Harbinger of Spring

There are certain plants that define certain seasons for me.  In England, I would watch spring approach by watching the bulbs come up.  First the snowdrops, then the crocuses and, finally, the daffodils.  Once all the daffodils were up, it was truly spring.

In the Pacific Northwest, my Early Spring Plant is the Indian Plum (Oemleria cerasiformis).  This is a lovely native shrub that sprouts up on the edges of the forested areas on our land.  My neighbor has a whole bank of it that borders the main road.  I posted pictures back in February of the leaf buds that were starting to emerge.  In the last week, the flowers have erupted.  They dangle down from the stem like ragged little bells, but are so cheerful that they fill me with delight whenever I see them.

I will be forever grateful to Shirley at Tadpole Haven Native Plant Nursery in Woodinville for posting a picture of Indian Plum on her website.  I had noticed the plant in my yard a couple years ago, but had no idea if it was a weed. She posted a photo of the flowers right at the same time mine bloomed and described what it was.  I was so excited!  I went to visit the nursery at their next open day to talk with her about the plant.  

Shirley also taught me to tell the difference between the male and female plants.  I couldn't find anything on ANY website describing the difference. You have to open one of the flowers.  The female plants have ovaries at the base of the stigma while male plants only have the stamens.  Reportedly insects pollinate the flowers to produce the fruit, but I haven't found anywhere that indicates which insects do the deed.  The plants also have to be quite close together to get any appreciable pollination action and resultant fruit. Some insect certainly likes to munch on the leaves, as you can see above, there are quite a few small holes in the leaves.

Female flower on left; Male flower on right.

I have found one report of the flowers having a smell.  When I read this I went out to check, since I never noticed before.  There is a *faint* aroma when you get your nose RIGHT up close.  The author describes the male flowers as having a skunk smell, with which I'd agree, and the females having a "cucurbitaceous" smell, which I had to look up in the dictionary and means having to do with the gourd family - i.e. pumpkins and cucumbers (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cucurbitaceous). Not sure about that one.

What I DO know is that spring is truly sprung now that these flowers have arrived - oh, and there's a daffodil!