#10 Tiny Little Flowers Along the Trailside
- Rowan Darko
- Mar 13
- 2 min read
With March rolling in it is undeniable that we are on the cusp of spring, and while the flowers have been blooming the ecosystems at large are starting to glow with the bright colors of fresh blooms. Every day it seems a new species is starting to spring into bloom.
It's easy in these moments to get distracted by those flowers that stand at face level or those so bright and so outstanding that they demand one’s immediate attention, such as the poppies which grace our grassy fields here in California. Today I’d like to take a moment to celebrate a few of the tiny little blooms that lie at ground level and add another dimension to the beauty of this season.
Scarlet Pimpernel - Lysimachia arvensis
This coral-pink to orange colored flower comes in at about the size of a shirt button (about ¼ inch) in diameter. They’re a tiny little member of the primrose family, Primulaceae. ‘
They grow just barely off the sandy ground that they inhabit. All the better that they would be rather difficult to gather, as they contain toxic saponins and cytotoxic cucurbitacins(1). Not a good garnish for your plate.
You’ll find this blooms along trailsides, roadsides, and through grassy fields. They enjoy open sunny areas and can tolerate harsh coastal conditions. I often see them blooming through the nearby marshlands.
Sand Spurries - Genus Spergularia
These tiny little flowers are quite easy to miss, being even slightly smaller than the scarlet pimpernel and not sharing their bright orange color - at least not through and through. You’ll find them blooming in shades from white to pink.
The ones I’ve found recently have all been white and it makes me curious if later in the season those same blooms may turn pink to signal to pollinators that they should move on. I know some other species, like the milkmaid flower, use color signals this way
You’ll find them growing low to the ground in open sandy areas. They are salt tolerant and often inhabit coastal regions but you can find them extending far inland as well.
Cranebills - Genus Geranium
These little pink flowers come in a wide variety with the genus having hundreds of species. Aside from being in the genus Geranium cranebills are also in the family Geraniaceae - or the Geranium family.
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