Wildflowers burst to life in the glorious spring sunshine.
While spring is generally associated with the likes of rape blossoms and dandelions, other, less familiar plants can be found flowering in the forest at this time of year.
These plants may look deceptively normal, but come May, they actually disappear completely from the surface, only leaving their stem and roots hidden underground until the following spring.
These wildflowers, which only appear for a fleeting moment during spring each year are known collectively as spring ephemeral.
Katakuri, or dogtooth violet, is one such plant.
Katakuri forms colonies in deciduous broad-leaved forest s and well-kept mountainsides.
Sprouting leaves around the time snow begins to thaw, they busily carry out photosynthesis to store nutrients in the bulb before the leaves of broadleaf trees develop and block the sunlight.
After germination, Katakuri grow for 6 to 7 years prior to flowering.
Until then, they simply extends a single leaf and then disappear for another year.
However, once they comes of age and starts to flower,
Katakuri continues to blossom for the rest of that 15 or so year lifespan.
This means that Katakuri flowering in a single colony are of various ages.
Spring ephemerals use a variety of tactics to facilitate efficient pollination during their limited period of flowering.
One example is the flowers of “pheasant’s eye” that face the sun like sunflowers with the petals rounded like mini parabola antennae to warm near the pistil and encourage insects to pollinate on cold days.
Katakuri’s flowers, on the other hand, contain generous amounts of nectar, but bloom with the petals facing down, limiting pollination to insects like bumblebees.
Interestingly, the pattern at each petal’s base plays no role in signaling the presence of nectar to bees as it doesn’t absorb or reflect any UV light.
The larger the colony, the more likely Katakuri are to flower in unison.
This seems to compensate for the short flowering period, ensuring all flowers are pollinated with maximum efficiency.
However, how is it that Katakuri coordinate flowering across an entire colony?
One study recorded that a special flower-bearing stem sprouts from the bulb when the temperature is 10 degrees Celsius, and then flowers at 17 degrees Celsius.
How they measure temperature and coordinate flowering is still a mystery.
Other bizarre reports tell of Katakuri colonies “migrating” at a rate of half a meter per year.
The truth and mechanism behind this remain unclear, but one thing is for certain.
Katakuri is indeed one of the most mysterious members of the spring ephemerals.
Humans do not have such refined sensors with which to measure the natural world.
However, humankind posses the power of analysis, one that goes beyond our natural limitations.
The protection of this diverse and beautiful earth through the analysis of nature is a mission that has been entrusted to humankind.