Spring wildflower hike

Saturday's spring wildflower hike went very well! 

Part of our goal was to teach folks not just the names of particular flowers, but also how to look carefully at the characteristics of the plant.  Over time, you'll develop a sense for the common characteristics of entire families of plants, so that over time, when you see something that's new to you, your "guesses" about what kind of plant it is will improve.

otterkincreated an example tutorial on this topic: http://www.drgndrop.com/flowers.html.)

I sensed that people were somewhat frustrated with this methodical approach, but at the same time, I could see some people really interested by some of the commonalities they had never before considered - how wild leeks and trilliums are related to lilies and alliums, for example.

All in all, a lovely morning in the beech-maple forest.