azure bluets
Houstonia caerulea
Rubiaceae

Everything that was blooming last week is still blooming, except that spicebush is nearly done, and leatherwood is done.

Seen yesterday around Carderock:

• spring beauty
• cut-leaved toothwort
• Virginia bluebells
• Dutchman’s breeches
• trout lily
• toadshade
• redbud
• lyre-leaved rock cress
• smooth rock cress
• rue anemone
• azure bluets
• kidney-leaved buttercup
• field chickweed
• star chickweed
• wild blue phlox
• golden ragwort
• early saxifrage
• blue violets
• yellow violets

Newly blooming:

• jack in the pulpit
• sweet cicely (way early!)
• sessile bellwort [thanks, LW!]
• swamp buttercup (left)
• wild pink (below)

Also, I think I’ve identified a plant I saw last week near the Marsden Tract. It’s a Cardamine species, probably spring cress, C. bulbosa. That doesn’t happen often anymore!

And, in non-flowering plant news, new croziers are popping out on Christmas fern (above) and rock polypody (below, growing out of moss next to lichens).