Spring Wildflower ID
NATH7135E, 3.0 CEUs
Class night and time: Mondays, 6-8 pm
Class meetings: March 24-May 19 and Tuesday May 27. Due to Memorial Day, final class will be Tuesday, May 27
Lectures via Zoom
Field trip dates: Sunday, April 13 (9 am-12 pm): Potomac Gorge area; Sunday, April 27 (9 am-12 pm): Potomac Gorge Area; Sunday, May 4 (9 am-12 pm): Thompson Wildlife Management Area (Rain date Sunday, May 11). Note: Potomac Gorge location will depend on peak flowering location/water levels, and may include Carderock, Turkey Run, Scott’s Run, or similar location. Final location will be communicated in class.
Instructor: Clare Walker
Members $390, nonmembers $440
Enjoy the changing season this spring as we look closely at the wildflowers blooming in the Mid-Atlantic each week. Suitable for both beginner and intermediate learners of wildflowers. This class will include field identification during different life stages, plant family relationships, and habitat preferences, providing the knowledge to discover flowers in local parks (you can record observations in an optional iNaturalist class project). Explore the relationships between the plants and their pollinators and seed dispersers to gain an understanding of each flower’s role in the ecosystem. Spring wildflowers have many incredible adaptations to overcome seasonal vagaries from low temperatures to short growing seasons and deserve our admiration. The field trips feature some of the area’s best wildflower locations. REGISTER

Required books & equipment:

* A magnifying glass or botany loupe
* A ruler
* Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide: An Ingenious New Key System for Quick, Positive Field Identification of Wildflowers, Flowering Shrubs and Vines Paperback – 31 Dec. 1991

Recommended books:

* Spring Wildflowers of the Northeast – A Natural History Hardcover – 23 Mar. 2012 by Carol Gracie (Author), Eric Lamont (Author)
* Alternative Identification book to Newcomb with photos rather than drawing and larger number of plants – out of print but sometimes can find used:
* Wildflowers in the Field And Forest: A Field Guide to the Northeastern United States (Glassberg Field Guide Series) Hardcover – 24 Feb. 2006 by Steven Clemants (Author), Carol Gracie (Author)
* Maryland Wildflowers or Virginia Wildflowers