Pasqueflowers are popping up in patches of Minnesota prairie

If you need an incentive to wander a prairie that looks ho-hum this time of year, consider an expedition to find deceptively delicate, easy-to-miss pasqueflowers. Like purple and golden garden crocus, they're the first flower to push through the dried grasses and plants, and they stay low to the ground, rarely growing more than 8 inches high.

The petals, just an inch or two in diameter, open in subtle shades of lavender and pink. A member of the buttercup family, they're also called American pasqueflower, prairie pasqueflower or prairie crocus. They've been Manitoba's official flower for almost 100 years and serve as South Dakota's state flower, as well.

Strands of fuzz across their stems and leaves help the plants stay warm. The flowers also follow the sun throughout the day, absorbing its warmth, which makes them more welcoming to newly emerged native bees and other pollinators.

The plants will sometimes push through snow and can show up anytime between early March through mid-April, depending on weather. Some had been spotted in southern Minnesota the week of March 17.

You can look for pasqueflowers while wandering restored or remnant prairies with full sun and good drainage. They'll sometimes show up along river slopes or outcroppings, too.

Some places to seek pasqueflowers include open areas near Red Wing's Barn Bluff, Kasota Prairie Scientific and Natural Area in St. Peter, Whitewater State Park east of Rochester, Eden Prairie's Richard T. Anderson Conservation Area, the Louisville Swamp area of the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge north of Jordan, Sand Prairie Wildlife Management Area in St. Cloud, Brainerd's Northland Arboretum, and Buffalo River State Park east of Moorhead.

Look carefully, stay on trails to avoid trampling new plants and study pasqueflowers closely to fully appreciate this elegant sign of spring, the season of rebirth.

Lisa Meyers McClintick has freelanced for the Minnesota Star Tribune since 2001 and volunteers as a Minnesota master naturalist.