A blanket of bluebells at O’Hara Woods in Will County. (Courtesy Forest Preserve District of Wall County)
There’s a bit of magic happening right now in the region’s forests, but it won’t last for long.
The Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica) are blooming.
These gorgeous spring ephemerals love woodland habitats near creeks. And if they find a place that suits them — not too wet, not too dry — they’ll spread like a carpet on the forest floor.
“It’s just bluebells as far as you can see. It’s like stepping into a pool of water, but it’s flowers,” said Heather Van Zyl, an interpretive naturalist with the Forest Preserve District of Will County. “Is anything better than that?”
The dazzling display — a true rarity in nature, where only a sliver of species are blue — is short-lived, though, here and gone in a roughly two-week period.
“We’re about to hit peak season, and then they’ll die back all the way to the ground,” Van Zyl said. “You will see nothing when their season is over. It just leaves kind of a blank canvas. I’ve been telling everyone I see, ‘Get out there in the next couple of weeks.’”
WHERE TO GO
Will County’s oldest growth woodlands are famous for their bluebells, Van Zyl said, with Raccoon Grove in Monee a personal favorite of hers.
“I was there one day trying to do one of those quick lunchtime hikes — I came around a corner and I was just hit with this wave of bluebells,” Van Zyl said. “I wasn’t prepared, I just stopped in my tracks. You’re just overwhelmed by them, they’re so beautiful. You’re like, ‘I have entered another world.’”
Make a day of it and hit up bluebell hotspots in Messenger Woods, McKinley Woods and Hammel Woods, or, if you only have time for one, head to O’Hara Woods in Romeoville, Van Zyl advised.
“The extra special thing about O’Hara Woods is the path actually goes through a carpet of bluebells,” she said, “so you’re completely surrounded on all sides by them.”
Just avoid the impulse to literally dive into the pool of blue.
“They actually are really delicate flowers,” said Van Zyl. “Their stems are very watery and so are their leaves, so they can sustain damage really easily. So enjoy it from the path — you’re still going to get a great view.”
And definitely think twice before picking any of the blooms.
“One of the lores is that if you pick them, the fairies will ensure that you get lost and wander forever,” said Van Zyl. (It’s also against forest preserve rules to pull plants.)
NOT JUST A PRETTY FACE
Bluebells blooming in Chicago along the North Branch of the Chicago River. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News)
Despite their abbreviated lifespans, bluebells — along with other spring ephemerals — play a pivotal role in woodland ecosystems, providing a great source of nectar and pollen for emerging insects.
In fact, bluebell nectar is so prized by pollinators that bumblebees, which are too chunky to squeeze into the flower’s opening, have devised a back-door tactic to access the juice.
“They’ll make holes in the side of the flower at the base where the nectar is, just to drink it out,” Van Zyl said. “You can actually see holes where those bigger bees are like, ‘I really need this nectar.’”
On the flip side, bluebells rely on pollinators in order to make seeds. And the plants use color to woo insects during their extremely narrow reproductive window.
Typically, when bluebells first bloom, they’re not blue at all, they’re pink. As they mature, the pink deepens to a blue-ish purple.
“That can actually be a signal they are ready to be pollinated,” Van Zyl said. “Pollinators can see colors differently than we can see color, so that can be a signal that now is the perfect time. And then once they have either been pollinated or that time has passed — whether they’ve been pollinated or not — they’ll start to fade back to pink again, showing the end of their cycle.
“It’s just really amazing what plants and flowers have done,” she continued, “adaptations that have happened over time to ensure their survival even in these teeny windows that they have to get it all done in this early spring.”
SLOW AND LOW
Spring ephemerals, from top left, clockwise: mayapple, trout lily, spring beauty, cutleaf toothwort, Dutchman’s breeches, trillium. (Credits: Pam Morgan / Flickr Creative Commons; U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service / Jessica Bolser; Forest Preserve District of Cook County; U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service / Jessica Bolser; Shenandoah National Park / N. Lewis; Unsplash)
Van Zyl and her fellow naturalists are leading monthly wildflower walks at Will County preserves throughout the spring, summer and fall, encouraging people to experience the changes in the seasons.
Bluebells are just one of the highlights for people to take in during April and May, she said.
Other spring charmers include Dutchman’s breeches, trillium, spring beauty, cutleaf toothwort, trout lily and mayapple.
“When I lead these spring ephemeral hikes ... my tip at the beginning always is ‘slow, low and know,’” Van Zyl said.
“Go slow, watch for those peeks of color,” Van Zyl said. “And then you’re going to get low and look at them, because they are small. But then you get down there and all of a sudden, you’re like, ‘Wait there’s another one, oh, another one.’ It’s just kind of like this amazing treasure hunt.”
Contact Patty Wetli: @pattywetli | (773) 509-5623 | [email protected]
