Center Island’s May flowers

IT’S A BIT OF A MYSTERY why one of my island’s native plants flourishes one year and another spreads like gangbusters the next.

Last year, my neighbor the Mad Birder noted, Ocean Spray shrubs absolutely took over the gentle slope in front of his cabin.

This spring, one of my favorites, the dainty, low-to-ground Starflower, has spread like the dickens. Now is its bloom time.

The effect is charmingly as if constellations fell from the night sky to cast tiny white stars throughout the forest duff.

The U.S. Forest Service website tells me that Starflower (Trientalis borealis) is a member of the Primrose family. The genus name Trientalis is from the Latin meaning “one third of a foot,” which corresponds to the plant’s average height. The species name borealis refers to being from the north.

Starflower is a perennial herb that grows from slender, creeping rhizomes, which apparently found good conditions to do a lot of extra creeping on Center Island this year. Leaves are simple and occur in whorls of 5 to 9 at the tip of the stem. Flowers are snow white, sometimes with a subtle blush of pink at the edges, with 5 to 9 petals and approximately 1/4- to 1/2-inch in diameter.

Appropriately, considering the blooming time, another common name for this woodland gem is the Mayflower, which conjures up images of a whole different season. So far, I’ve seen no big-hatted pilgrims in the area. Lopez Island does have wild turkeys.