I like the reds and orangey browns and the velvety texture of hazelnut husks. They add a nice touch of color to the gray and white world of winter. The nuts are a favorite of many birds and animals including turkeys and squirrels so they disappear quickly. This photo is of American Hazelnut (Corylus americana) but we also have beaked hazelnut (Corylus cornuta) in parts of the state.
This is the time of year that I start watching buds to see what they’re up to. Hobblebush (Viburnum alnifolium) flower and leaf buds are naked, meaning they have no bud scales. Though there might be plenty of snow the ground is frozen, so none of the moisture is available to plants and bud scales help conserve moisture. Plants that have no bud scales have evolved other ways to protect their buds, and one of those ways is by wearing wooly winter coats like the hobblebush does.
Nannyberry (Viburnum lentago) buds always remind me of long beaked birds. This is another native viburnum but instead of being naked its terminal flower buds have two scales. They’re a good example of valvate bud scales, which simply means the margins of the two bud scales touch but don’t overlap. This shrub is easily confused with wild raisin (Viburnum cassinoides) in the winter because its flower buds are very similar, but the bud scales on wild raisin tend to split open more around the swollen part of the bud.
Striped maples (Acer pensylvanicum) have colorful twigs and buds and are among the easiest trees to identify no matter what time of year because of the green and white vertical stripes on their bark. Their terminal buds have two scales and are valvate like the nannyberry buds.
Red maples (Acer rubrum) protect their buds with as many as four pairs of rounded, hairy edged bud scales. The scales are often plum purple and the bud inside tomato red. This is one of the first of our native trees to blossom in spring and also one of the most beautiful, in my opinion. Each small bud holds as many as 6-8 red blossoms. Red maple trees can be strictly male or female, or can have both male and female blossoms on a single tree. They bloom before the leaves appear and large groves of them can wash the landscape with a brilliant red haze which shouts that spring has arrived.
This is also the time of year that I start to watch catkins for signs of pollen production. Before too long alder catkins will open their purple scales and burst with golden pollen, and the edges of ponds and streams will be draped with their dangling beauty for a short time.
Black birch (Betula lenta) catkins will do the same, but they aren’t quite as showy as alder catkins. Black birch twigs taste like wintergreen when they’re chewed so that’s how I make sure I have the correct tree. Black birch was once harvested, shredded and distilled to make oil of wintergreen, and so many were taken that they can be very hard to find now. I know where a few grow but they aren’t a common sight. Young trees are easy to confuse with cherry.
Speaking of cherry, one day I saw several young trees with black knot disease. It is caused by the fungus Apiosporina morbosa which can also attack plums, peaches, and apricots. Spores from the fungus can be spread by rain or wind and typically infect trees from April through June on new growth. Infected stems swell up and produce hard black knots like those in the above photo. This disease can eventually kill the tree so infected limbs should be pruned off 2-4 inches below the knots and buried or burned before bud break the following spring.
A gall wasp called Callirhytis quercussimilis caused this swelling on the trunk of this scrub oak (Quercus ilicifolia.) If the trunk had twisted just a bit differently it would have made a great cane.
The dried, open cones of northern white cedar (Thuja occidentalis) look like tiny, carved wooden flowers. Gone are the eight seeds that each one holds, but the flattened, scale-like leaves so common on cedars can be seen in this photo. Native Americans showed 16th century French explorer Jacques Cartier how to cure scurvy with the leaves of this tree and he was so impressed that he named it Arborvitae, which is Latin for Tree of Life. He also had trees with him when he returned to Europe, and Thuja occidentalis became the first North American tree to be introduced there.
Indian pipe (Monotropa uniflora) seed pods also look like tiny carved wooden flowers. Most have split open by now to release tens of thousands of seeds to the wind, but not this one. It has cracked open though and since the individual seeds are only ten cells thick, some have probably escaped.
Fallen branches are great places to find lichens and fungi in the winter so I always take a closer look at them. This one had a large area of what I think was white rot fungus (Phanerochaete chrysorhizon) growing on it. This toothed crust fungus is a deep, orangey- brown and has folds that look like teeth. It is very similar to the milk white, toothed polypore (Irpex lacteus) but that fungus has edges that curl.
I found this leafy (foliose) rimmed camouflage lichen (Melanelia hepatizon) growing on a white pine branch but it can grow on stone and is also called rock leather. Its body (thallus) is very dark olive green with brown and black here and there. Its fruiting bodies (apothecia) are rosy brown disk like structures with white ruffled edges that look as if they’d been dipped in powdered sugar. These white bits are called Pseudocyphellae, which are pores in the body of the lichen that open to the medulla. The medulla is a layer made up of long, thread like structures called hyphae which in turn make up the fungal part of the lichen. If we revisit lichens 101 we remember that lichens are actually composite organisms that emerge from algae or cyanobacteria (or both) living among filaments of a fungus in a mutually beneficial (symbiotic) relationship. Phew. Some lichens can be almost as difficult to describe as they are to identify.
Though I enjoy finding things in nature that I’ve never seen before and love to learn all about them, sometimes I like to put away the books, forget all the big words and just enjoy the staggering beauty of it all. The unfurled bark of this tree limb showed its striking and unexpected colors that were hidden within, and it reminded me of how lucky I am to be able to see such things, and how very grateful I should be for the opportunity. After a whispered thank you for all of the wonderful things I had seen on this day I headed for home with a glad heart.
What right do I have to be in the woods, if the woods are not in me? ~John Cage
Thanks for coming by.
Some great signs that spring is not too far away there.
It’ll be a while yet but things are happening now that we can’t see.
Thanks for that discussion of buds with and without scales. I had never thought of it before, though it is one of those things that is plain as day.
You’re welcome. Yes, it’s another one of those things that are right in front of us, but that we never see.
I so enjoy seeing and reading about what you’ve seen. Makes me realize I need to pay attention a bit more.
Thank you Jocelyn. You almost have to retrain your eyes to see small things but once you start seeing them you’ll be amazed by all the beautiful things that you’ve been missing.
It is never too early to look for signs of spring! Good to know about the black knot disease. Now I know what is on my peach tree and will prune it off before it spreads!
Yes, you should do it soon before the buds start to break!
I know that I have said this before, but thank you for another well illustrated and informative post. I too liked the colors and textures of the hazelnut husks, any color other than grey is a welcome sight this time of year.
I’ve been looking at leaf buds hoping to see some signs that they are preparing to open, with no success. It’s a little too early yet, but there’s always hope.
You’re welcome Jerry, and thank you!
It seems like this is going to be one of those years when spring happens all at once like someone threw a switch. Winter isn’t going down without a fight. It has snowed so much here that shoveling is becoming a full time job!
Beautiful photos! There’s beauty in old, dried up objects! Thanks.
You’re welcome and thank you Therese, I agree.
This time of year, they are like an army awaiting the command to advance into battle!
Yes, and once they get started there’s no stopping them!
Reblogged this on Dawn of Divine Rays and commented:
With deep gratitude to you for all your hard work, Allen. Sending bright Reiki blessings your way. Namaste
Thank you Agnes, and the same to you. Trudging through all of this snow is starting to feel a little like work!
It’s a lot of work for me if I have to go through snow and ice just to blog … then .. I’ll be thinking to go back to the land of sunshine and rain .. lol ..
It can be a lot of work. We just keep getting one snowstorm after another, so I’d better get used to it!
Practically every picture jumped out at me. Especially the camouflage lichen. I wish we had that one!
I thought that you might have it but according to my lichen book it grows in very few places in the U.S. This just happens to be one of them. Believe it or not it grows mostly way up near the Arctic circle, which seems odd.
It sure wouldn’t like our summers
The photogrpah of the alder catkins was wonderful. Was it a still day or did you find a sheltered spot?
Thank you. It was dead calm that day but I still had to take quite a few shots before I had one that was blog worthy. I don’t know what it is about them that cameras find so difficult to focus on.
I love the stunning color, and detail, the shapes that fill your photos. There is so much in this world that really is perfect.
Thank you Charlie. That’s true, and it would take many life times to see it all.
A timely and beautiful post Allen! I was going round the garden yesterday looking at and trying to photograph the buds I saw. The camouflage lichen is so lovely!
Thank you Clare! It sounds like you are feeling a touch of spring fever just like I am. They’re talking about more snow on the TV but I get my forecasts from nature and it says spring isn’t too far off. I can feel the difference in the warmth of the sun now.
The white frilly ruffles on that camouflage lichen were a real surprise!
Yes, the sun is much warmer now and the days are longer. Birds are singing and the spring bulbs are shooting. I meant to add that I enjoyed your quote and the final paragraph of your post very much.
Thank you Clare. I’m glad to hear that you’re seeing signs of spring too!
I liked that quote too. It had a ring of truth for me.
Every little, tiny step you see toward spring brings joy and encouragement as we face yet another forecast of storms….I love your positive attitude!
Thanks Martha. I’m not a real winter lover but I think we should make the most of what nature gives us.
The photographs, the words, and the gratitude all gladden my heart today!
Best, Gabrielle
Thank you Gabrielle. Sometimes we need a little reminder of how much beauty surrounds us.
Your photographs make my heart sing! Thank you for the beautiful reminders of Life.
You’re welcome, I’m glad that they did!
You know how to see the ordinary and make it extraordinary – fantastic series of photographs.
Thank you Mary. I think we all have that ability, though not all of us have the time.
The words in your last paragraph say it all. Thankyou for sharing your thoughts and photographs. I’m not sure why but this is the first year I have been so aware of how wonderful Alder catkins are.
You’re welcome Julie. Keep an eye on those alder catkins. They’re going to be really beautiful when the weather warms up a bit!
Another gorgeous post. Thanks.
You’re welcome, and thank you Judy. I’m glad you liked it.
I whole heartedly agree, how lucky we are to see such things…
Thanks Grampy! I often think about all the people out there who can’t get into the woods. I can’t imagine what that must be like.
Life (disease and death) in all its forms deserves wonder. Thank you for helping us remember.
You’re welcome, Ben. It’s all part of life!
Thank you for showing us round all those early signs of Spring, very interesting.
You’re welcome Susan. It might be wishful thinking, but I hope not.