Pasqueflowers are truly a welcome sight when they first appear in the foothills during late March, for they indicate the arrival of Spring. Pushing their purple, tulip-like blooms through the brown expanse of a winter meadow before any other plants appear - and long before even their own leaves venture forth, pasqueflowers evoke courage, stamina and beauty.
Several adaptations allow these members of the buttercup family to appear so early in the season. A hollow stem enables each flower to concentrate its own metabolic heat, thereby helping warm the plant during the chill of a March day. In addition, thick, fuzzy hairs help conserve added heat when winds would suck it all away. Whenever clouds arrive or the sun begins to set, each flower closes its petals - crocus-like - thereby providing added warmth and creating protection against the sudden rain and snow so typical of early Spring. Finally, pasqueflower blooms have a tendency to follow the sun throughout the day, thus contributing additional heat, making them an attractive shelter for a whole host of insects.
Mirroring our own inner life, pasqueflowers teach us to bloom courageously even when everything around us seems dead, wintry, and devoid of inspiration. They also instruct us to concentrate our spiritual creativity and energy rather than dissipate ourselves across a welter of external distractions. Embodying an introversion that puts each of us in touch with the Divine Sun, pasqueflowers offer important lessons that can offer an important antidote to the hectic busyness of our life in society.
Photo: A pasqueflower glows in last light, Lory State Park, CO, March 19, 2012
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