• ABOUT
  • BIRDING 2018
  • Birding 2019
  • BLOG POSTS
  • Butterflies 2018
  • Resources

earthstar

~ a celebration of nature

earthstar

Tag Archives: tree flowers

Alder flowers

12 Sunday Mar 2023

Posted by sconzani in flowers, trees

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Alder, Alder flowers, female Alder flowers, tree flowers

It’s almost two months to the day since I blogged about the first Hazel I’d seen with both the male and female flowers open (Flowers and catkins, 15 January). Perhaps I’ve been remiss in looking for these, but yesterday I spotted my first Alder tree where both types of flowers had opened. The reproductive systems of the two plants are remarkably similar, both with long dangling pollen-shedding male catkins and much smaller pink anemone-like female flowers, except that the female Hazel flowers develop into a nut and the female Alder into a cone. It’s the female flowers that I find particularly eye-catching.

230312 alder female flowers

Like this:

Like Loading...

Fit to bursting

05 Sunday Mar 2023

Posted by sconzani in flowers, trees

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

male yew flowers, tree flowers, Yew, Yew tree flowers

I was checking this Yew tree for galls – found none – but it was absolutely covered in flower buds that were almost literally about to burst open. A few more days and this male tree will be spreading a sea of yellow pollen all around anytime the wind blows or someone brushes against its branches. How do I know it’s a male tree? Well, in a previous post, Flowering Yew trees from way back in March 2016, I blogged about Yew flowers so, if you want to know more about these fascinating trees, just click on that link.

230305 yew flowers

Like this:

Like Loading...

End of winter wild flowers

26 Sunday Feb 2023

Posted by sconzani in flowers, trees, wildflowers, winter

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

British wildflowers, catkins, tree flowers, winter colour, winter flowers

As another winter draws to a close, I thought I would document the plant and tree flowers currently in bloom in my little bit of south Wales.

Like this:

Like Loading...

Tree flowers

08 Sunday May 2022

Posted by sconzani in flowers, trees

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

spring flowers, tree flowers, trees

Instead of wildflowers, this week we have some of the tree flowers I’ve noticed in recent weeks. It’s certainly not an exhaustive list but I’ve definitely got a much better appreciation for the lovely flowers so many trees have.

Like this:

Like Loading...

Oak burst

14 Friday May 2021

Posted by sconzani in flowers, spring, trees

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

British trees, Oak bud burst, Oak flowers, oak tree, tree flowers

Here’s the latest in my occasional series of watching the trees come to life. This time, it’s the Oak tree – I’m not sure which of the Quercus species this is but I think they’re all fairly similar. First, the leaves burst from their buds, and the vibrancy of the new growth is dazzling.

210514 oak burst (1)
210514 oak burst (2)
210514 oak burst (3)

210514 oak burst (4)

And, of course, everyone knows acorns come from Oaks but perhaps, like me, you hadn’t noticed where the acorns come from. Below left are the male flowers, the catkins, dangling to catch the breeze that carries their pollen, and below right are the female flowers, tucked away, sheltered, waiting to be fertilised by the pollen and develop into acorns.

210514 oak burst (6)
210514 oak burst (5)

210514 oak burst (7)

Like this:

Like Loading...

Ash burst

25 Sunday Apr 2021

Posted by sconzani in flowers, spring, trees

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Ash flowers, Ash tree, British trees, flowers on trees, Fraxinus excelsior, tree flowers

First, the black buds split open to reveal their furry brown inner parts.

210425 ash flowers (1)

Next, those brown furry parts burst open to reveal luscious purple ‘berries’.

210425 ash flowers (2)

And finally, those purple berries transform – they’re not berries at all, of course, they’re the tips of the anthers of the spiky flowers that grow at the end of the twigs and branches.

210425 ash flowers (3)

This is an Ash tree (Fraxinus excelsior), and they have a very complicated but fascinating reproduction system, which I didn’t know about when I took my photos – you can read all about it on the Tree Guide UK website here.

Like this:

Like Loading...

About me

sconzani

sconzani

I'm a writer and photographer; researcher and blogger; birder and nature lover; countryside rambler and city strider; volunteer and biodiversity recorder.

View Full Profile →

Follow earthstar on WordPress.com

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Recent blog posts

  • Tadpoles March 28, 2023
  • Wheezing in the wind March 27, 2023
  • The Baccy plant March 26, 2023
  • Shieldbugs are go! March 25, 2023
  • First winter Little gull March 24, 2023

From the archives

Follow me on Twitter

My Tweets

COPYRIGHT

Unless otherwise acknowledged, the text and photographs on this blog are my own and are subject to international copyright. Nothing may be downloaded or copied without my permission.

Fellow Earth Stars!

Blog at WordPress.com.

  • Follow Following
    • earthstar
    • Join 582 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • earthstar
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...
 

You must be logged in to post a comment.

    %d bloggers like this: