On Wednesday, March 21st, I took my dogs Wesley and Merlin for a walk in the Greenbrier section of the Park.  This is one of our favorite places to walk and a great place for spring wildflowers!  We walked from the intersection with the Ramsey Cascades road to the Porters Creek trailhead. 

I saw my first White Trillium, Trillium grandiflorum of the year by the Porters Creek trailhead.  I am still learning my trilliums, but I recognize this one by the wavy petal edges, and the light colored center.  Sweet-white Trillium, which is also in bloom right now, has a dark center.

Here are our two common Anemones, Rue Anemone, Thalictrum thalictroides (on the left) and Wood Anemone, Anemone cinquefolia (on the right).  I have seen lots of Rue Anemone this year, but this was my first Wood Anemone.

Foamflower, Tiarella cordifolia.

Smooth Rock Cress, Arabis laevigata.

Here an unfolding frond of a Lady Fern, Athyrium felix-femina.  Notice the tiny hairs on the reddish stem, or rachis in "fern-talk." 

Right in plain sight at the Greenbrier group picnic area I found this Yellow Morel, Morchella esculenta.  We collected some of these mushrooms last year and cooked them up in butter with bread crumbs.  I'm surprised no one has snagged this beauty yet!  The whole business of eating wild mushrooms is a little scary since there are so many look-alikes.  Morels, luckily, are fairly easy to identify.

Dwarf Ginseng, Panax trifolius.  This I found on the road heading out to Ramsey Cascades.  Don't confuse this the with American Ginseng, Panax quinquefolius, which is extremely valuable and commonly poached in the Park.  Needless to say, Dwarf Ginseng is much more common than American Ginseng.

Field Pansy, Viola bicolor.  Also found on Ramsey Cascades Road.  This was a new violet for me.

Other wildflowers I saw (but did not get a decent picture of) include: 

Common Blue Violet, Viola sororia

Blue Phlox, Phlox divaricata

Bloodroot, Sanguinaria canadensis

Cut-leaved Toothwort, Cardamine concatenata

Star Chickweed, Stellaria pubera

Long-spur Violet, Viola rostrata

Yellow Trillium, Trillium luteum

Bishop's Cap, Mitella diphylla

Round-leaf Ragwort, Senecio obovatus

Trout Lily, Erythronium umbilicatum

This is a total of 17 species!

I heard a few birds too, notably Louisiana Waterthrush and Yellow-throated Warbler, two newly arrived summer residents!  I also heard Tufted Titmouse and Golden-crowned Kinglets which are both year-round residents.

Lots of butterflies are flying now.  I saw several Tiger Swallowtails, but they never landed, so I was not able to get a picture.  West Virginia Whites are everywhere!