Doll’s eyes is the kind of plant you remember. Not in spring, when its small, starry white flowers are easily overlooked. The season when it shines is fall. About this time of year, its berries have ripened to a ghostly white with dark “eye” spots in the centers. Contrasted on a grape juice-colored stem, these striking fruits are hard to miss during a walk in the woods.

A few weeks ago I spent an afternoon scanning the moist forest floor of Cunningham Park, Queens, searching for this wildflower. I had seen it here years ago, growing in the shade of a sugar maple. Despite hours of searching, I came to the sad conclusion that doll’s eyes had disappeared from the park.

Small patches of its rich woodland habitat are still found within city boundaries, but the plant itself no longer grows here. This wildflower continues to populate neighboring areas in New Jersey, Westchester, and Long Island but it is likely now gone from the New York City portion of its range.

Read the rest of my Huffington Post piece

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