So far, the earliest Ozark spring flowers I’ve noticed have been the endemic Ozark witch hazel (Hamamelis vernalis). Wriggly tendrils of yellow and orange add little splashes of color to the otherwise barren winter landscape, usually in February here at Wild Ozark.

Coming in as a close second, the American Hazelnut’s (Corylus americana) incredibly tiny twig-end blooms also lend color, IF you have a very sharp eye. See the tiny bit of crimson at the end of that twig?

After that, the spice bush (Lindera benzoin) decorate naked branches of the shrub with frilly little surrounds of bright yellow flowers.

These early bloomers have one thing in common – they’re all shrubs. The other of the earliest Ozark Spring flowers are the ones that most people think of when thinking of early bloomers: trout lilies and bloodroot, the ephemerals. These will wait until the temps are a bit warmer and more reliably above freezing.

If you don’t want to wait for this year’s photos of the rest of them, I’ve posted about them before (link here and here), along with the ones I’ve mentioned today.

I probably have thousands of photos on file for all of them, because every year when the earliest Ozark spring flowers start showing themselves… I just can’t help it. The excitement never wanes.