… to look a lot like springtime, everywhere you go. 🎶
There are lots of early flowering plants blooming at the moment; spring is definitely in the air.
🎵It’s Beginning…
Month: Feb 2021
Silver Beauties
The Silver birch (Betula pendula) is from the Betulaceae family, just like Hazel (Corylus) and Alder (Alnus), which also have flowers in the form of catkins (see my previous two posts A Snowy Adventure and The Birds and the Trees).
At the moment only the immature male catkins are visible (as they have been since autumn) dangling at the end of tree shoots.
Female Catkins develop after the leaves unfurl in spring. They face upwards, are bright green and smaller than the male ones; flowering between April and May. Unlike the fertilized Alder catkins these do not become woody and remain on the tree for seeds to disperse from there. Instead seed dispersal occurs as the female catkins disintegrate and are carried away by the wind as they fall from the tree.
The paper like white bark of the Birch sheds to uncover newer, cleaner bark underneath; plus dark diamond shaped fissures develop as the tree ages.
Two birch trees are native to the UK, the other is the Downy birch (Betula pubescens). It is possible for these to hybridize with one another however individually they can be differentiated. The Downy birch has hairy, single-toothed leaves and hairy shoots (which is how it gets its name); plus the leaf base is rounder. The leaves of the Silver birch are more angular, double toothed around the edges and hairless (the shoots are also hairless). The Downy birch also prefers damper soil than the Silver birch but both are naturally found in woodlands.
The Silver and Downy Birches have open canopies allowing flowers such as violets (Viola), Primrose (Primula vulgaris), Bluebells (Hyacinthoides non-scripta) and Wood anemone (Anemone nemorosa) to florish beneath them. Several fungi are linked with Birch trees too, such as Fly agaric (Amanita muscaria), Woolly milk cap (Lactarius torminosus), Birch milk cap (Lactarius tabidus), Birch brittlegill (Russula betularum), Birch knight (Tricholoma fulvum) and the Birch polypore (Fomitopsis betulina).
These trees can support over 300 insect species. They are a good food source for the caterpillars of Angle-shades (Phlogophora meticulosa), Buff tip (Phalera bucephala), Pebble hook-tip (Drepana falcataria), and Kentish glory (Endromis versicolora) moths. Several Bird species make use of these trees including woodpeckers (Picidae), which nest in the trunks, along with Siskins (Spinus spinus), Greenfinch (Chloris chloris) and Redpolls (Acanthis) that feed on the seeds.
Uses for Birch trees include the manufacture of furniture, handles and toys as well as the process of tanning leather.
In times gone by it was used to make bobbins, spools and reels for the Lancashire cotton industry as well. To the Celts Birches symbolised purity, renewal and love. Later on brooms were made using birch twigs in order to clean rooms. In Finland they are the national tree.
There are several threats to Birch trees, two fungal pathogens (Marssonina betulae and Anisogramma virgultorum) which can cause Birch dieback and eventual death. Bronze birch borer (Agrilus anxius) can also attack native trees.
More information on both can be found on the Forest research website, see the links Birch dieback and Bronze birch borer.
The Birds and the Trees
On the 31st January, I undertook the RSPBs Big Garden bird watch. Most birds, I’d normally see, were clearly hiding but I did notice some within the hour. Those birds I saw were; 1 Carrion crow (Corvus corone), 2 Robins (Erithacus rubecula), 1 Coal tit (Periparus ater), 1 Blackbird (Turdus merula) and 2 Mistle thrush (Turdus viscivorus). I enjoy taking part in this citizen science project each year; it’s interesting to see how the results differ each time.
Due to the frozen ground last week, I was still able to go for my regular exercise in the local woodland park. Various tree species were waking up from their winter sleep. Beech (Fagus) and Oak (Quercus) had started budding while others were developing catkins.
As well as the Hazel (Corylus avellana) other trees had catkins hanging from them too. Hazel catkins are the earliest to flower in the year, from January to March (see my previous post A Snowy Adventure).
Then the Alder (Alnus glutinosa) is the next tree to bloom with both male and female catkins. The male catkins are longer than the female ones which flower from February to March. Also hanging from the Alder trees were some small dark brown shapes. These woody cone-like fruit develop from the previous seasons fertilised female catkins; these can remain on the tree (even when the seeds have been shed) well into the following year alongside the newly formed catkins. I also noticed leaf buds growing on the trees last week too. When the buds burst, I shall update the Woodland trust Nature’s calendar with my findings.
Unfortunately I was unable to capture decent photos on location so I collected part of a fallen branch to take home.
I find Alder trees fascinating and the rough, fissured bark beautiful.
Alder are native to Britain and found on wet land, next to water or in marshes and woodlands. They naturally thrive in moist conditions although can also grow in drier areas such as the edges of mixed woodland. Alder wood is durable when wet and actually becomes stronger rather than rot when submerged in water; a characteristic that makes them useful in flood mitigation, boat building, sluice gates, and even the construction of Venice which is mostly built on Alder piles. Alder wood is also used in the creation of charcoal, gunpowder and making clogs.
The pale wood turns a deep orange colour at the point at which it’s cut (while the rest of the wood remains pale); leading to a superstition, in Ireland, that it was bad luck to walk past an Alder tree on your travels. However, traditionally alder branches were also taken into houses to prevent Woodworm. Alder wood is particularly liked by various species of beetle larvae (collectively referred to as Woodworm). It is hoped that the beetles will lay eggs in the Alder rather than the furniture or fixtures; the branches once infested can then be removed.
There is also a traditional use for Alder flowers as a green dye; believed to be used as camouflage by outlaws like Robin hood and fairies.
For fun, I looked up Alder wands used in the Harry potter series. Only one is mentioned, that owned by Quirinus Quirrell. The wands qualities are described on the Wizarding world website.
The roots of Alder are nitrogen fixers. Nitrogen from the air is fixed into the soil, replenishing the levels and aiding soil fertility, through the bacterium Frankia alni.
As well as improving soil, Alder are great for wildlife too. The seeds are eaten by Redpoll (Acanthis flammea), Siskin (Spinus spinus) and Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis). The leaves are food for the caterpillars of the Alder kitten (Furcula bicuspis), Pebble hook-tip (Drepana falcataria), Autumn green carpet (Chloroclysta miata) and Blue-bordered carpet (Plemyria rubiginata) moths. Bees visit the catkins for an early source of nectar plus Alders provide habitats for the Checkered skipper (Carterocephalus palaemon) butterfly, Small pearl-bordered fritillary (Boloria selene) butterfly, some species of Crane fly, Otters (which create nests amongst the roots) along with mosses, lichens and fungi that like damp conditions.
However, these trees are also threatened through infection by the Phytophthora fungus (together with some other broadleaf tree species). In Alder this disease is referred to as Alder dieback and eventually causes the death of any infected tree. For more information see the Forest research website. There aren’t many Alders in my local woodland park compared to other tree species so it would be sad to see them disappear. Given my newly acquired knowledge I will keep a special lookout for any ill health in these trees; thankfully no infection is being exhibited at the moment.
A Snowy Adventure
The previous Sunday brought a little light relief as snow covered most of the UK. My childhood excitement of seeing the snow returned, so the days exercise was a walk through the local woodland park.
As I wondered past trees I began to notice odd glimpses of colour amongst the white and greys. Upon closer inspection I could see catkins already dangling along with female flowers ready to bloom on the Hazel (Corylus avellana) trees.
I also saw female flowers and cones on several Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris).
Surprisingly, given it was still snowing at the time, lots of birds were about too. I saw Redwing (Turdus iliacus), Blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus), a small group of noisy Long tailed tits (Aegithalos caudatus) as well as a male Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs) amongst the trees.
Redwings are migratory birds, from Iceland, Scandinavia and even Russia. Named after the red area under the wings, they can be seen in the UK between October and spring.
Throughout the week, as the snow slowly disappeared, I saw different birds visiting my Rowan (Sorbus) tree. I had never seen a Mistle thrush (Turdus viscivorus)
or male Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs) visit the tree before.
Perhaps the reduced availability of food, during the snowy weather, made them search further afield than usual. Thankfully they found the remaining, mostly dried, berries on the Rowan tree outside my window.
Mistle thrush, so named because of their love of eating mistletoe (and guarding trees where it grows) also visit Rowan and Holly (Ilex) trees for their berries as well as eat worms, slugs and insects. They are larger and duller in colour than Song thrush (Turdus philomelos). Their spots are darker and rounder plus they have white tips to their tails. In fact they are larger than Blackbirds (unlike Song thrushes).
Wonderfully, there were even more flowers blooming in the garden too. I saw
Lungwort (Pulmonaria officinalis),
Crocus and
lots of Cyclamen.
Bee in the Moment 