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
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
Frostweed under oaks
September 29, 2007 - Our 5 acre property is located about 12 miles West of Salado on FM 2843. Under our beautiful Live Oak trees reside some plants that are just coming into bloom (9/29/07). They are about 3-4 ft high wit...
view the full question and answer
Wildflowers for West Texas Permian Basin area
March 19, 2007 - What wild flowers grow out here in West Texas (Permian Basin Area)? I know a lot of the wild flowers from other parts of the state will not grow out here in the dry heat and poor soil.
Thanks for you...
view the full question and answer
Early wildflowers for PA
November 25, 2011 - What spring wildflower is the first to bloom in Erie, PA?
view the full question and answer
Healthy native plants supporting local economy from Tacoma Park MD
February 17, 2012 - I am collecting information on how healthy native plant communities can support the local economy. Do you think the Texas bluebonnets are a good example of this in Texas? For example, do you know ma...
view the full question and answer
Source for dotted blue-eyed grass from Saluda SC
February 23, 2013 - I lived in Texas for several years and now live on acreage in South Carolina. I have heard that bluebonnets don't grow well in South Carolina. However, there is a place by the road near our house t...
view the full question and answer
Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |