Tuesday, June 13, 2017

Tree Flowers

It's hard to come back to this blog after a long absence.  So much is happening, it always seems like, why should this flower, or this insect, be the thing that gets me back into it?  Plus, with so much happening... I could easily show 10 plants that have changed phenophase since I left for my family's reunion 5 days ago.  So what got me to write today?  I learned something!  Now, it's not like I know everything there is to know about the natural world.  No one does, and I suppose I know more than most, but a lot of people know more than me.  I often learn things about nature -- from books or the internet.  I see something, I go back and ID it, or I research it so that I can be sure I'm being accurate or have enough to say when I'm writing.  

Today I had one of those experiences when I just noticed something that I'd never noticed before, learned something just from seeing and experiencing it.  Sumac is a plant that doesn't get much mention at this time of year in my observations.  In the fall, it's leaves turn brilliantly red, orange and yellow quite early, making it a prime target for observations.  Its red berries are striking above its foliage.  But this is the flower:
Green, blends in with the leaves.  You'd walk right by it, and I certainly have.  What I noticed today was that the flowers were covered with bees.  (No, no photo with a bee in it.  Oh, well.)  I never really thought about what pollinated those green and rather uninteresting flowers before, but apparently honeybees don't find them to be uninteresting.  The flowers were literally a-buzz with bees!  Naomi's new knowledge for today, gleaned by my own research rather than someone else's observations!

I"ll switch from barely-noticeable flowering trees to some of the most showy:
These catalpa flowers, each close to 2 inches across, are really very striking and in full bloom right now.  Just look at that spectacular coloration -- the yellow and purple in there.  I wonder what that might look like to a bee or another pollinating insect with compound eyes.  (Like neon "Eat Here!!!" signs, I always imagine.)

More tomorrow?  Maybe!

1 comment:

  1. You're lucky to have catalpas still in bloom! They pop like popcorn, and all near here have popped by now...Beautiful photo.

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