HANOVER — True to their name, spring ephemeral wildflowers are here today, gone tomorrow.
The Hanover Conservancy will take advantage of the brief window of the flowers’ appearance to host a free hike in the newly protected Britton Forest on the western slope of Hanover’s Moose Mountain from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. on Sunday.
Led by Upper Valley botanist Alice Schori, hikers will help collect information about the flora present in the 79-acre parcel, donated to the Hanover Conservancy last fall by Doug and Katharine Britton, of Norwich. The conservancy is in the process of inventorying the property’s plants, birds and wildlife before deciding on future management.
“It’s sort of a citizen scientist effort,” said Adair Mulligan, executive director of the Hanover Conservancy. “The purpose is to get people out there, introduce them to the property and make notes about the different plant species we find. If we find something terribly unusual, we’ll want to return to that spot every year and monitor its population.”
Mulligan opted not to speculate about the kinds of unusual wildflowers that might be discovered. Not only has she not fully scouted the property yet, but “there’s always a risk in telling people about rare plants in a public place.”
Collectors sometimes try to harvest rare species and replant them, but such efforts tend to fail, Mulligan said. “Wildflowers have very specific soil requirements and they also form underground partnerships with nearby plants in order to share nutrients.”
Some common wildflowers walkers might expect to see right now include trout lilies, bunchberries, columbines, starflower, blue bead lilies and Canada mayflower, according to Mulligan.
The walk is being held relatively late in the season due to spring’s slow arrival in the Upper Valley.
“We anticipated the delay,” Mulligan said. “We usually do this trip around Mother’s Day.”
Hikers are encouraged to bring their lunch.
“Once you get going looking for wildflowers, it’s hard to stop, (but) we might stop and have a picnic,” Mulligan said. “It’s an absolutely beautiful place.”
Editor’s note: Meet at the Britton Forest parcel at the end of Ibey Road, off Three Mile Road. For more information, call 603-643-3433.