Take Me Outside: The colorful trees of spring

By RUTH SMITH

For the Monitor

Published: 04-30-2016 11:25 PM

New Englanders have a right to brag about the fall foliage that graces our hillsides in September and October. The brilliant yellow, orange and red leaves of birches, aspen, maples and oaks are world famous for a good reason. But the vibrancy of the autumn colors should not diminish our appreciation for the tree colors of spring. The subtle hues that we see at this time of year come not only from leaves that emerge with the colors of fresh growth, but also from blossoms that usher in the season of new beginnings.

Trees like crab apples and dogwoods are planted for their attractive flowers. But many people don’t realize that all of our broad-leafed trees produce some sort of flower. Many tree flowers go unnoticed because they are high in the branches or are tiny and green, like leaves. Yet, when viewed collectively and from afar, they provide a wash of color just as lovely as the large, showy and distinctly colored blooms we associate with ornamental trees.

The less showy flowers are generally pollinated by the wind, whereas insects and other pollinating animals are attracted to flowers that are brightly colored, sweet smelling and provide a platform (petals) for landing.

Red maples are among the first trees to open their buds and show color in the early spring. Most of them have already burst forth with feathery, scarlet blossoms that dangle male anthers to release pollen to the wind. The goal is to have the pollen reach the seed-producing part of a female flower.

Most red maple flowers do not develop both male and female parts in the same flower. In fact, many red maple trees only produce male flowers, while others only generate female flowers. But this can change from year to year. Regardless of their sex, red maples provide a distinctive and welcome blush of color as the grays of winter are eclipsed by the rainbow of spring.

The parade of color continues as often overlooked willow trees push out their drooping catkins to form a cascade of noticeable chartreuse-orange covered branches. These plants are more reliably dioecious, with male flowers appearing on one tree and female flowers on another.

Most small flowers on trees are wind pollinated and appear early, before leaf-out. This insures that more of the pollen reaches flowers, and is not intercepted by emerging leaves. Aspens also fall into this category. Their fuzzy caterpillar-like catkins tend to be a greenish-yellow in color and give the whole tree a soft, hazy appearance.

Next come the birch catkins. Their colors range from the yellow-brown of the male catkins, which wag in the breeze like a new lamb’s tail, to the bright green of the shorter, upright female catkin. With male and female flowers found on the same tree, they are called monecious. Once the female catkins are pollinated, the seeds begin to form. The upright catkins full of tiny seeds can be seen throughout the summer on birch trees. Having done their job of dispersing pollen, the male catkins fall off in spring.

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Each seed or nut on a tree is the result of a flower that was pollinated. Acorns we see in the fall come from the oak’s springtime catkins. Male catkins develop in a clump, each like a miniature bead on a string. The tiny female flowers grow on the same tree, resemble tree buds and, being found near the top of the tree, are difficult to view. Red oaks with peach colored catkins and rusty-red baby leaves come out about two weeks earlier than the white-gray flowers and foliage of the white oak.

The texture of these flowers and fresh new leaves is also worth noting. On close inspection many are truly soft to the touch, but from a distance there is also a frothiness and effervescence to the trees that you don’t experience with bold fall foliage.

As the season progresses and flowers give way to new leaves with varying shades of “spring” green, mustard yellow or dusty rose, we are provided with another opportunity to become familiar with the variety of life that surrounds us. The broad spectrum of color and lovely scenery of spring reminds us that we don’t have to wait until fall to appreciate the beauty of the forest.

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