Nature Journal: Week Two
March 30th 2020
Marcescent leaves still clinging on to this oak tree. Leaf marcescence occurs on several tree species, most notably on beeches but also on some oaks, particularly young specimens. As autumn approaches and deciduous trees begin shutting down, most species form an abscission layer at the base of the leaf stalk which cause the leaves to readily fall off. In trees with marcescent leaves this layer doesn’t form or is incomplete so the withered leaves stay on the tree until pushed off by new growth in the spring. There are only a few oaks here at home that do this and they all seem to be the same age - I wonder why it only happens on these few and not the others?
March 31st 2020
All around us the hedgerows and woodland edges are bursting with snow-white blackthorn blossom. Although a beautiful visual spectacle, the most amazing thing to me is that once pollinated by visiting insects, each individual flower will undergo the transformation into fruit, the familiar sloe.
April 1st 2020
Found one of favourites in the woods today: greater stitchwort! We love the delicate flowers with their deeply notched petals which give the plant the first part of its scientific name, Stellaria, meaning star-like. If you’re lucky enough to find a large patch of these in the woods it really does look like a cluster of stars set against a sky of green.
April 2nd 2020
A ghostly vision lurking in a clump of butcher's broom (Ruscus Aculeatus).
Nature Journal - April 4th
Noticed the early evening sunlight reflecting off the ripples in the stream this evening. We have spent more time by the stream than normal in recent days; being forced to stay at home has prompted us to see familiar places in a new light.
Nature Journal - April 5th
Listening to the sound of pine cones crackling and popping up in the canopy today as the warm, dry weather liberates the tiny winged seeds within. The seeds spiral down like miniature helicopters on the easterly breeze, hoping to land in a pocket of fertile soil. Thousands of seeds must float down on warm days like today and yet we hardly ever find pine seedlings sprouting in the woods...