What is it Wednesday: April 29, 2020

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

April 29, 2020. 

And the answer is....

This is the blossom of a flowering dogwood, just beginning to open. Soon this blossom will transform into the familiar four-petaled white flower that makes the flowering dogwood tree such a beautiful part of springtime.

One neat thing about this picture is that the dogwood twigs are visible as well as the blossom. Dogwood twigs are distinctive for a couple of reasons. The branches of the twigs grow directly across from each other – this is known as opposite branching pattern and very few tree species in our area grow like this. Maples and ashes are the most common in addition to dogwoods.

You can also see from a close look at dogwood twigs that this is a very slow-growing tree. The small lines that encircle the twig mark the ends of a year’s growth – on dogwood twigs these lines are very close together, showing that they grow only about an inch a year, sometimes less.

Getting to know your natural surroundings can mean learning what the flora and fauna look like in all their life stages, not just the dominant or most familiar ones. Watch a plant up close for a whole year and see what surprising things you notice!  

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!