March 19 - Siberian Squill and False Rue Anemones

Today was warm! -- 78 degrees when I got out of work in late afternoon. Trees and flowers must have been assured that spring weather is really here because they started to bud and bloom.

I made it to Shubel Park kind of late -- around 6:30 - but could see that it is starting to get green.

At the top of the hill, I'm greeted by a beautiful carpet of flowers, the kind you'd expect to see in a Walt Disney cartoon.

Close up they look more purple.

The stamens point down, and some of them look like they are closing up for the evening. For the longest time I could not identify them because they are not in any Michigan wildflower book. But thanks to the Wild Ones Red Cedar Chapter, I found out that they are Silberian Squill (scilla siberica), a non-native plant. Despite its beauty, it is associated with evil. (See below.)

Scilla siberica / Siberian squill

Here's an excerpt from Nature Gate website:

The whole plant is poisonous and it is an ingredient in e.g. rat poison. Like many poisonous plants Siberian squill can also be used as a heart medicine if it is administered in the correct dosage. Siberian squill is connected with many beliefs, the oldest of which go back to ancient times: the scientific name of the genus is related to the goddess Scylla of Greek mythology, a beauty who was tuned into a terrible sea monster. The superstitious people long regarded Siberian squill as a flower of witches and evil spirits which shouldn’t even be stepped on. It is doubtful that anybody would feel inclined to trample on this herald of the spring, even though its beauty can be enjoyed without any fear of evil spirits.

The next flower I saw was a False Rue Anemone. It grows in forested areas but blooms before the leaves come out, so it can get some sun.

The  word "anemone" comes from the Greek word for wind "anemoi" and are called this because they tremble in the wind. True to its name, the flower head trembled continually, even though there was barely any wind. The trembling is caused by the thin stalk. You can tell these are False Rue Anemone because the leaves are deeply notched but smooth. Also, it has five petals. Rue Anemones might also only have five petals, but they might have more.