Natural Designs Studio

Early spring greens in the forest are mayapples and ferns.  Sometimes the mayapple is called 'umbrella plant'.  I have a mental picture from a childhood story book of a bunny under large mayapple leaves during a spring rain. The rhizome of the mayapple has been used for a variety of medicinal purposes, originally by Native Americans and later by other settlers.

Fiddlehead ferns refers to the unfurled fronds of a young fern. The rapid warm weather is prompting the ferns to open with only a few inches of stem.  The fiddleheads of certain ferns are eaten as a cooked leaf vegetable.  Over-picking fiddleheads will kill the plant.