Our Winter Aconite started blooming around Valentines Day, February 14, 2023.
The following photograph is from the Apple IPhone 14 ProMax, raw format and perfected on the phone. The rest are from the Canon 5D Mark IV with the lens EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USB.
Click Me for more photographic art from my OnLine Gallery, “Finger Lakes Memories.”
As a spring ehemeral plant, its life cycle exploits the deciduous woodland canopy, flowering at the time of maximum sunlight reaching the forest floor, then completely dying back to its underground tuber after flowering.
All parts of the plant are poisonous when consumed by humans and other mammals because it contains cardiac glycosides.
The species name Eranthis hyemalis proclaims the early nature of its flowering both in the genus, “Eranthis” – “spring flower”, and species, “hyemalis” – winter flowering. The genus encompasses eight species, all early flowering winter aconite.
Reference: Wikipedia “Eranthis hyemalis” and “Eranthis.”
Michael Stephen Wills Photography 
Wonderful to see this unusual and cheerful wildflower, Michael Stephen, and an interesting twist to read how poisonous it is.
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Winter Aconite does lift my February mood.
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I wasn’t familiar with aconites, so thanks for the information and the beautiful photographs. I don’t think we have those in North Carolina, unless it’s possibly in the higher elevations in the Blue Ridge or Smoky Mountains. I’ll have to look into that.
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It is not native to North America, also not listed as an invasive plant. My in-laws must have planted bulbs — our soil is glacial till…clay, so suitable for winter aconite.
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