What is it Wednesday: April 8, 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 8, 2020. 

And the answer is....

 These are seeds of Norway spruce trees. (Actually the seed on the left has fallen out, leaving only the papery “wing” behind.)

They may look a bit similar to the “helicopter” seeds of maple trees, but they are about half the size of the smallest maple seeds we see in Pennsylvania, are arranged singly and not in pairs, and it is too early in the spring to see maple seeds. (These seeds were found Monday, April 6.)

We don’t usually see the seeds of evergreens, because they are usually tucked safely inside the cones of the tree. The large visible woody cone is the female cone where the seeds develop. The seeds are nestled against the inside of the woody scales of the cones. The male cones are smaller and softer, and carry and release the pollen that fertilizes the female cones to produce the seeds.

Seeds and female cones from Norway spruce. The cone on the left has opened almost fully.
The cone on the right is still closed tight near the base.

Most cones of trees found in Pennsylvania open when they become dried out, allowing the small seeds to fall out and disperse by the wind. Usually by the time the cones fall to the ground, the seeds are long gone, perhaps tucked into the soil eventually to become a tree. 

Sometimes animals get to the seeds before they have a chance to disperse! In the spruce forests around Lutherlyn, we often find cones on the ground that look like already-eaten corn on the cob: 

These are what is left behind after red squirrels have peeled the scales off the cone in order to eat the seeds tucked inside. Left-behind remnants of eaten food are known as "middens" and can be interesting clues to what animals have been around in the area recently. Maybe if you keep an eye out you will also find some spruce seeds or middens in your own outings in nature. 

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!