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,
the
day 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 12, 2018.
And
the answer is....
This close-up is of rhododendron leaves, curled tight in the
cold.
When we think of “evergreens” in Pennsylvania, we generally think of
evergreen trees with various types of thin pointy needles instead of leaves.
But the rhododendron is a broad-leaved evergreen shrub. It stays green all
winter, and uses “tricks” to survive the cold weather, like a waxy coating on
the leaves, sugars and proteins in the fluids in the cells, and stoma (pores in
the leaf) that are closed all winter long.
Rhododendron leaves also curl up in
cold weather, beginning to curl at around 20 degrees Fahrenheit and curling
tighter as the temperatures drop colder. Scientists don’t quite know what
causes the leaves to curl, but it is likely some variation in the response to
cold in different parts of the plant tissue or cells. The leaf curling has a benefit to people too
– it acts as a quick visual thermometer! Many people who regularly observe
rhododendrons in winter can tell how cold it is just by the shape of the
leaves.
To find out how LEEP can help you observe and learn about
the details of nature, 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!
