Spring 3a

I've been keeping up pretty well with spring's progress this month, but not so well with communicating it.  I'll let the pictures do the talking, but there are so many, I'm going to break "Spring 3" into several parts.

First, the leaders.

Across from the little male trees at the high school is a row of stately female quaking aspens (Populus tremuloides).  Long after the males had dropped their spent flowers, those of the females were maturing into fruit. These were opening to shed silky, wind-borne seeds by May 14th.

Black cherry (Prunus serotina) hasn't flowered yet, but it's one of the earliest trees in the neighborhood to leaf out.  The flower buds are just about to break.

 May 11th (2), 13th and 16th.

Spring 2

First the scientific stuff.  Flowering times this year are running about a week behind last year's, so far.  (About which more in a few days.)

Red maple bloomed on about April 15, and you can see its progress here from 4/21 to 4/25.

The black cherry that was still in bud on April 11 and 15th, began breaking its buds on the 17th and leaves are expanding on the 25th.

Silver maple finished flowering before April 18th, since most of the male flowers had dropped by then; the fruits are developing from the 21st to 25th, and leaves are emerging. 

The lovely sugar maple on the corner finally began bud break on about April 21st, and here its flowers open over a period of almost a week.  Binoculars show stamens out by the 25th, though they are not visible in the last photos. 

Norway maples were still in (swollen) bud on April 17th, but their buds began breaking on about the 21st, and flowers were open on my yard tree today, the 27th.

This oak (likely black oak) was still firmly in bud on April 8th, but these began breaking on the 21st, and the male catkins had begun to elongate by the 25th. 

 

A visit to my parents a few days ago shows progress there.

 My parents' yard in Rhode Island has tuliptrees (Liriodendron tulipifera)
among natives,and resident aliens forsythia and magnolia. 

Finally, a walk around the high school grounds today, April 27th.

 Oak, probably black oak.

 Possibly crabapple; something in the Rose family, in any event.

To multiflora rose, among the first to leaf out and last to drop leaves, I 

grant the status of Honorary Native.

 The male red maple flowers have shrivelling stamens, so their end is near.

 Another crabapple.

 This lovely shrub, silverberry (Eleagnus umbellata) early puts forth leaves

covered with silvery and highly-reflective scales.  Flower buds are also visible.

Spring 1

Our story so far, here in eastern Massachusetts: 

Silver maple was first of the native trees in my neighborhood to bloom way back on April 4th, followed by lengthening of quaking aspen catkins just two days later.  Both are now done.  Red maple flower buds began breaking Tuesday, April 14, and this widespread tree is now in glorious bloom, brightening the highways.  Black cherry, which leafs out early, has been gradually unfolding its buds over the last few days.  Paper birch catkins are beginning to soften and stretch out, and I expect to start seeing pollen flying within a day or two. Norway maple leafs out and blooms at the same time; that will begin in a few days. 

silver maple (Acer saccharinum) an quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) just in bloom 4/6.

 Near their peaks on 4/11 (silver maple) and 4/13 (quaking aspen).
Both these trees are monoecious (having male and female flowers on the same tree;
you can see that about half the maple flowers have long stamens (male organs that produce pollen).

 

Silver maple and trembling aspen today, 4/18.  Silver maple has dropped male flowers,

while quaking aspen's male flowers--post-orgy--are almost as sad-looking.

 

Black cherry (Prunus serotina) yesterday, 4/17.

Female red maple (Acer rubrum) flowers freshly in bloom 4/15.  The long stigmas of
 these female flowers reach out to catch wind-borne pollen.  Red maple is dioecious,
so an entire tree is male or female--a situation a little unusual in the plant world.

Red maples today, Big Daddy's staminate flowers above, Little Mama's 

pistillate flowers below.  Notice the feathery stigmas that accept pollen have

been joined by expanding "wings" that will allow the wind to carry the mature seeds.