The big green apple in this photo is the fruit of a plant commonly known as the May apple. The May apple plant is a native woodland wildflower that grows in colonies from a single root system. Lying dormant underground during winter, in spring it pushes a stem up through the forest floor. It blooms in April and produces a green apple in May that typically ripens in June. All parts of the May apple are poisonous.

The blue flower in my photo is called blue-eyed grass. Although it looks like grass with its long thin leaves, it is not really a grass. It is actually related to irises. This wildflower is native to the eastern third of the United States. The tiny flower of the blue-eyed grass is easy to overlook in the vast Southeast Missouri landscape. The two small green balls hanging beneath the blue flower are the plant’s seed pods.