Hepatica Bud Emerges

Hepatica Bud, March 22, 2005
Just a few days after the most recent snowfall, this hepatica bud prepares to bloom. This bud, smaller than a dime, appears very fuzzy. The fuzziness is one way to distinguish hepatica from spring beauty--because spring beauty flower buds are smooth. Hepatica flowers can appear white, pinkish, purplish, or even blueish. The number of "petals" per flower can vary from about 6 to 12. (Actually, for the botanist, the colorful part of the hepatica flower is made of sepals, not petals.) Each mature plant can produce several flowers, each flower on its own fuzzy stem. Toward the middle of the blooming season, some of the larger plants might have a cluster of 8 to 15 flowers all in bloom at the same time.
Hepatica produces a 3-lobed leaf. During early spring, it is common to see the mottled-purple leathery leaves left over from the previous year. After the flowers begin to pass their prime, a new set of new soft, green, fuzzy leaves begins to emerge.