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SHAD SPIRIT: A bird heard in early spring associated with the arrival of the shad. [New England] [1861, northeast Massachusetts, "There is a bird known as the Shad-spirit, . . whose note is still held to indicate the first day when the fish ascend the river."] #SpringWords

YOUNGSTER: A shoot or young leaf of the checkerberry. [1903, central eastern Massachusetts, ". . . I wonder if they had our curious Old Colony name for these vernal dainties. It sounds like cannibalism, but we gathered them and ate them in all innocence . . as “youngsters.”

SPRING BIRD: A song sparrow. (Melospiza melodia) [1832, Maine, "The Spring Bird is larger than a chipping bird, and is one of the very first to sing the vernal song."] #SpringWords

FIDDLEHEAD (verb): To gather fiddlehead ferns. [especially Maine] [1975, Maine, "Going fiddleheading ranks with goin’ smeltin’ as a Maine vernal outing of ritualistic importance."] #SpringWords

VANILLA GRASS: A sweet smelling vernal grass (Anthoxanthum odoratum) [1930, California, "Sweet vernal, or vanilla grass, adds to the fragrance of the trails."] #SpringWords

SPRINGHOUSE: A structure built over or near a spring and used as a storage place for keeping perishable food cool. [chiefly Midland, South, esp Appalachian] #SpringWords

SPRING SALMON: A chinook salmon. (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) [2000, Michigan, "These fishermen never encountered Salmon before and were amazed at the brute strength of Spring Salmon, they now know why they’re called Kings."] #SpringWords

SPRING BONE: A wishbone. [southeastern Georgia] # SpringWords

SPRING PEEPER: A frog of the genus Hyla or Pseudacris. [1892, Connecticut, "Almost any bright, genial day now we may listen for the first note of the spring peepers, the tiny piping frogs that wet their whistles in the lowlands."] #SpringWords

SPRING MUSHROOM: A morel mushroom. (Morchella esculenta). #SpringWords

SPRING BEAUTY: An anemone or similar plant. [1998, Greensboro, North Carolina, "Spring beauties, Anemone nemrosa [sic]; [etc] . . are all in bloom."] #SpringWords #SpringBeautyWeek

SPRING BEAUTY: A phlox (P. subulata) [1967, DARE Wildflower Questionnaire, Plant 178, Informant SC41, "Pink phlox—spring beauty—a misnomer hereabouts."] #SpringWords #SpringBeautyWeek

SPRING BEAUTY: A toothwort (here: Cardamine nuttallii var nuttallii). [1934, Haskin, Wild Flowers Pacific Coast, "Spring Beauty—Dentaria tenella [=Cardamine nuttallii var n.] . . not the spring beauty of the East, which is a different plant.] #SpringWords #SpringBeautyWeek

SPRING BEAUTY: A plant of the genus Claytonia, especially Claytonia virginica. [chiefly North, esp North Central, Pennsylvania, Upstate New York] #SpringWords #SpringBeautyWeek

SPRING BEAUTY: A hepatica. (Hepatica nobilis subsp acuta or obtusa). #SpringWords #SpringBeautyWeek

SPRING QUEEN: A kittentails. (Synthyris reniformis). #SpringWords

SPRING ORANGE: A snowbell. (Styrax americanus). #SpringWords

FOOTSTEPS-OF-SPRING: A sanicle. ( Sanicula arctopoides) [especially California] [1954, Point Lobos, Footsteps-of-spring compensates for its lack of pleasant aroma by adding attractive yellow splotches to the green grass of early March.] #SpringWords

Spring is just around the corner, but there's still time to enjoy the Winter 2020 Quarterly Update! Check it out here: dare.wisc.edu/words/quarterl…

SPRING ONION: A green onion. [chiefly South, Midland] #SpringWords