I’ve tried many times to get a fairly good photo of male and female speckled alder catkins (Alnus incana) together but always failed until this time. The male catkin is the large golden object on the left and the female catkins are the long brown pointy objects on the right. They grow on the same bush but are very hard to get in the same photo.
Brown and purple scales on the male alder catkin are on short stalks and surround a central axis. There are three flowers beneath each scale, each with a lobed calyx cup and three to five stamens with anthers, which are usually covered in yellow pollen.
Each female speckled alder catkin is cone shaped and about a half inch long. A catkin, botanically speaking, is a slim, cylindrical flower cluster, usually with no petals. It is also called an ament. When I look for alder flowers I can only see a faint hint of red in the right light; the flowers are too small to see without a camera or loupe.
Each flower is a thin reddish strand that is the stigma; the part of the flower that receives the pollen. Normally a flower’s central pistil is made up of the stigma on the end of a style which then connects to the ovary. These flowers are so small that I can’t think of anything to compare them to except a hair, but they are bigger in diameter than that. They are certainly the smallest flowers that I try to photograph.
The late afternoon sun turned the catkins of American hazel (Corylus americana) to gold. American hazel is a common roadside shrub that I don’t think many people ever see. When I tell people about it and the hazelnuts that it bears they always seem surprised. I wonder if that’s because they like hazelnut flavored coffee.
The male hazel catkins are just starting to release their pollen. It pays to watch them develop because once they’re releasing pollen the tiny female flowers will soon begin to blossom.
The female hazel blossom is another flower that it’s hard to convey the size of. They are simple sticky crimson stigma just like the alders we saw previously, but since they grow from a bud rather than a catkin they’re slightly easier to see. I still have to look for a reddish blush though, because they’re too small for me to see. Luckily the camera can see very small things.
The willow trees have taken on their golden spring crown but our willow shrubs are still holding on to their furry gray catkins. Maybe this will be the day that they bloom. It’s supposed to sunny and warm.
Crocuses are blooming a little more but still seem a bit hesitant to really let go and bloom to their full potential. It could be the up and down weather.
They were in the shade so these crocus blossoms didn’t seem to want to open but that was fine, because I was loving them just as they were. I’ve never seen this variety before.
Reticulated irises (Iris reticulata) are our earliest iris I think, and usually bloom at about the same time as crocus. I love these examples for their color, though I’m not sure what it is. I see blue but my color finding software sees both blue and purple. I’m happy believing they’re all blue. This beautiful little plant comes from Turkey, the Caucasus, Northern Iraq and Iran.
Something strange is happening to the skunk cabbages (Symplocarpus foetidus) this year. The spathes, which are seen here, aren’t opening fully and the flowers on the spadices inside aren’t producing pollen. Normally you would be able to see the spadix with its flowers inside the spathe at this time of year, dusted with pollen. They’re noting that the same thing is happening with skunk cabbages in New York. It’s a mystery.
Many of the male red maple flowers I’ve seen have stopped producing pollen already.
But the female red maple flowers seem to be still waiting to be pollinated.
The yellow vernal witch hazel (Hamamelis) that grows in a local park was timid and slow to get started this year but now it’s blooming better than I’ve ever seen it. Every branch is loaded with strap shaped petals.
The orange vernal witch hazel’s branches are as full of blossoms as the yellow but these flowers are smaller with shorter petals. But what they lack in size is more than made up for with fragrance. I’ve never smelled anything else like it and standing downwind from a shrub full of these flowers is like smelling a bit of heaven. It’s such a fresh, clean scent.
Coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara) has just started poking out from under the leaves to bloom. These examples were quite small as can be seen by comparing them to the acorn cap in the upper left corner. I expect that I’ll see many more this weekend.
It’s always a little surprising when a bird or animal acts like it has no fear of humans by getting close to you but it also means a great opportunity for photos, and I thanked this robin for swooping down beside me and posing. Robins used to be harbingers of spring but the people who know birds say that many stay with us year round. That may be, but over the last few years I’ve watched their numbers increase each spring. It’s almost as if someone flipped a switch and suddenly there are flocks of robins everywhere.
Once again the warmth and sunshine gave way to winter’s return, but thankfully it was a short visit. The streaks in the sky in this photo were made by falling snowflakes just after sunrise.
This photo was taken in the afternoon of our snow day. By the time it got dark most of the snow had melted but the rest of the week turned cloudy and cool.
The buds on the red elderberry (Sambucus racemosa) have opened and they didn’t seem to mind the snow. There’s a lot going on in there. The part that looks like it has fingers will be a leaf; when the bud scales are closed tightly one leaf on each side wrap around the flower bud to protect it. The flower buds will be deep purple soon, and will resemble lilac buds for just a short time. As time passes they’ll become greenish white flowers. I hope I can show them to you when they’re at their most beautiful.
Behold, my friends, the spring is come; the earth has gladly received the embraces of the sun, and we shall soon see the results of their love! ~Sitting Bull
Thanks for stopping in. I hope everyone has a happy Easter.
Your trees are certainly ahead of ours. The catkins on my Kilmarnock willow have only just opened.
That’s odd that our trees would be while our flowers aren’t. It’s a strange spring!
I love the pictures of the tree flowers, it has made me look more closely at mine. Amelia
Thank you Amelia. Tree flowers and opening leaf buds can be very beautiful in the spring. I hope you’ll see some.
Hello,
I believe I’ve seen the most similar picture on your site to the one I am sending you. I was wondering if you had any information on the name of it or type. I have a house up in the Adirondacks and found it up there. Thank you.
Vito Bet
>
Thank you Vito. I’d love to see your photo but you’ll have to send it to me by email. If you go to the “contact me” tab at the top of the page you should be able to attach your photo just like you would any other email.
Love that picture of the snow on the elderberry bud. Clearly the beauty of catkins is underappreciated.
Thanks! I think it’s because a lot of people just don’t notice catkins, other than pussy willows.It’s too bad because they’re both interesting and beautiful.
Lovely informative pictures of the female catkins.
Today we had a sudden hail storm which disappeared almost as soon as it had fallen so not quite spring yet..
Thank you Phillip. Spring seems to be having a hard time making up its mind just about everywhere this year!
Happy Easter!
Thanks! The same to you!
I love your close-up shots of the alder catkins – I have been trying to photograph the ones I see here. Our reticulated iris have all finished for the year – I love them and look forward to seeing them each spring. You have included so many beautiful shots of buds in this post!
Thank you Clare. The alder catkins are hard to get a good shot of. I had to take quite a few before I got anything worth keeping.
I like the reticulated iris too. They’re a good splash of color soon after winter and I’m always happy to see them!
Lovely photos of winter turning into spring, very different to the Australian landscape so it is quite an education. Great quote too. Happy Easter.
Thanks very much, and happy Easter to you. There are many beautiful things to see in Australia too. Fantastic things that I could never guess existed.
Are there any theories on what is going on with the skunk cabbages?
Not that I’ve heard. I saw some that were shriveling today that had rotten spadices but I saw others that seemed fine.
Happy Easter Allen, and thank you for the wonderful Easter gift of all the great photos of the flowers!
The Reticulated irises look very much like the dwarf lake iris that grow in northern Michigan, but they don’t bloom until May.
Does a witch hazel need a few years before they begin producing the profession of flowers as in the first photo of them? They planted a few in the park near home, but they only produce a few spread out flowers.
I really like the afternoon snow day photo!
I think that this up and down weather with the wide swings in temperature is affecting some plants and animals this spring.
You’re welcome Jerry, and thank you!
I remember the dwarf lake irises from your photos and you’re right they do look a lot alike. They might be about the same size. These stand about 4-6 inches high and each flower might be 3 inches across.
Yes, many witch hazels will take a while to really fill in. I think the one in my shots is some type of hybrid because it blooms much heavier than the natives do. If yours are more native they won’t flower anywhere near as prolifically as these do.
I think you’re right about the weather. Some plants like willows seem to be stuck and aren’t moving forward at all, and I saw some dying skunk cabbages today.
Yes, they’re about the same size too. I hope to shoot more photos of them while on vacation in May, if the snow is gone. They got 18 inches earlier this week, and more on the way next weekend
Wow, that’s a big snowfall for March! I’m so glad ours melted in a day!
I shall have to go and peer at some alders now.
Better wear your glasses!
I will.
Amazing macros! I will have to look for coltsfoot along the river. They are predicting a cold spell in early April, which I hope won’t hinder things too much.
Thank you Eliza. I just got back from shooting some photos of some coltsfoot plants that grew in a roadside ditch.
I haven’t heard about the April cold snap. I hope the forecasters are wrong, as they often are.
Yes, I’ve got to stop repeating what they forecast, because they are barely right 50% of the time, right?
Sometimes it seems like they don’t look outside before telling you what the weather is and they often aren’t very accurate, but I sure wouldn’t want the job.
Ironically, they are probably in a cubicle staring at a computer, with the machine making the prediction. And yes, I wouldn’t want the job either!
Great photos, Allen. Interesting question about the skunk cabbage. Does that mean they smell any less ‘fragrant’?
I don’t think I’ve ever smelled that witch hazel. It sounds great.
Things were looking springlike here till we got the mini ice storm a few days ago. Now everything is covered with a layer of ice over snow. I hope it warms up again soon.
Thank you Cynthia! No, the skunk cabbages are as pungent as ever. I stepped on an unseen one today and knew right away.
I also smelled that witch hazel today and it really is great.
I’m sorry that you’re still seeing winter weather. It was cold and rainy here all week, with a little ice thrown in for good measure, but today is beautiful. I hope you’ll get some warmth soon!
Many of these do not grow in my region. I’ve always thought catkins to be very pretty. I enjoy seeing photos of everything emerging/blooming in a northern hemisphere spring. Spring is not so vibrant and distinct here. Thank you for the beautiful shots.
You’re welcome, and thank you. You might not see any of these where you live but you sure have plenty of other beautiful things to see there. I think I’d have a hard time living where there weren’t four distinct seasons. but maybe not.
I like catkins too. I think they go unnoticed by most people, which is too bad. They can be really beautiful and many hang right at eye level.
Great shots of some fascinating subjects!
Thanks!
really great photos, they dazzle the eye and mind
Thanks very much Eddie, I’m glad you liked them.
Beautiful colors, Allen–spring seems to have taken hold. I expected the crocuses, but was a bit surprised to see the irises. Trees are blossoming like crazy here, including D.C.’s famous cherry blossoms.
Thanks Mike. Reticulated irises are also called “winter iris” because they’re so early. They’re great to see just after winter. I’ve heard the cherry trees were blooming in Washington. You’re lucky that you live close enough to easily see them!
There are so many flowering trees to see elsewhere that I usually avoid the crowds at the Jefferson Memorial and surrounding area.
Hooray for spring! Last year I planted a dozen of the reticulated irises. They are stunningly beautiful. I hope they multiply and fill in the space I put them in. You got some great images for this post!
Thanks Laura. Your irises should multiply pretty quickly and put on a great show. A little bulb fertilizer and being kept on the dry side will help them along. They won’t set buds if they’re kept too wet. They are beautiful little things that come along at just the right time.
It’s good that your camera lens can show us more than the unaided eye can see. Lovely to view all those signs of spring.
Thank you Susan. Yes, that camera lens has shown me some beautiful things! A little more sunshine and spring will be in full bloom.