Stylophorum diphyllum (celandine poppy)
Cardamine douglassii (limestone bittercress) and photos
Hepatica nobilis var. acuta (sharplobe hepatica)
Thalictrum thalictroides (rue anemone)
Saxifraga virginiensis (early saxifrage)
Claytonia virginica (Virginia springbeauty)
Claytonia caroliniana (Carolina springbeauty)
Viola sororia (common blue violet)
Draba verna (Whitlow grass or spring draba)
You can find more native plants of Pennsylvania by doing a "Combination Search" in our Native Plant Database and you can "Narrow Your Search" by using various Characters (e.g., Habit (general appearance), Light requirement, etc.).
Visit the Western Pennsylvania Wildflowers page to find more photos of the above plants (search alphabetically by common name) as well as many more plants, both native and non-native, found in western Pennsylvania.
More Wildflowers Questions
Shady Groundcovers for NC
April 23, 2015 - I have a side yard that gets very little sun during the day and have tried St. Augustine grass unsuccessfully. Can you recommend a groundcover? We live close to the coast in Southeastern N. Carolina...
view the full question and answer
Peak times for viewing wildflowers in Texas
January 25, 2005 - We are planning a trip to Texas to see wildflowers this spring. I have time off March 17-25. Would you expect to see much in bloom then? What area might be the best to visit? Does anyone put reports o...
view the full question and answer
Is purple coneflower native to Colorado?
July 20, 2009 - I have seen the purple cone flower growing wild in Gunnison National Forest in Colorado. Is it a native to that state or has it been brought in?
view the full question and answer
Texas wildflower blooms by month
July 20, 2007 - What Texas wildflowers bloom in January across the state? And the same for the following months throughout the year. Thank you.
view the full question and answer
Illegal to pick wildflowers
March 14, 2004 - Is it illegal to pick wildflowers?
view the full question and answer
Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |