What is it Wednesday: February 17, 2021

 

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

February 17, 2021. 

 

 

 

And the answer is....

 

 

This is the flower bud of a kousa dogwood, encased in ice after yesterday’s freezing rain.

We have featured kousa dogwood flower buds before in What is it Wednesday, because they are such a visible example of how trees and shrubs have buds even when they are dormant in winter. Buds develop on trees and shrubs in the fall, are present all winter, and will open into flowers or leaves in the spring.

The leaves or flowers packed tight inside the bud are able to survive the cold of winter – including being directly coated with ice – because of the bud scales. These are small but tough “wrappers” that cover the bud before it blossoms and seal out damaging weather. In some species they are even covered with small hairs that provide additional insulation. If you look closely at a bud you can see its overlapping bud scales.

The buds of trees and shrubs in cold and temperate climates actually require a certain amount of cold temperatures, or “chilling requirements,” in order to fully develop. Buds are only damaged by cold if the buds start to open, losing their protective scales, and then are exposed to a hard freeze.  

Take a look around and observe the buds on trees and shrubs during the winter - what are their different shapes, sizes, colors, textures? There is a fascinating world of future flowers and leaves out there just waiting to emerge in the spring! 

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!

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!

What is it Wednesday archive: April 18, 2018

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. 

And the answer is....

It is amazing that this little bud, about an inch or two long, contains the beginnings of an entire strand of wisteria blossoms. 

They can be stunningly beautiful, but unfortunately they are problematic as well. Wisteria is a highly invasive vine, and it if becomes established in a forested area, over time it will twine itself tightly over all the trees and choke out the native forest. Because there are so many flowers in each blossom, it makes many seeds and spreads quickly. 

Please don’t plant wisteria, and this is a rare case where cutting or picking wildflowers – all of them, if you like! – will actually be helpful to the environment by slowing the spread of the wisteria vine. Feel free to enjoy the beauty of wisteria when you see it (a section of Lutherlyn’s Cherry Trail is stunning in late April when the wisteria blooms), but try not to add to the amount of it growing where it doesn’t belong.

To learn more about the complex and beautiful natural world all around us with LEEP, check out http://lutherlyn.com/ee, 

And to learn more about invasive plants and how to control them, visit

http://www.dcnr.pa.gov/Conservation/WildPlants/InvasivePlants/InvasivePlantFactSheets/Pages/default.aspx 

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!

What is it Wednesday: March 13, 2019

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

March 13, 2019.  

And the answer is....

These are buds on one of the kousa dogwood bushes along the porch of the Lutherlyn dining hall. 

Many people don’t realize that trees and shrubs already have buds on them for the new flowers and leaves that will grow in the spring. Buds emerge in the summer or fall and have been waiting on the twigs all winter. (This photo was taken at the end of January during Winter Retreat.) 

The buds visible in this photo will unfold into the white flowers of the kousa dogwood in May. 

By then, LEEP will be hosting up to 200 students a day in school field trips! To learn more about LEEP field trips and more, check out www.lutherlyn.com/ee.

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!