Do you remember last year when the utility company came through and cut the tall trees along the trails to prevent them from falling on the power lines?
It was hard for me to watch. I wrote a blog about it here.
Today I saw a glimmer of hope. After the logs were cleared, the plants started to grow again. New pine, oak, maple, sweet gum and poplar trees have started to grow. Wild quinine filled in some spots this spring. As the summer progressed, the common horseweed seemed to fill in the empty spaces. But today I saw an uncommon native plant in full bloom.
This is eastern flowering spurge (Euphorbia corollata). While this flower is not a rare species, I don’t think I’ve seen it anywhere on the trails here in Morrisville.
Eastern flowering spurge likes to grow in the sun. When there isn’t enough light, the taproot keeps the plant alive underground, but it won’t put up leaves or flowers above ground. It can remain hidden underground for years. When the trees came down last year, the soil had more sunlight and the spurge grew once more.
Isn’t Mother Nature amazing?