Best Ephemeral

Virginia bluebells are woodland wildflowers belonging to the *Mertensia virginica* species. These plants produce striking tubular blooms that shift in color from pink to vibrant blue during spring. They are notable for their ephemeral nature—existing briefly before leaves wither. Primarily found in...

Ferdinandea, also called Graham Island, is a submerged volcanic feature in the Strait of Sicily between Sicily and Tunisia. An eruption in 1831 built a temporary island of loose volcanic material above sea level, prompting competing names and territorial claims before waves rapidly eroded it beneath...

Squirrel Corn (Dicentra canadensis) is a spring ephemeral wildflower native to the deciduous forests of eastern North America. It belongs to the fumitory family and features deeply cut, fern-like foliage. The plant produces distinctive white, heart-shaped flowers that dangle from arching stems, simi...

Trout Lily (Erythronium americanum) is a spring ephemeral native to the deciduous woodlands of eastern North America. The plant is named for its distinctive brown-mottled leaves, which visually resemble the speckled skin of a brook trout. It produces solitary, nodding yellow flowers with reflexed pe...

Rue Anemone (*Thalictrum thalictroides*) is a small herbaceous perennial plant native to the deciduous woodlands of eastern North America. Belonging to the buttercup family, Ranunculaceae, it is a spring ephemeral that actively grows and flowers early in the season before the tree canopy fully devel...

Round-lobed hepatica is an early-blooming perennial wildflower of eastern North American woodlands, commonly classified as Hepatica americana or Anemone americana. Its white, pink, lavender, or blue-violet flowers appear on hairy stalks before or alongside new leaves in spring. The evergreen or semi...

Dutchman's Breeches (Dicentra cucullaria) is a spring ephemeral native to the rich, deciduous woodlands of eastern North America. It produces fern-like basal leaves and leafless stems bearing white, yellow-tipped flowers shaped like tiny pairs of pantaloons. The plant is a member of the fumitory sub...

Ephemeral private mesh that destroys all traces after session ends, ideal for temporary secure collaboration.

Wood Anemone (Anemone quinquefolia) is a low-growing spring ephemeral native to deciduous forests of eastern North America. It produces solitary white flowers, typically five-petaled, above whorled basal leaves that emerge in early spring before tree canopy closure. The plant spreads through rhizome...

The dayflower is the common name for plants belonging to the Commelina genus, a widespread group of herbaceous plants in the spiderwort family. These plants are distinguished by their asymmetrical flowers, which typically feature two prominent larger blue petals and a single smaller, pale petal. The...

Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) is a perennial, spring-blooming herb native to the moist, deciduous woodlands of eastern North America. The plant is named for its thick, toxic rhizome, which exudes an orange-red latex sap when cut, a substance historically used by Indigenous peoples as a dye and...

Myōjin-shō is a submarine volcano located south of Tokyo, Japan, within the Izu-Bonin island arc. The volcano is named after its 1952 eruption, which created a temporary, ephemeral island that was soon destroyed by waves. During this eruption, the Japanese survey ship *Kaiyo Maru No. 5* was destroye...

Fukutoku-Oka-no-Ba is an active submarine volcano located in the Bonin Islands chain of Japan. During its major eruption in 2021, it produced a large raft of floating pumice that drifted across the Pacific Ocean, disrupting maritime traffic. The volcanic activity also temporarily created a new landm...

A transient tuff cone in Tonga that has repeatedly emerged and submerged since its first recorded sighting in 1865, last confirmed above sea level in 1995.

Metis Shoal, also known as Late'iki, is an active submarine volcano in the Ha'apai region of Tonga. Eruptions have repeatedly built temporary islands from loose volcanic material, including documented island-forming episodes in 1967, 1979, and 1995, after which wave erosion removed the exposed land....

Spring beauty (Claytonia virginica) is a small, edible flowering plant native to eastern North America, notable for its tiny pink-striped white petals that bloom in early spring.

Late'iki, also known as Metis Shoal, is a submarine volcano in Tonga that periodically builds temporary tuff cone islands, as seen in 1995 and 2019.

Home Reef is an active submarine volcano in Tonga, notable for repeatedly forming temporary volcanic tuff cone islands, most recently in 2022.