Spring Beauty is a delicate, low-growing, native ephemeral wildflower that adorns many tree-lawns, woodlands, and meadows with cheerful little flowers every spring. The wispy foliage that hugs the ground and the sprawling flower stems arise from tiny, edible, potato-like corms. These corms produce offsets, and the plants reseed mightily, making loose colonies within only a couple of growing seasons. Their early and long-blooming flowers offer nectar and pollen for insects in the lean time before many other flowers are in bloom. Andrena erigeniae is a specialist bee species that relies on Spring Beauty flowers and can be found flying around with the pink pollen! At least 23 other species of native bees have been documented visiting Spring Beauty flowers for their generous amount of nectar.
Sources:
Growing and Propagating Wildflowers by William Cullina
Peterson Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants Eastern/Central North America by Lee Allen Peterson
Missouri Botanical Garden
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Illinois Wildflowers
