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Sponsored by MNPS Eastern Shore Chapter Co-sponsoring Organization: Adkins Arboretum
Location: Tuckahoe State Park (via the Park Office) in the morning and Adkins Arboretum for lunch and afternoon.
Description: Join us for an observant walk through two of the Eastern Shore’s most beloved natural areas—Tuckahoe State Park and Adkins Arboretum—as we welcome the earliest blooms of the season. Before the canopy leaf out and the forest floor slips back into shade, a brief, brilliant parade of spring ephemerals rises, flowers, and fades. This is our chance to catch them in their fleeting moment. This is also the time when some of our most beloved native trees and shrubs are in full bloom too.
The Tuckahoe–Adkins landscape is a mosaic of Coastal Plain habitats—swamp forests, seepage slopes, sandy ridges, and rich bottomlands. That diversity means a longer, more varied early spring show than you’ll find in many other parts of the Shore. We will weave in and out both parks, which is actually part of the same complex. Tuckahoe State Park offers wild, unfiltered forest communities where ephemerals carpet the open floor. Adkins Arboretum provides a curated, accessible look at native species, including some that are harder to find in the wild. Together, they give us a full picture of what early spring looks like in the Mid Shore’s natural heritage.
Leaders: Leslie Cario and Cristina Niciporciukas Leslie Cario is the Horticulture and Natural Lands Director at Adkins Arboretum. Cristina Niciporciukas is the Eastern Shore MNPS Chapter Chair.
What we will look for: a carpet of blooming trout lilies, skunk cabbage, spring beauties, jack in the pulpit, Virginia bluebells, golden ragwort, cranefly orchids, blooming mayapples, Canada mayflowers, not to mention blooming sassafras. If you follow Jim Brighton's MD Plant Big Year via Substack, we will try to spot some of the plants he shared on the Feb 22 edition.
For additional information: Please reach out to Cristina Niciporciukas at eschapter@mdflora.org
FREE EVENT
ONLINE REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED. Registration Deadline: 04/10
Bring: Please wear good shoes (boots preferred), and bring water, lunch, and snacks. Bring your favorite plant identification resources. We will use iNat to help ID plants and any other living thing as we move along the paths.
Cancellation Policy: Event will proceed in drizzle but be cancelled if heavy rain or thunderstorm; cancellation will be emailed at least 2 hours before meeting time.
©Maryland Native Plant Society PO Box 4877, Silver Spring, MD 20914MNPS is a registered 501(c)(3) charitable organization incorporated in Maryland.
