April 10, 2011 - Spurgeon Woodland Reserve

Dutchman's Breeches

Tiny white flowers of Harbinger of Spring -appears in late March; note the tiny parsley-like leaves.  The large leaves in the lower left corner are of Ramps, a wild leek.

Hepatica colors range from pure white to varied shades of pink and purple

April 10, 2011 - Spurgeon Woodland Reserve ACRES Land Trust is one of the best preserved woods in the area.  We love to visit the woods frequently each spring.  It is easy to find: at the only stoplight in Topeka IN go south into Noble County.  The road becomes Noble CR 600 West; approx. 1/4 mile south of the intersection of Noble CRs 600W & 1000N you will see the Spurgeon parking lot on the east side of the road.  As you go into the reserve you will walk about 300 yards through secondary woods that was crop land until c. 1960; but then you will enter a mature primary woods dominated with beech, maple, and tulip poplar trees.  Five native species were blooming on April 10: Harbinger of Spring (Erigenia bulbosa, a tiny white flower in the Parsley Family), Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica), Dutchmans Breeches (Dicentra cucullaria), and two varieties of Hepatica (Hepatica nobilis var. acuta and Hepatica nobilis var. obtusa).  Entire hillsides were covered with Hepatica, the most spectacular display we've ever seen; photos don't do justice to the fine show.  Within a week Hepatica will be beyond its peak.

A hillside of Hepatic