At about 1200 feet above the Monongahela River, spring is finally catching up on Chestnut Ridge. Temperatures today climbed into the mid-fifties after an extended cold spell, and the streams in Coopers Rock State Forest were running full after recent rains. In another week, the forest floor will be unrecognizable from the onslaught of spring ephemerals. A few of the wildflowers making an early push (top to bottom): wood anemone (Anemonoides quinquefolia), also known as nightcaps and windflower; broadleaf toothwort ( Cardamine diphylla), also known as crinkle root and pepper root; heartleaf foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia); twoleaf miterwort (Mitella diphylla), also known as bishop’s cap; halberd-leaved yellow violet (Viola hastata); and long-spurred violet (Viola rostrata).
