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Harbinger-of-Spring, Pepper and Salt - Erigenia bulbosa


Family: Apiaceae - Carrot family Genus Common Name: Parsley Native Status: NativeDicot Annual Perennial Herb
Erigenia bulbosa - Harbinger-of-Spring, Pepper and Salt.
Erigenia is monotypic - there is only a single species in the genus. Erigenia bulbosa is native to eastern North America. It has the common name "Harbinger of Spring" because it blooms quite early - February or March, usually before most other early spring native wildflowers. It is also known as Pepper and Salt due to contrast between dark anthers and white petals.

Found in:
AL, AR, DC, GA, IL, IN, KS, KY, MD, MI, MO, MS, NC, NY, OH, OK, PA, TN, VA, WI, WV

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Erigenia bulbosa

Distribution of Erigenia bulbosa in the United States and Canada:
Map unavailable.
Map courtesy of The Biota of North America Program.
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Site: The Pocket at Pigeon Mountain, Walker County, GA Date: 2009-February-07Photographer: Gerald C Williamson
This is one of the very first plants to bloom in late winter or early spring. The leaves are ternately compound - each leave is divided into (typically) three to five leaflets, and each leaflet is furuther divided into three lobes. They demonstrate the relationship to garden parsley.

The stem of the plant may be up to about a foot long, but is frequently trailing under the leaves in the forest, so the flowers are rarely more than a few inches above the leaf litter.
Erigenia bulbosa
Site: The Pocket at Pigeon Mountain, Walker County, GA Date: 2014-February-24Photographer: Gerald C Williamson
Nikon D7000
Tamron SP 90MM f/2.8 AF Macro
Erigenia bulbosa has a stem-terminating inflorescence of many tiny flowers each with 5 white petals. The anthers are dark red, soon turning black.
Click on the photo for a larger image
Erigenia bulbosa
References used for identification and information:
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Erigenia bulbosa initially published on USWildflowers.com 2009-02-15; Updated 2019-02-07

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All content except USDA Plants Database map Copyright Gerald C. Williamson 2024
Photographs Copyright owned by the named photographer



Code Update 20230302