Can
you identify what's in this photo?
Each Wednesday morning
on Camp Lutherlyn's Facebook page
the Lutherlyn Environmental
Education Program posts a photo.
Readers
have all morning and afternoon
to
make their best guess about what the photo is.
Around
6 pm LEEP provides the answer and a brief explanation.
Each
week's What is it Wednesday post
will
also be posted on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog,
after it is posted on Facebook,
sometimes
with additional bonus information.
In
addition to bringing you current editions of What is it Wednesday
on the
Nature of Lutherlyn blog,
we
will be reposting old editions,
creating
a What is it Wednesday archive.
This
photo was posted as a What is it Wednesday on
January 1, 2020.
January 1, 2020.
And
the answer is....
This is a skunk cabbage shoot, growing through ice in a wet area
along the Semiconon Creek. This photo was taken in December just before our
Christmas warm spell.
The skunk cabbage shoot is a protective leaf wrapped
around the hood (spathe) and flower (spadex) of the skunk cabbage blossom.
Skunk cabbage blossoms (a former What is it Wednesday feature) can begin to
emerge in February, often pushing through snow to do so. A chemical process in
the plant actually warms up the earth around the blossom so it can survive.
Before the blossom emerges with this heat production, the shoot protects itself
from the surrounding cold with a layer of waxy thick protective leaves.
Most trees and shrubs produce their buds in the fall, so they are
ready to open when the weather warms in the spring, and some herbaceous plants
like skunk cabbage have shoots at or just below the surface of the earth, ready
to grow when the conditions are right.
The new year’s growth comes from the
past year’s beginnings.
May good things blossom for you in 2020 - Happy New Year
everyone!
Like and follow Camp Lutherlyn on
Facebook, to see What is it Wednesday posts when
they come out and have the opportunity to share your guesses in the comments!
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