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
December 19, 2018.
And
the answer is....
American holly is a native broad-leaved evergreen. Like rhododendron (another previous What is it Wednesday feature) it has waxy leaves to protect from the cold.
But holly leaves have another way of protecting themselves – prickly spikes, which keep hungry animals from nibbling on holly leaves even though they are one of the few plants green during winter.
The combination of bright green leaves and bright red berries during the dark days of winter have made holly a popular Christmas decoration from nature. Other native holly species in Pennsylvania, like winterberry and mountain winterberry, are deciduous, losing their leaves in winter but keeping their bright red berries.
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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