everyone wants a pulpit

I have been slowly clearing our three acres of the obnoxiously invasive buckthorn. And every time I clear a few yards of woods, one of the first woodland plants to move in are the jack-in-the-pulpits. I have hundreds of them, maybe more. They are the last of the woodland ephemerals. This one, was only about 8 inches high when I photographed him. In a week or two or so he will be 18 inches high. Sometimes, if the rain is plentiful and consistent, I have seem them get 2 feet tall. I love their upswept arms–so joyous–they have a special place in my heart.

jack-in-the-pulpit flower with bulb and roots exposed