The beautiful fruits (samaras) of the silver maple (Acer saccharinum) start out their lives deep red with a white furry coat. When you see them beginning to form you have to check them frequently to catch them in this stage because it happens quickly and ends just as quickly. The mature seeds are the largest of any native maple and are a favorite food of the eastern chipmunk. Silver maples get their common name from the downy surface of the leaf underside, which flashes silver in the slightest breeze.
I joined a professional ostrich fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris) fiddlehead forager earlier to see where the ferns grow along the Connecticut River. There were many thousands of ferns there-so many that I don’t think a busload of people could have picked them all. I also saw some of the biggest trees that I’ve ever seen that day. Ostrich fern fiddleheads are considered a great delicacy by many and many restaurants are happy to pay premium prices for them at this time of year. I’ve always heard that ostrich fern is the only one of our native ferns that is safe to eat. They like to grow in shady places where the soil is consistently damp. They really are beautiful things at this stage in life.
Though I’ve heard that ostrich fern is the only fern safe to eat many people eat lady fern (Athyrium filix-femina) fiddleheads as well, and gourmet restaurants in Quebec will pay as much as $10.00 per pound for them. Both ostrich and lady fern fiddleheads are considered toxic when raw and should be boiled for at least 10 minutes, according to one chef. After they are boiled they are sautéed in butter and are said to hold their crispness. They are also said to have the flavor of asparagus, but more intense. Lady fern is the only one I know of with brown / black scales on its stalks.
Both cinnamon (Osmundastrum cinnamomeum) and interrupted ferns (Osmunda claytoniana) have wooly fiddleheads that taste very bitter and are mildly toxic. Some fern fiddleheads, like those of the sensitive fern, are carcinogenic so you should know your fern fiddleheads well before picking and eating them or you could get very sick. I’ve known the fern in the photo for a few years now and know that it is a cinnamon fern, but if I hadn’t seen its fertile fronds in the past I wouldn’t know for sure. The fertile fronds that will appear a little later on once reminded someone of a stick of cinnamon, and that’s how it comes by its common name.
The interrupted fern gets its common name from the way its green infertile leaflets are “interrupted” about half way up the stem by the brown, fertile leaflets. The fertile leaflets are much smaller and their color makes them stand out even at a distance. This fern doesn’t seem to mind dry, sunny spots because that’s usually where I find them.
Though usually brown the fertile leaflets on this interrupted fern were bright green and I wonder if they change color as they age; I’ve never paid close enough attention to know for sure. In any event, the fertile leaflets are covered with tiny, round spore producing sporangia. They will release their spores through tiny openings and then the fertile leaflets will fall off, leaving a piece of naked (interrupted) stem between the upper and lower infertile leaflets.
Last year at about this time I found this greenish stuff seeping out of the rocks on a rail trail and, not knowing what it was, called it rock slime. It looked slimy but if you put your finger in it, it felt like cool water and wasn’t slimy at all. Now this year I seem to be seeing it everywhere, but still seeping out of rocks. Luckily last year our friends Zyriacus, Jerry, Laura, and others identified it as a green algae of the genus Spyrogyra. Zyriacus said that some 400 species of this genus are known, and they thrive in freshwater. It’s great having knowledgeable friends-just look at the things we learn from each other!
Beavers started cutting this tree, but they don’t seem to be in any hurry to see it fall because it has been this way for a while. The only part of the tree’s trunk they eat for food is the inner bark, called the cambium layer, so maybe they were just snacking.
A beaver’s teeth really do make it look like someone has been chiseling the tree. If they have a choice they’d rather tackle trees less than six inches in diameter but they can fell trees up to three feet in diameter. The Native American Cherokee tribe has a story that says that the beaver collects the baby teeth of the tribe’s children, and will give a child good luck in return for a song.
White baneberry (Actaea pachypoda) has so much movement and interest in its spring shoots. They remind me of tiny bird claw-like hands and always make me wish that I had brought a pencil and a sketch pad so I could draw them. Later on this plant will produce bright white berries, each with a single black spot, and that is how it got the common name doll’s eyes.
We’re having some unusual spring warmth and it seems to be speeding up events that normally take a few weeks. I took this photo of a striped maple (Acer pensylvanicum) bud breaking on April 30th. On May 10th I was taking photos of striped maple flowers. From no leaves to flowering in just 10 days seems quite remarkable to me.
As you walk the trails along the Ashuelot River you might see what look like large pinkish orange flowers on the trees and think gosh, what beautiful things. If you get closer you will see that the colors are on the insides of the bud scales of the shagbark hickory tree, and aren’t flowers at all. And then you might wonder why such beautiful colors would be on the inside of a bud where nobody could ever see them, and as you walk on you might find yourself lost in gratitude, so very thankful that you were able to see such a thing. And later on, you might wonder if this chance meeting might have been an invitation.
In the spring as the sun gets brighter and the days grow longer light sensitive tree buds can tell when there is enough daylight for the leaves to begin photosynthesizing, so the buds begin to break. Bud break is defined as “when the green tip of a leaf can be seen emerging from the bud” and this can be a very beautiful thing, as we just saw with the shagbark hickory. American beech bud (Fagus grandifolia) break is every bit as beautiful and begins when the normally straight buds start to curl, as in the above photo. The curling is caused by the cells on the sunny side of the bud growing faster than those on the shaded side. This creates a tension that curls the bud and eventually causes the bud scales to pull apart so the leaves can emerge. At the bud’s location on the tree branch an entire year’s new leaves and stems will often grow from a single bud.
Now we know how beech buds open, but who can explain why they’re so beautiful when they do? Maybe it’s just another invitation. These invitations come so unexpectedly. Art, music, the beauty of a leaf or flower; all can invite us to step outside of ourselves; to lose ourselves and walk a higher path, at least for a time. It’s an invitation which if accepted, can be life changing.
One who not merely beholds the outward shows of things, but catches a glimpse of the soul that looks out of them, whose garment and revelation they are–if he be such, I say he will stand for more than a moment, speechless with something akin to that which made the morning stars sing together. ~George MacDonald
Thanks for coming by.
Those maple fruits are lovely and it’s good to see the buds bursting there at last.
I agree. Things are blooming quickly now. We’ve had quite a lot of heat lately.
Sorry about the delay between liking this post and commenting. I read your beautiful post last night, clicked on the like button and was about to comment when I fell asleep! I woke ten minutes later and realised I would be better off in bed.
I remember studying spirogyra at school but would never have recognised it as we never saw any photographs, we only drew diagrams of the cell structure! I also never knew that fern fiddleheads could be eaten. I had heard that ferns are carcinogenic and assumed that no-one would try eating any of them.
The photographs of the maple fruits and all the emerging shoots and leaves have pleased me more than I can say. Thank-you Allen.
Thank you Clare. I wouldn’t worry too much about when you’re commenting. I didn’t even notice and you have a good excuse! It sounds like rest was far more important than blogging.
I don’t remember studying algae in school. If I had I might not have been so surprised by it!
I think all ferns are carcinogenic at different levels. They say that you shouldn’t eat more than small portions of any of them, including those labeled edible. If they grow along a polluted river they take up all those pollutants, so they don’t sound very appealing to me.
I’m glad you liked the spring photos. Have a restful weekend!
Thank-you Allen! I think I’ll give eating ferns a miss!
Me too!
Very interesting info and great pictures of the ferns. I love all the ferns as their fronds unfurl. Our Ostrich ferns are almost at their full height.
Thanks! I like to see ostrich ferns in a garden. I used to work for some people who had huge ones as a backdrop in theirs.
You have caught such beautiful beginnings in these photographs. Your spring looks very vibrant now. Amelia
Thank you Amelia. Yes, everything is growing fast now!
All the pictures were SOOOOO interesting. I especially like the shagbark hickory one.
Thanks! I agree, the shagbark hickory buds opening are one of the most beautiful things you can see in a New England forest, in my opinion.
I just realized we have shagbark hickory trees here too.
I hope you’ll get to see their buds break!
Our trees are all leafed out now. I’ll have to remember where one grows.
Another great post, lovely pictures and thoughts!
Thanks!
That maple really puts on a colorful show! Fascinating about the ferns. I’ll have to do some studying on the ones in this area.
I like those little maple seeds when they first come out. It doesn’t take long before they’re green though!
I’ve never heard much about ferns in the west. It would be interesting to study, I’m sure.
I am glad to have learned what puts the curve into the beech buds. I’ll stick to asparagus.
The reason for the curvature of the buds is surprisingly simple!
I don’t blame you for staying with asparagus. I think my grandmother probably would have too. She loved it.
Great info on ferns. Fiddleheads taste so good; give them a try! I’ve never gathered them myself due to being unsure about proper identification, but often you can get reasonably fresh fiddleheads at the grocery store when they are in season. Another fabulous quote.
Thank you Paula. I didn’t say so but I’ve never liked asparagus so I probably wouldn’t like fiddle heads either, but on the other hand if someone sat a plate of them in front of me I’d at least try them.
I think it’s a good idea to not forage for them (or anything else) unless your sure of the identification!
I’m glad you liked the quote. Me too!
Talking of maple seeds – We have three large maples here in our garden. Beautiful trees, but their seeds are a pest. All over the lawn they bud in spring leaving no way for grass to come up. Well, after the first mowing they all are finished, but you have to wait for them to become at least two inches high for the mower to get them and by this time the grass has vanished. Again a very instructive post – I would never have had the the idea to eat ferns (we have some for their decorative foliage). As you mentioned spring came this year like an explosion. At early April the trees were bare and ten days later there was an avalanche of green. – Now beavering away myself in the garden.
Thank you Zyriacus. Yes, maple trees seem poised to take over the world and it’s a good thing you’re mowing the ones that are in your lawn. As I’m sure you know, once they get established they’re a real bear to get rid of.
I’m with you on the ferns-I’d much rather see them growing than on a plate.
Interesting how your spring came quickly too. We must be seeing a lot of the same weather this year.
Enjoy the gardening!
Wonderful Spring photographs.
Thank you Mary!
I’m so glad that you were able to catch the silver maple seeds at the right stage, I missed them this year. I’ve seen a few fiddleheads poking out of the ground, but I’ve been too busy photographing other things to take the time to capture them. Of course, I know nothing about them as far as species or if they’re edible, I just know that I like seeing them. That’s spring for you, we could post everyday and still not cover everything that we’d like to.
Thanks Jerry! That’s true, spring always happens fast but it really seems to be on fast forward here this year. I know you’ve been too busy with birds to get many shots of other things but I think between us we’ve got most of it covered!
A wonderful post again – thank you! I saw most of those ferns this past weekend on a hike in the mountains in Jamaica, VT. A south-facing slope, I was amazed at how far along things were there. Had my first sighting of pignut hickories that day also – a very healthy stand of them there. Speaking of first experiences, I had the great pleasure of experiencing the shagbark’s buds opening this past week (put it on my own blog) and I agree with you: I was lost in gratitude. I was walking along at dusk and looked ahead to a small sapling with the most extravagant display and said aloud “What in the world is THAT?” Up close, it was even more stunning. Wow.
You’re welcome, and thank you. I’ve never seen a pignut hickory but the chrome yellow buds on bitternut hickory are worth a walk in early spring.
I’m glad you saw a shagbark hickory bud after it had just opened. There’s really nothing else like it and I’m always surprised by how big and colorful they are. I think you’re the first reader who has ever said that they saw one. It’s a really amazing sight and you can’t help but feel grateful!
Now I am wondering… bitternut hickory can also be called pignut. But pignut is not also called bitternut. The trees I saw were not leaved out yet so I’m not sure which they were! But I did see a shagbark bud for sure; I shared it on my own blog a couple days ago.
This is where the scientific names show their importance! Pignut hickory is Carya glabra, and bitternut is Carya cordiformis. Without leaves identification comes down to buds and bud scales. Note that “glabra” means smooth or hairless and can pertain to bud scales as well as leaves. The bitternut hickory is the only hickory with bright yellow buds, I believe. There is a fairly good key for different hickories here: http://www.cfr.msstate.edu/students/forestrypages/fd/fo3012/HicKey1.pdf
Thank you. Good resources are invaluable!
Yes, I’d be lost without them!
Wow. Such gorgeous photos of everything beginning to unfurl in the spring. Like everyone else, I had no idea ferns could be poisonous. Guess I’ll be gathering greens at the grocery store again for dinner.
This may be one of my favorite posts ever. (second to the slime mold one).
Thank you Judy, and thanks for the laugh. I do all my foraging at the grocery store too. Yes, some ferns can make you very sick. Many ferns grow where it floods regularly, like along rivers, and I’ve heard that it’s the bacteria in the flood waters that can make you sick.
I’m glad you liked the post!
Interesting post, Allen. Great photos too, capturing the unfurling at this time of year.
I’ve often wished I had the nerve to try fiddleheads, but — not so far. I love ferns and at our previous place, we had many different kinds. I think I’m now down to only about five, and I love seeing them unfurl.
Thank you Cynthia. I think if you bought your fiddle heads in a grocery store or restaurant they’d be plenty safe, but you’d only enjoy them if you like asparagus. Personally, I’d rather see them in the woods or in a garden!
Fascinating post, Allen. I was particularly intrigued by your discussion of the different fiddleheads. I had no idea that people actually ate them and can’t say they hold any appeal for me–I am not very brave when it comes to consuming exotic things.
Thanks Mike. I’m with you. Other than a few berries I don’t eat very many of the things that I find in the woods. I’ve never cared for asparagus so fiddleheads look better as ferns than food to me, but there are a lot of people who love to eat them.
I’ve always wanted to try fiddleheads but I don’t know one from another.The same goes for wild mushrooms. So, I don’t pick or eat either! I like your use of the word invitation, yes, nature can be very inviting indeed.
Thank you Laura. I hope this post told you a little about what fiddleheads you’re seeing. All of them are fairly common, except ostrich fern which I don’t see very often.
Yes, nature is certainly inviting and I wish more people would accept the invitation!
I loved all those beautiful pictures you took of unfolding leaves and flowers, so skillful. The first one at the top of the post was my favourite.
Thank you Susan. I like the maple seeds too. They’re something many people don’t see very often and that’s too bad, because they really are beautiful.