Purple Sweet-cicely
Osmorhiza purpurea
An early spring flower with very tiny pink-purple flowers. I mainly notice it in groves of Red Alder where it can be very abundant.
Questions:
This is another species with very small flowers that I have never seen being visited by pollinating insects. Of course my lack of observational persistence and/or skill in no way proves that pollinating insects do not visit these flowers, it does make me wonder. What is the primary means of pollination for these plants?
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Crowberry
Empetrum nigrum
These plants are abundant in low elevations muskegs as well as the alpine. Their inconspicuous flowers bloom very early in the season, and without specifically looking, they typically missed. In the photo shown here, the berries have already started to form.
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Questions (answers or additional question welcome in comments):
With such inconspicuous flowers that show up so early in the season, how do they get pollinated?
It’s only been this year that I have really seen many of the flowers, but in this (admittedly limited) experience, I have not seen any insects that appear to be working as pollinators on these plants. That said, the abundance of berries makes me think they must be very successfull at getting pollinated, unless they don’t require pollination to produce fruit. Is that a possibility?
Stream Violet
Viola glabella
Stream violets are one of the early spring flowers. They are abundant, especially at low elevations in and around clearings where they get lots of light.
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